Deliciously Moist Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Today we're whipping up some easy orange creamsicle cupcakes using vanilla cupcakes made with cake mix and topped with an tangy orange buttercream icing.

Orange creamsicles. What’s not to love? The tangy orange flavor is a perfect pairing with the sweet vanilla ice cream, and it's been a childhood favorite for generations!

It's no wonder that these amazing cupcakes are one of our most popular flavors. In fact, you might say they're an American classic!

We create these cupcakes to help us reminisce on those flavor combos. These delicious cupcakes are made with vanilla cake mix plus a few extra ingredients to make them extra moist. Then we top it off with an orange cream icing.

And for those who really want to indulge in this nostalgic treat, we've even added some cute little orange slice candies on top.

So what are you waiting for? Give your taste buds something new to enjoy by trying out this cupcake version of creamsicle cupcake recipe!

After you try these, make sure to try an orange pound cake recipe.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Storage
• Recipe

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• White cake mix
• Instant vanilla pudding mix: The secret ingredient to adding insane moisture to you cupcakes
• Plain greek yogurt: This will add extra moisture to your cupcakes
• Vegetable oil
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract

For the Orange Creamsicle Frosting:

• Unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar: AKA confectioners sugar
• Orange zest: Make your own zest by grating some orange peel
• Orange extract: Adds an intense, delicious orange flavor to your icing.
• Freshly squeeze orange juice: Adds a deliciously sweet orange flavor that's completely different from store bought orange juice.
• Orange gel coloring
• Orange candies (optional)

See recipe card for quantities.

The main orange flavor for this recipe comes from the freshly squeezed orange juice and the orange extract. I love orange extract in desserts, we use it in our orange pound cake recipe as well.

Instructions

Start by preheating your oven to 350°. Get 2 cupcake pans ready by lining them with cupcake liners or by spraying lightly with oil. 

In a large bowl, combine your cake mix, vanilla pudding, vanilla extract, yogurt, water and eggs.

Mix your ingredients well by hand or with a stand mixer.

Now fill your cupcake pan with batter, filling the cups about ⅔ of the way full, to allow for the cupcakes to rise. It should fill up all 24 cup-holes. 

Bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes until they are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean with poked into the center of the cakes. 

Once your cupcakes have finished baking, remove from oven and allow to cool completely. 

While your cupcakes are cooling, it's time to make your orange creamsicle frosting.

In a large bowl mix your butter by hand or with a stand mixer until it's smooth and creamy. 

Then add in the orange zest, orange extract and vanilla extract. Mix together with a mixer as you slowly add in your powdered sugar.

Now you can add in the fresh squeezed orange juice 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency for your frosting. 

Once your frosting is all finished, it's time to frost your orange cupcakes. 

Fill a piping bag with your orange frosting and ice your cupcakes. A piping bag makes the icing stand up tall and fits more of it onto each cupcake.

This will help give your cupcakes a ton of that orange creamsicle goodness. 

Hint: To make filling your piping bag super easy, put the end of it in a cup while you spoon the icing into the bag.

Once your cupcakes are all frosted, top each one with an orange candy and serve! 

And now you can enjoy your super moist and fluffy orange creamsicle cupcakes!

Storage

Store cupcakes at room temperature in a sealed container for 2 days. They'll keep a couple days longer in the fridge, but may become slightly harder and less fluffy.