The details
I’ve never been a huge orange girl, especially in my baking. But my mind was officially changed when I came up with my Olive Oil Cake which uses fresh orange zest and juice. I couldn’t get enough. So much so that I wanted to devote a whole recipe to that delicious orange flavor and amp it up with creamy vanilla. And so these Orange Creamsicle Muffins were born! I love that they really taste like a creamsicle pop (sooo nostalgic) with all natural ingredients. Nature just wanted this! These muffins are moist (yes) and just have the most ideal snacking cake texture. The orange cream center, rich and creamy with cream cheese and more orange zest/juice, just puts them over the top.
The Process
Okay, so these muffins are relatively straight-forward. I would really recommend following my instructions for order of ingredient additions in the muffin batter–for some reason this just yields the best muffins. Also, it is very important that all your dairy ingredients are room temp and that you thoroughly cream the butter and sugar. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, so see my Tips + Tricks page for further notes on creaming butter and sugar!
If you aren’t interested in the orange cream bit on top of the muffin, they are still delicious without it. I personally think they just take things up a few notches and provide that creamy flavor that make these creamsicle muffins. Also, have fun with the types of oranges you can use! I tested these with both naval oranges and cara cara oranges, which are lower in acid and have a slightly deeper, berry flavor, and they were sooo good. Both turned out great, but the cara cara muffins have to be the winner, and I would reocmmend it if you can get your hands on them. I bet blood orange would be fun and delicious as well. Very into this idea.
Similar Recipes
Like these Orange Creamsicle Muffins, my Olive Oil Cake utilizes fresh orange flavor along with fruity EVOO for a zippy cake.
Love muffins? Try out my Ginger-Peach Muffins next.
Bake to this music
Orange Creamsicle Muffins
These Orange Creamsicle Muffins pack in delicious fresh orange and creamy vanilla flavor for a moist and tender muffin. They are so reminiscent of those oranges and cream popsicles we all had as kids.
- Yield: 18 muffins 1x
Ingredients
For the muffin batter:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temp
For the orange cream center:
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cupcake/muffin tin with liners.
- Make the orange cream. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk softened cream cheese, egg, orange zest, orange juice, and powdered sugar. This takes some elbow grease. You can also use the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Set aside once combined and homogeneous.
- Make the muffin batter. Cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high with the paddle attachment for 3-5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. Add orange zest and continue to beat a minute. Add eggs one at a time, beating an additional 3 minutes until the mixture is shiny and fluffy. Add vanilla and orange juice and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With the stand mixer on low speed, slowly add dry ingredients to the batter until it just comes together and flour streaks disappear. Using a spatula, fold in sour cream until just combined.
- Scoop batter into the cupcake tin, filling the cups 2/3 of the way full. Make a small well in the middle of the batter in each cup. Spoon 1 tbsp of orange cream on top (in the well) of the batter in each cup. Swirl the orange cream around into the batter a bit with a toothpick (nothing crazy).
- Bake muffins at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, until muffins are cooked through and the top shows almost begins to brown.
- Allow muffins to cool on a wire rack. Store in fridge once cooled in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Use fresh orange zest and juice! One large orange, or two small oranges, should provide all the zest and juice you need for this recipe.
- I’ve made this recipe with both Cara Cara oranges and regular naval oranges with good results. It would be delicious with blood oranges too!
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