Orange Cupcakes (With White Chocolate Glaze)

Rich Orange Cupcakes (With White Chocolate Glaze)

I have been craving citrus lately. Oranges. Tangerines. Tangelos. Grapefruit. Nectarines. You name it I want it. And we all know what a love for citrus paired with a love for baking equals .... cupcakes! Yes, these are cupcakes - not muffins. The texture, if you could taste them, would prove it. I can hear you asking now, "Why aren't they frosted?" Well, my friends, that's because I cannot make frosting. I'm not ashamed to say it ... I'm a failure. Well, that might be harsh, but why is frosting so difficult for me? If any of you have fail-proof recipes (that I can use to prove you wrong and make them fail), pass them along. I had dreams of topping these orange cupcakes with orange buttercream frosting, but that just didn't happen. They did get a couple of drizzles of white chocolate glaze, because really, when you make an orange cupcake, don't you want it to taste like oranges? So, icing be damned - these puppies were still tasty.

Orange Cupcakes
Adapted from AllRecipes
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Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
2 egg yolks
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup orange juice
2 egg whites
1 pinch salt

Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill cupcake pan(s) with liners. Sift flour and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and orange zest until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Fold in flour, alternating with orange juice.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff then add a pinch of salt. Fold whisked egg whites into the mixture. Spoon batter into cupcake liners, about 3/4 full.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks. Drizzle with White Chocolate Glaze if desired.

White Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Place chips and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. If not melted, repeat.