Spiced Cupcakes with Blood Orange Frosting

There’s been a tremendous amount of baking going on in my kitchen these past couple of weeks. I almost feel as those it has surpassed the chaos that was the winter holidays! Oh well, nothing a few green smoothies and extra trips to the gym can’t fix. 😉

This time, I needed to make some cupcakes for my friend Sarah’s going away party. She’s moving to Portland next week, myself and two others will be helping her! I can’t wait to eat tons of vegan food and check some places out, even though I’ll only be there for a couple of days. Back to the cupcakes, I was inspired by some blood oranges that I had picked up last week and was trying to find a purpose for them. I thought back to my standard chocolate/orange combo recipes but thought that I would try something just a tad different.

The cake part of these delightful treats is filled with just the right amount of spice so that it is aromatic, but not overbearing. It’s fluffy and light, with no oil in the batter, while the frosting is creamy and rich with a slight tang from the blood orange marmalade. You can use any orange marmalade that you prefer, I ended up making my own using this recipe.

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 Cups Organic Sugar
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. White Vinegar
• 1 1/2 Cups Ice Cold Water

——-

• 2 1/2 Powdered Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
• 2 Tbsp. Blood Orange Marmalade
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp. Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, and get two cupcake sheets (2 dozen cupcakes) ready with liners. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, stir together the applesauce, white vinegar, vanilla extract and water.
2. Slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir together until combined. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full, place in the oven and bake for 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick draws clean.
3. After the cupcakes are done baking, place them in the refrigerator to cool and move on to making the frosting.
4. Whip the Earth Balance with a mixer on high-speed, and slowly add in the powdered sugar. Add in the marmalade, vanilla extract, and salt and continue to whip the frosting.
5.  Add more powdered sugar if you’d like a stiffer frosting, and use 1.5-2 tbsp. of it per cupcake.

Now, here is the perfect dessert to get you excited for the spring with its light texture, but still stands as a reminder of winter with its subtle spices. I wish I could have gotten some better pictures, but I had to rush these straight to the party where they were wolfed down!