MDBD - Dreamy Orange Cupcakes

Our second cupcake in our experiment to find the perfect cupcake for Zoey's birthday was Dreamy Orange Cupcakes from Recipes, Recipes, Recipes. I picked this recipe because the orange color reminded me of the Lorax, which is the theme for Zoey's party this year (Don't tell anyone. It's a secret. LOL).

Dreamy Orange Cupcakes

Our Ingredients

1 package orange cake mix
3/4 cup Miracle Whip
1 envelope dry whipped topping mix
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (approx 3 oranges)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons grated orange zest

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

Line 24 muffin cups with liners

Juice your oranges

Don't use your mouth. You need a juicer

 Beat together the orange cake mix, Miracle Whip, whipped topping mix, orange juice, eggs, and orange zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until mixture is moist, about 1 min.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then increase speed to medium and continue beating until well blended, about 2 mins

 Fill the prepared cupcake cups about 2/3 full of batter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes

Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting

The original source for this recipe also had a recipe for a cream frosting and an orange butter cream frosting. However, as I've noted in other posts, I've never had luck making my own frosting, so I took the easy way and bought some orangesicle frosting. 

 I am working on improving my piping skills. I think these turned out a little bit better than the last attempt. However, I kind of rigged a pipping bag out of a ziplock bag, and I was using some weird piping tip I found in a drawer. I think it might have been meant for a cookie press type contraption. About halfway through frosting the cupcakes, my ziplock split and frosting started coming out everywhere. I gave up at that point and just frosted what I had left with a knife. 

Finished Product

 Final Ranking (1-10)
     1= Throw Directly in the Trash
     5= Not Bad, but Not Great
     10= Best Thing I've Ever Eaten

Scott: 8 (No comment. People at his work liked them)

Kristin:7 (I didn't really think they had very much flavor, but they were still good)