Come in for our Tuesday special of Chocolate Blood Orange Cupcakes! Impress your family with this delicious recipe this Thanksgiving.  Instagram with the hashtag #curlycakes and get featured on our website!

Blood Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing
Makes 8 cupcakes

Cupcakes
4 oz cake flour
4 oz butter
5 oz sugar
2 eggs
2 oz milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
zest of 1 blood orange
large muffin pan lined with standard large cupcake paper

Scale and sift your dry ingredients. Place the butter, zest and sugar into the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and mix on hi for 3 minutes until the butter is light and fluffy. Lower the speed and add your eggs one at a time, then increase speed to high and mix for an additional 2 minutes. Lower speed and add your milk. Allow to incorporate then add the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. Scoop batter into your prepared paper cups two thirds of the way up then bake your cupcakes for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees until golden brown and the centers bounce back when touched. Remove cupcakes and allow them to cool before icing.

Cream cheese icing
6 oz cream cheese
12 oz 10x sugar
6 oz vegetable shortening
½ tsp salt
4 drops blood orange essence
½ tsp vanilla puree
2 tbsp Cointreau liquor

Place the cream cheese, shortening and salt into a Kitchen Aid fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on high speed until the cream cheese has softened, about 5 minutes. Lower your speed and add the vanilla puree, Cointreau liquor and blood orange essence. Mix to combine then slowly add the 10 x sugar. After the last of the sugar has been added increase the speed to high for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer the finished icing into a clean container and refrigerate.

White chocolate glaze
6 oz white chocolate
4 oz pure cocoa butter
¼ tsp orange food coloring

Melt the white chocolate and cocoa butter over a water bath, stir in the food coloring and
transfer to a clean container. Keep in a warm place until needed.

Blood orange chips
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 blood orange

Place the sugar and water into a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut your orange in half and placing the cut side down use a Japanese mandolin to get super thinly sliced pieces of orange. Place the slices into the hot syrup and allow them to soften 15 minutes. Place citrus slices onto a cookie sheet lined with a bakers silpat and dry in an oven set to 175 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the chips feels dry to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Using a small offset spatula carefully remove the chips and store in a clean dry container.

To assemble, fit a piping bag with a large plain pastry tip, fill the bag with the cream cheese icing and frost your cup cakes. Chill the cupcakes in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the icing. Take your cupcakes and dip the tops of the frosting into the white chocolate glaze, allow to set 2 minutes then garnish with orange chip.