Orange Coconut Cupcakes

There's nothing like a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning. 

Especially if you're not much of a coffee person. 

See, I've always "liked coffee," but I didn't really like coffee until about senior year in high school. 

Before then, like a true middle school girl, I was the typical adolescent masquerading as a faux-adult. You know, the kind of obnoxious kid that pretends to like coffee and enjoy watching the evening news and fakes engagement in conversations about politics or, even better, the economy.

This also is the phase where suddenly going to a movie with your parents couldn't be more mortifying and where coffee, despite being this gross, bitter, unappealing dark liquid, still has a reputation as possibly the only thing separating you from simultaneously reaching adulthood and the pinnacle of awesomeness at the same time. 

Nothing, and I mean nothing, ever seemed as cool as those seniors who'd come back from having lunch off campus, wearing their skirts rolled up, walking around in their out-of-uniform shoes with a Starbucks cup and set of car keys. 

Thankfully--until my taste buds finally caught up with my deep-seated desire to look sophisticated and spend excessive amounts of money just to walk around with one of those coveted Starbucks cups--there was always good old orange juice to keep me company.

Orange juice, especially if it's fresh, is one of the best ways to start the day--whether you're a coffee lover or not. 

If only I'd have thought to pour it into a Starbucks cup and walk around like that, back in my middle school days, I could have had the best of both worlds. 


So if you want to start your day off right, pour yourself a glass of orange juice or just go straight for an orange coconut cupcake (I won't tell). 

You could even have a cup of coffee too, you know, if you're feeling extra grown up today. 


Orange Coconut Cupcakes
adapted from How Sweet It Is

4 cups all purpose flour (substitute with gluten free flour, if making GF)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (add ¼ cup buttermilk if making GF)
3/4 cup freshly squeeze orange juice
zest of 5 oranges
1 cup coconut, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line cupcake pans with liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat together with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy, then blend in the vanilla. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled).

Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches. Add orange juice and zest, mixing until combined.

Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then frost.


Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup butter

2 blocks of cream cheese (8oz each)

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

zest of 2 oranges

1 – 1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar

Whip butter and cream cheese together with mixer. Add 1/2 of powdered sugar, mixing until blended. Add the orange juice and zest. Add the remaining powdered sugar.

Top with shredded coconut.