We’re celebrating a few birthdays around here, so I wanted to make something fun, but not heavy. These cupcakes fit the bill perfectly, they’re made with coconut oil and greek yogurt, with a healthy dose of citrus. The combination of blood orange, tangerine, lemon and vanilla really works to make a super flavorful and delicious cupcake.
I topped them with a blood orange and lemon glaze, although I actually prefer to eat them naked. But when celebrating birthdays frosting is not negotiable, at least not in this house! The recipe works for cake as well, it just needs to bake a bit longer.
Citrusy Vanilla Cupcakes with Blood Orange & Lemon Glaze
2 blood oranges, one tangerine, two lemons
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of plain 2% greek yogurt
3 eggs
one tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup of coconut oil
1 3/4 cup whole wheat white flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners sugar
for the cupcakes; Preheat the oven to 350 F. Fill a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners, or butter a 9” round cake pan. Zest the blood oranges, tangerine, and one lemon and stir the zest into the sugar in a medium-large bowl. After that, juice one of the blood oranges, the tangerine, and one lemon in another bowl. Stir the greek yogurt into the juice and whisk that into the sugar. Then add 3 beaten eggs, the vanilla, and coconut oil.
In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and fill the muffin tin or cake pan with the batter and bake for approximately 20 minutes for cupcakes, 45 minutes for cake. Let cool on a wire rack before glazing.
for the glaze; Juice the other blood orange and the lemon in a medium-sized bowl. Add the confectioners sugar and whisk until smooth. You can add more of the sugar to make a thicker glaze or less for thinner one. Spread over the cooled cupcakes.