Little Miss Cupcake: Tangerine Almond Cupcakes

In March, my family had a fun brunch get-together to celebrate my uncle's birthday and my cousins' visiting from California. I decided to make these cupcakes, because anything citrus spells brunch to me. I adapted this recipe from the Cake Doctor, and just because I am me, went with tangerine instead of orange, but whatever you like should work. To be honest, at first, I didn’t love them. But I had several left over (as they are mini, you get at least 3 dozen) but I ate them daily for breakfast, or a snack, until they were gone. That proves they’re good, because I refuse to eat anything that is a treat unless it is delicious. (Which means if I make a batch of so-so cupcakes, they don't get eaten). Happy baking! I'll be searching for yummy breakfast treats to bake, asI returned to the working world a few weeks ago, and love to grab a homemade snack as I walk out the door. If anyone has a good recipe, please send it my way!

Tangerine Almond Recipe

Almond Filling:

1/2 tube of almond paste

1 cup chopped almonds (plus more, for garnish)

For Cupcakes:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 package (small box) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed tangerine juice (you need a whole 5 lb bag for this task)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon orange extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

For Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 T tangerine zest

3-4 tablespoons tangerine juice

A dollop of orange food coloring gel (Wilton)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350, line mini muffin pans with liners.

2. Mix together almond paste and chopped almonds. The paste has to be broken up with you fingers. (And FYI, it gets super hard if you save the remaining paste, so use it up within a few weeks). Set aside.

3, Combine all cupcake ingredients in bowl of stand mixer, or use an electric mixer. Mix on low for 1 minute, then scrape down bowl and mix on medium speed for an additonal minute.

4. Fold in almond mixture.

5. Use a measuring spoon to put one tablespoon batter in eahc cup. You may need to add a little more, but 1 T for mini mufifns is usually good.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes-check by pressing cupcake. W hen it springs back, it is done. Cool on rack for 5 minutes.

7. Make glaze: combine sugar, zest, and one T of the juice, and stir. It will be thick and paste-like, so add a little juice at a time until desired consistency is reached. It helps to have an expert eyeball this, as too thin and it is runny, too thick and it looks ugly. I'd say 3-4 T is good.

Finally, add a teeny bit of onage food colring gel. This step is just for looks, but I think it made a difference, because the cupcakes themselves are not orange. Alternatively, you could tint the cakes and leave the glaze a pale orange.

8. Garnish with slivers of almond.