Happy Birthday Zander!

Happy five-year-old birthday to my little handsome man!  Five years!? How has the time flown by so quickly?  It seems like it was just a short while ago that we were bringing you home for the first time in the frigid, frigid cold. You have brought such joy to this family, Zander.  May the years to come bring as much joy to you as you have brought to us.  Be happy and blessed, my sweet son! I love you the best!

We’re actually celebrating Zander’s birthday on Saturday, when his cousins can come over and share a big bite of cake with him…(wish me luck with that one!) But today for preschool he wanted something special to take, and requested some orange cupcakes.  Fortunately, I’ve tweaked a doctored cake mix recipe that I had floating around, and I daresay, came up with a fabulous orange cupcake for him.

I’m a little surprised that the major cake mix makers haven’t come up with some more…technicolor cake flavors.  You know, like orange, lime, raspberry, etc.  Lucky for us, there’s always Jell-O to add to cake mix to get the desired flavors.  While I haven’t tried it myself, I daresay that you could use any combination of Jell-O and fruit juice to get the same effects.  The orange flavor is perfect in these cupcakes, and I’ll definitely be making them again when the craving strikes up.

Orange Cupcakes

1 box yellow cake mix

1 (3 oz.) package orange Jell-O

4 eggs

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup thawed orange juice concentrate

vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners

Pour the 1/4 cup orange juice concentrate into a measuring cup.  Add vegetable oil until the cup reads 2/3 cup.  Stir lightly with a fork.

Combine all the ingredients, including the juice and oil in a mixing bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer for two minutes.

Fill the cupcake liners until about 3/4 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes, checking with a toothpick to see that they are cooked fully through.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To frost, use this recipe, and swap out 1/4 cup of the milk for 1/4 cup of thawed orange juice concentrate.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.