These delightfully fruity Orange Crush Soda Cupcakes with Orange Crush Soda Buttercream Frosting are made from scratch and packed with citrus flavor in every bite of the cupcakes!
The classic soda flavor of Orange Crush Soda is used to make these super soft and moist cupcakes and their perfect topping, the equally delicious soda-infused buttercream frosting!
Top it all of with a candy orange jelly slice and you have a cupcake that is packed with orange soda flavor, that also tastes a bit like a creamsicle! Completely orangalicious!
While I have tried the whole rainbow pack of crush soda as cupcakes, I have repeatedly been told by all that the best flavored cupcake is the Orange Crush version. I agree wholeheartedly!
Our runner-up in the soda based cupcake category is our Root Beer Cupcakes with Cream Soda Buttercream Frosting (you should try them too!).
Fruity cupcakes are a perfect treat anytime of the year, but they just really hit the spot in summertime.
I love the fun color and flavor! Plus, my daughter Lauren usually can't wait to offer to help out in the kitchen with such a bright and fun treat. That's a big plus, I love getting her started cooking and I love spending time with her doing something that we enjoy together so much!
Whether or not you can use your kids as an excuse to make these up, bring home some Orange Crush soda from your next trip to the store and get ready to enjoy some amazing cupcakes!
📖 Recipe Card
Orange Crush Soda Cupcakes with Orange Crush Soda Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 20 oz bottle Orange Crush Soda (reduce 1 cup down to ¼ cup orange crush soda syrup, and 1 cup for the cake batter)
Orange Crush Soda Cupcakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or cake flour)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (we prefer coconut oil)
- 1 cup Orange Crush Soda
- orange food coloring (liquid or gel)
- 1 tablespoon orange jello
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Orange Crush Soda Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon Orange Crush Soda syrup (reduced)
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- candy jelly orange slices (optional)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Orange Crush Soda Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line your cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
- In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) combine the sugar, eggs, and orange extract until smooth. Add the vegetable oil and mix until smooth again, then add the Orange Crush Soda. Mix the liquid part of the cake batter until well combined.
- Add orange food coloring (until you have a nice bright orange color, remembering that the color will dull a bit once baked) and orange jello. Mix until the color is even and your desired brightness.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture into your wet ingredients in 2-3 portions, mixing between each dry ingredient portion addition until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter. Add orange zest and mix into the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each liner about ¾ full. Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Orange Crush Soda Buttercream Frosting
- Beat butter (room temperature but not super softened) at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add orange extract, a drizzle of heavy whipping cream, and a portion of the confectioners sugar and mix to combine.
- Repeat alternating the liquids (heavy cream or the reduced Orange Crush Soda syrup) with the confectioners sugar until all of the confectioners sugar has been incorporated and you have a pipe-able frosting consistency.
- *You may not need all of the liquid, use small amounts of the liquid to keep your frosting smooth enough that your stand mixer or hand mixer can work through the frosting. If your frosting is too dry, it will bunch onto your mixer. If it is too wet, it will not hold onto a spoon well or spread and hold it's shape.
- **If you would like a stronger orange flavor, you can use more of the Orange Crush Syrup than the heavy cream. You can also omit the heavy cream completely.
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto your cooled cupcakes and top with the jelly orange slice (if desired). We used a Wilton 1M large star piping tip for our frosting swirls.
Nutrition
Danielle says
Is there a substitute for the orange jello?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Use the juice from the orange you're zesting, or some concentrate orange juice (not diluted). Enjoy!
Michelle says
Ok, I confused, in the video you say to cream 2 sticks of butter, and that you will be adding 3 cups of powered sugar, but in the written directions, it’s listed as 1/2 cup butter and 1.5 Cups of powered sugar.. does that mean that all of the written ingredients for the frosting should be doubled?
Thanks
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
In the video, I am making a large batch for a party. The ingredients listed will frost the number of cupcakes as listed in the recipe information...I however, like to use ALOT of frosting, if you do too then follow the doubled amounts in the video 🙂 Sorry about the confusion! I'll add a note in here somewhere on the post, thanks!!
Aimee Bichler says
how much sugar in the cupcakes? it is not on the ingredients list..
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I missed a line, sorry! There's 1 cup of sugar...thanks so much for the heads up!!