Creamsicle Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine the milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, sugar, oil, and orange juice in a large mixing bowl.

In another bowl, sift the baking powder, salt, baking soda, and flour together. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time, mixing until smooth. Once evenly mixed, fold in the 1/4 cup orange zest. Spray 12 cupcake liners with no-stick oil spray. Fill cupcake liners and bake in the preheated oven for 22 minutes. Then remove them from the oven and allow to cool before filling and frosting.

For the Filling:
While the cupcakes are baking, beat the heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 teaspoons confectioner’s sugar in a mixer for about 5 minutes, until the cream turns light and fluffy, like whipped topping. Refrigerate the filling until needed.

For the Frosting:
Begin beating butter, orange flavoring, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup orange zest until it starts to become fluffy. Slowly begin adding confectioner’s sugar in small batches. Beat until creamy and smooth.

Once cupcakes have cooled, use an apple corer or large frosting tip to remove the center of the cupcakes. Fill a plastic bag with the vanilla filling and cut the tip off the bag. Squeeze filling into the center of each cupcake. Then frost cupcakes with the orange frosting.