Ever bought a lot of something without trying it and ended up not liking it? That’s my usual hoarding story. Errr.. That’s where this cupcake story is all about.

Sure I’ve dreamed of making yogurt cakes before, thanks to inspiring food bloggers; but I really didn’t think of making these cupcakes beforehand. I only thought to make it after a grocery shopping mistake: I bought yogurt that I’ve never tried before in its non-fat version and I hated it. [FYI, it was Activia nonfat]. Absolutely hated it. I think it’s an “acquired” taste and I missed my Stonyfield yogurts so. I don’t understand why I couldn’t find it here in Vancouver, or know if it is even available in my neck of the woods.

Anyway, I would’ve been willing to just charge the bill of this shopping mishap to experience had it been just a small quantity. But nope! I got two! BIG! TUBS! As much as I would be so, so happy to just toss it, the Asian (or is it third world?) mentality of making the most of what we have and not wasting has won over my unhappy taste buds. I know, I know…I should approach this the same way we use wine for cooking: cook only with wine you like/enjoy. Luckily, this tribute to my cultural mentality induced a Cinderella transformation of the yogurt into delicious bursts of freshness in your mouth. Can you read that again? Yes, I mean it!

It started off with butter and superfine sugar. I would be lying if I told you I didn’t partake of this at this point. I love butter.

And then the egg yolks. I’ve read about this ‘method’ of separately adding the egg yolks to your batter and then folding the whisked egg whites later. I thought–brilliant! I think that really made the cupcakes light and airy and some kind of dreamy.

Here is the batter after folding in the egg whites.

I also made candied orange peels to garnish these delicate cupcakes. I looked for recipes online and some  involved baking. I kept it simple by cooking it only on the stove. I really love this photo for some reason: it’s orange, it’s vigorously boiling and it looks so nice. [Just bear with me here. :)]

I turned off the heat when the syrup started to thicken.

And I just stirred/agitated the syrup as it crystallized back to sugar.

And voila! It’s orange peel picking time. Messy, but it does the job. Probably not the most efficient way to do this, but ah…I swear it played out a lot better in my mind when I orchestrated the whole production. Oops.

There’s minimal icing. After you make the icing in the recipe you might say, that is not enough for twelve cupcakes! Believe it or not, it does. You just need a hint of sweetness. I’m all about balance these days. It doesn’t have to be over-the-top, really. These are demure cupcakes in every sense of the word: reserved in sweetness and coy in tanginess; but the combination of subtle flavors creates that lovely zest in your mouth. It almost makes me think that if Clinique’s Happy scent were half as in-your-face zesty, and they were cupcakes, these would be The Happy Cupcakes:

If you’re having a sweet tooth but want something fresh and not too heavy and indulgent, this is definitely my recommended poison. I took several doses. ;)

Here’s the recipe if you’re willing to give these yummy bites a try:

Happy Cupcakes (Zesty Orange Yogurt Cupcakes)

Ingredients
Makes a dozen light and fluffy citrus flavor-packed cupcakes

For cupcakes
•    1 cup unsalted butter, softened
•    1 cup superfine sugar (or you can pulse granulated sugar in your food processor)
•    3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites (whites in a bowl for whisking)
•    1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
•    2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
•    2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
•    1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
•    1 tsp baking powder
•    1 cup vanilla yogurt (you can use plain yogurt for even less sweetness)

For the icing
•    6 tbsp icing sugar
•    1/2 tsp water
•    1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

For the orange peel garnish
•    1 tbsp orange peels (I used the coarse grater in a box grater)
•    2 tbsp water
•    1 tbsp sugar

Preparation

Cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the cupcake pans with paper cups.
2. In a medium bowl, sift flour and baking powder together.
3. Beat butter and superfine sugar until smooth, pale and fluffy. Add and beat yolk with the mixture one at a time. Beat in orange zest and orange and lemon juices. Using a spatula, alternative fold in the flour and yogurt.
4. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until it forms firm peaks. Be careful because you may overbeat it.
5. Fold in the egg whites into the mixture. Fill the paper cups
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. The bottoms of these cupcakes can be quite moist so it’s best to take them out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Icing

Mix icing sugar with water an juice to create a thick paste. Spread a little on each cooled cupcake and immediately top with the orange peel garnish. Allow it to set.

Orange Peel Garnish

1. In a small saucepan, heat water and sugar in medium heat until the sugar completely dissolves. Add the orange peels.
2. Once the syrup gets thicker and boils with big bubbles and a sizzling sound, time and cook it for 2 more minutes, then take out of the heat.
3. Using a  spoon or a heatproof spatula, continue stirring it. It will slowly crystallize and the  syrup would become white as it goes back to sugar crystals. Keep stirring and don’t let it solidify into one big candy. The peels will come out as sugared peels.
4. Allow it to cool for a few minutes and pick out the sugared peels, leaving behind the sugar.

NOTES:

1.    This is a great base recipe for yogurt cupcakes. It is so versatile that you can use different fruit juices and flavors. It has a nice light and fluffy texture, and it’s not too sweet, so those who are watching their sugar can have it, and at the same time those who want more can build it up from here–by either sweetening the cake, or getting creative with the icing.]

2.    You might think that the icing might not be enough for 12 cupcakes. It would suffice if you put and spread just a little for each cupcake. You can double or triple the icing to suit your taste.

3.    It is best consumed within 24 hours of baking.