When I get stressed or overwhelmed, I typically bake…and eat. As my schedule gets tighter and time is running out before our move, I find peace in the kitchen. Tomorrow, I will be unpacking from my Seattle-Victoria vacation and packing up the my baking pans and a large portion of the kitchen…temporarily, but it’s time.

I thought I’d give you a break from squash 🙂

You can’t go wrong with cupcakes, especially when these individual cakes are lightly scented with orange and vanilla and topped with silky cream cheese and bright orange zest. I’ll eat one a few for a little energy to help with all my packing! Excuses, excuses…

Orange Vanilla Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from The Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam)

Cake Ingredients

2 large eggs, separated + 1 egg white
1/4 cup coconut oil in liquid form (butter or oil would work too)
1/2 cup honey (could use agave or even maple syrup but will alter taste)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp orange zest

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tbsp honey (or agave) or more to taste
1/2 Tbsp gluten free vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest (or you could probably use 1/2 tsp orange extract or liqueor)

orange zest for garnish, optional
chopped almonds or whole almonds for garnish, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line 10 muffin cups (I’ve tried just greasing the tins and they tend to stick)
2. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl until pale yellow. Whisk in the oil, honey, vanilla and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks with an electric mixer. Gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl then gently fold into the wet ingredients.
4. Scoop batter into paper liners. Bake 20-28 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean(mine baked for 22 minutes but keep an eye on them).
5. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for half an hour then remove from tin and let cool completely.
6. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting.  In a large bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth using a mixer. Add in the honey and vanilla until well combined. Pipe or spread over cooled cupcakes, garnish with additional orange zest and/or almonds and enjoy!

Yields 10 cupcakes.