Cranberry and Orange Cupcake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I hope everyone had a good Christmas.  I certainly did! :) I did a fair bit of baking last week which I will aim to post over the next few days. I made Christmas cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery this time - Cranberry and orange. These were so good, I made them 3 times!

 chopped cranberries (I used a chopper the second time round) 

 add orange zest - lovely taste and smell! 

 i love the colour of fresh cranberries 

 fresh from the oven 

 topped with a fresh cranberry which everyone thought was a grape! 

For the cupcake

Makes ~15

2 large eggs

200g caster sugar

100g corn oil

135ml sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 orange (you need 1 teaspoon but I used the whole orange!)

228g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

140g fresh or frozen cranberries, finely chopped

For the orange cream cheese frosting

175g cream cheese

450g icing sugar, sifted

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Grated zest of 1 orange

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Slowly pour in the oil, a little at a time, beating well after each addition, then repeat the process with the sour cream and vanilla extract, making sure everything is well combined, and incorporate the orange zest at the end.
• Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl and then add to the batter and beat well. 
• Finally, fold in the cranberries gently. 
• Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to about 2/3 full. 
• Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until slightly raised and golden brown. 
• Allow to cool in their tins for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• To make the icing, place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until thoroughly combined and the icing is smooth and pale.