Sasha's Kitchen: Sports-Themed Orange Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

The Yankees are back in the playoffs to defend their world championship, so I decided it was time for some sports-themed cupcakes. I made a batch of orange chocolate chip cupcakes, one of my favorite flavors and decided to decorate half of them as baseballs and basketballs (with a Yankees cupcake thrown in for good measure). The other half of the cupcakes were decorated with a Harry Potter theme, and will be the subject of a future post. To decorate the cupcakes, I used white sprinkles and orange nonpareils from New York Cake, my favorite baking supply store that were leftover from my previous adventure making sushi cupcakes.  Then, I added the lines using sparkly Wilton icings.

I am partial to the baseball, since that is my favorite sport and I was quite happy with how that one came out. But the non-pareils really created the perfect texture for the basketball.

Sasha's Orange Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
makes 15 cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
grated zest of one large orange
1 1/2 cups of skim milk
2/3 of a cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Buttercream Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To prepare the cupcakes, combine the salt, baking powder and flour in a bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and the sugar in your stand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, for about three minutes. Add the eggs and orange zest and beat to combine. Then alternatively add the milk and the dry ingredients and mix in the mixer until smooth. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and add a teaspoon of flour to coat the chips (this keeps them suspended in the cupcake mixture so they don't sink to the bottom). Sitr in the chips gently.

Divide into a silicon cupcake tray, using a tablespoon (first put in cupcake liners), filling each about 3/4 full. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 for about 25 minutes, until done (test with a toothpick).

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, beat the butter and confectioner's sugar until smooth for several minutes on high speed in your mixer.