Shaker & Spoon’s Rum Old Fashioned is a bit of a modern twist on the classic Old Fashioned cocktail, with the addition of zingy house-made black pepper–ginger syrup. The combination of orange and Angostura bitters, fresh lemon, and the syrup has a slightly spicy and warm flavor—almost like butterscotch. As an Old Fashioned is a particularly spirit-forward drink, I wanted to pair it with something equally bold, so I decided on a spice cupcake with homemade orange cream cheese frosting. The incorporation of orange zest keeps the spice cakes fresh for spring. You can certainly play around with using other citrus fruits and orange variations in this recipe as well (lemons and mandarin oranges would be equally delicious). Orange you glad you are about to enjoy this a-peeling combination?!

Orange Cream Cheese Spice Cupcakes

Prep: 10 min      Bake: 10 min

Inactive: 45 min      Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 box spice cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
• mini cupcake liners
• mini cupcake pan (Wilton makes a great one)

Frosting

• 1 8-oz package cream cheese, chilled
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
  
• 1 cup powdered sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 tsp grated orange peel (1 tsp for the frosting mix, the rest for garnish)
  
• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp sour cream, chilled

Directions

1. Follow the instructions on your cake mix package to prepare and bake your mini cupcakes. I like to check the minis 9 minutes into baking with a toothpick, but they normally take me 10 minutes per batch. Let cool completely.
2. In a bowl, combine the chilled cream cheese and butter, and beat with an electric mixer until blended.
3. Beat in the sugar, then vanilla and orange peel.
4. Beat in the chilled sour cream.
5. Once all the ingredients are well blended, cover and refrigerate the frosting for 45 minutes or until firm.
6. Using a piping bag (or even a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off), frost the cooled cupcakes. A jumbo tip works best, and when piping, hold the bag perpendicular to your cupcake to make it a bit easier.
7. Grate more fresh orange peel over the top of the cupcakes and enjoy!

Jessica is a photo stylist, curator of cute, and soon-to-be blogger who lives in Ohio with her fiancé and their pet bunny named Mouse. See more from Jessica on her Instagram.