Recipe of the Week - Orange Soda Cup Cakes

This is a recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook, Decorating Cakes and Cupcakes.  I have made several of the cake recipes out of this book but this was the first time for me to make this particular one. The recipe given below is the one from the book. I think they turned out tasting good and they looked pretty too but the orange flavor wasn't as strong as I expected it to be.  It may have been because I did not have any oranges to get grated orange peel from and so I added some extra orange soda.  I am not sure.  I will definitely try it again and make sure I have the oranges next time. 

Ingredients needed:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup orange-flavored soda pop
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
2 large eggs

 Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.  Or it makes 12 regular-size and 24 mini-size cupcakes.

 In medium bowl, beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. 

 Divide batter among the muffin cups.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Cool completely, about 1 hour.

You can frost them with whatever kind of frosting you would like.  I made a Creamy Vanilla Frosting and used my Pampered Chef decorator to pipe the frosting on.  I just made a circle around the outside of the cupcake and then spiraled in toward the center.

Then I sprinkled on some orange decorating sugar.

Mmmmmm!  Really yummy!