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8 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 c. water
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/2 c. sugar
2/3 c. cake flour
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
zest of one orange
In the bowl of your mixer place the egg whites, water and vanilla bean paste. In a separate bowl combine the cake flour, powdered sugar and cream of tartar, stirring with a whisk to combine.
Beat egg white mixture on high until it becomes voluminous, then slowly pour the sugar in while it is whipping until stiff peaks – this whole process goes quite quickly.
Remove bowl and sprinkle cake flour mixture over the top. Using the whip attachment, stir to combine. Last, zest orange over mixture and fold in using a spatula. Divide batter between eight, large muffin well that have been fitted with the tulip papers.
Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Orange Buttercream
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
zest of one orange
1 tbsp. juice from orange
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 c. powdered sugar
1 c. frozen whipped topping, thawed
Combine ingredients in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whipping for 2-3 minutes – scraping bowl if necessary to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated. Generously pipe on top of cupcakes, you will have some remaining – which you can put on graham crackers, like my mother used to do.