Spezi Cupcakes with Orange Curd Filling

This month's Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge theme is Fizz. Rules found here. The prizes are listed at the end of this post. 


Here in Germany a favorite beverage for kids, adults and designated drivers is an orange soda and cola mix called Spezi.

When I saw the theme, Spezi came to mind and I wondered what this soda would taste like in cupcake form. After playing around with a few different combinations, the result is a Spezi flavored cupcake filled with orange curd topped with a dual buttercream swirl in orange and Spezi flavors.

Light, moist and delicious, the sweetness of these Spezi cupcakes is set off perfectly by the tangy orange curd. 

The buttercream frosting flavors complement the cupcake nicely but if I had to do it over again, I would make a much smaller swirl on the cupcakes. I love buttercream for realz but the cake was sweet enough alone. Too much frosting sets this cupcake close to sugar overkill category so swirl away at your own risk.


This is the last Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge. A big thank you with extra buttercream on top to The Sweetest Kitchen for hosting such a fun monthly event and inspiring all us cupcake freaks bakers out there to think up new creations.

Spezi Cupcakes

For the Spezi Cupcakes:

(Adapted from Coca Cola Cupcakes Recipe by Nigella Lawson from

How to Be A Domestic Goddess)

Ingredients:

• 1+1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 2/3 cup Spezi (or any orange cola carbonated soda)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.
• Place paper liners in a cupcake tin.
• In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda and salt.
• In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, egg and extracts.
• Warm the butter, Spezi and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Pour the hot liquid into the flour mixture stirring until everything is combined.
• Add buttermilk egg mixture and stir until well incorporated.
• The mixture will be quite thin. You can pour the batter into the tin but using a piping bag gave me more control in filling the paper liners.

• Bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes in the tin until removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Orange Curd:

(Adapted from Starfruit Curd Recipe by Global Table Adventures)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup strained fresh squeezed orange juice
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup brown granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

• In a medium sized saucepan heat the orange juice until boiling then remove from burner.
• Beat yolks and sugar together until foamy.
• Add the cornstarch and flour.
• Pour a bit of the warm orange juice into the egg mixture while whisking to temper it.
• Pour egg mixture into saucepan with the rest of the orange juice and heat until thickened while stirring frequently.

For the Orange buttercream:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 stick butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• A few drops of orange food coloring (I used Wilton's gel paste in Orange)

Directions:

• Beat the butter with one cup of the powdered sugar and one tablespoon of the orange juice until combined.
• Add the remaining sugar and orange juice and beat until combined.
• If desired, add food coloring to tint the icing.

For the Spezi Buttercream:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 stick butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons Spezi (or any orange soda/cola mix)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa

Directions:

• Beat the butter with one cup of the powdered sugar and one tablespoon of the Spezi until combined.
• Add the remaining sugar and Spezi and beat until blended.
• Beat in the cocoa powder.

Assemble the Cupcakes:

• Load the curd into a pastry bag fitted with a tip that has a large opening. Any round shape is ok.
• Insert the tip into the middle of the cupcake and squeeze. The cupcake will expand a little and the curd will pop out the top.

• Load both buttercream frostings into one pastry bag. One flavor on one side and one on the other.
• Squeeze the first bit of frosting out onto a plate until you see the two colors are flowing together evenly.
• Add buttercream frosting swirls to the cupcakes.

FIZZ Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge Prizes:

Angela of Angela’s Images is a multi-talented gal offering a range of exciting products on her website. She is an excellent photographer, but she can also take to the sewing machine to create crayon rolls, diaper mats, nursing covers, burp cloths and more. Angela will be donating a prize pack of a handmade keychain and bookmark created with a very special cupcake fabric each month to the winner of this competition – you can see the prize pack here.

---

Bake It Pretty, the cutest online shop for all your baking needs, will be donating a $5 electronic gift card every month for the winner of this competition.

---

At Beanilla you can find 8 different types of Grade A whole vanilla beans (Grade A is the highest possible quality grade for vanilla) and a wide variety of unique vanilla products. Beanilla’s prize for May’s winner is a $7 online gift card.

---

Maisie Fantaisie is a cake company based in the UK; the owner, May Clee-Cadman has published two cake decorating books and she has now designed her own cupcake wrappers, available for sale atcupcakewrappers.com. These are the ultimate wrappers in that not only are they gorgeous to look at, but they are also waterproof, greaseproof and reusable. The wrappers are also 100% recyclable and printed on food-safe materials using vegetable-based inks made from soy. For this month, Maisie Fantaisie will be donating 1 pack of Cherry Stripes and 1 pack of Polka Pink cupcake wrappers to the winner.

 

---

On my blog, I recently reviewed some cupcake charms created by Wendie of Miss Kitty Creations – I really liked them because of how realistic they look and their fantastic smell. Wendie has happily agreed to donate one of her handmade cupcake charms to the winner of this competition each month. The winner will be asked to choose any one cupcake available at Wendie’s website.

---

Simply Caked is a new online shop created out of the love of art and cake decorating. Understanding the importance of appearance, Simply Caked supplies a range of products to help you beautifully present your sweet treats, including the highly sought-after brown cupcake liners – every month Simply Caked will be donating a generous 600 of these brown greaseproof cupcake liners to the winner of this competition.

---

Some of you may be familiar with Sweet Cuppin Cakes, as this online shop was a prize sponsor for Iron Cupcake: Earth. Sweet Cuppin Cakes will be donating a $5 coupon code to their online shop every month to the winner of this competition.

---

Tundra Books is a Canadian-based publisher that focuses on keeping our favorite children’s books in print so they can be shared throughout generations. You’ll find many great storybooks for young children as well as books for young adults. Tundra Books will be donating a set selection of 3 books every month to the winner of this competition. The books are:

  

* The Lime Green Secret
Nothing has made Gloria happier than being chosen as flower girl for sister Fran’s wedding. Thrilled with her beautiful satin gown, long white gloves, shiny white shoes, lace socks, and sparkling tiara, Gloria dreams of donning her wedding finery and transforming herself. Hanging on a hook on her bedroom door, the dress glows “like a radiant angel.” When Gloria gives in to temptation and puts on the entire wedding outfit to entertain the dog, it leads to unpredictable and comical results.

* Nana’s Getting Married
Life with Nana is perfect: she always has time to bake fresh chocolate chip cookies, tell wonderful bedtime stories, and knit cozy mittens and socks and turtleneck sweaters. Perfect, that is, until she meets Bob. All of a sudden, Nana’s too busy for baking and storytelling and knitting. She’s spending her time talking on the phone, giggling, taking long bubble baths, singing love songs, and putting on makeup! What can one aggrieved little boy do to get back Nana – just the way she was?

* Here Comes The Bride
Filomena is a seamstress who spends her days creating gorgeous wedding dresses for many lovely brides. And when it’s finally her turn to be the one to walk down the aisle, she can hardly contain herself. She gets right to work, putting her heart and soul into making her dress. But Filomena gets carried away. She adds so many frills, feathers, and lace that her groom barely recognizes the girl he loves. Here Comes the Bride is a hilarious story about staying true to your inner beauty. Accompanied by the lively paintings of Anna Laura Cantone, this special story highlights the age-old truth that the dress does not make the lady.