Masaba Orange and Chocolate Cupcakes

Runways to Recipes and more

I recently started a new series on my Instagram called Runways to Recipes where I take designers and use their clothings as inspiration for my bakes! I recently made a “Papa don’t Peach” cake inspired by Papa Don’t Preach’s candy-colored maximalist dresses!

This week I made orange and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting inspired by a gorgeous dress from House of Masaba! Many folks messaged me on Instagram to tell me that the design on the dress was actually Tamil letters so I used that and tried my best to pipe out the letters (I did not do well…I’m really bad at piping precisely….there is a reason why most of my designs are abstract).

To get the deep black colors in the cupcake, I used black cocoa powder. Black cocoa powder is a type of cocoa powder that has been heavily Dutch-processed (alkalized) to give it an ultra-dark color and a smooth, non-bitter taste. It is often used to create deep, almost jet-black baked goods, like Oreo cookies! Cocoa is naturally acidic, and the Dutch process lowers its acidity, which means you have to add acid, in this case buttermilk, to help activate the baking soda and baking powder. In addition, cocoa powder will dry out a batter, so I added some milk into the batter to help keep it moist!

Pro tip: if your cupcakes come out with a dome, you can quickly flatten them! As soon as they come out of the oven, lay parchment paper on top of the pan and then place a cutting board on top. Let this sit for 3 minutes, remove it and cool completely. The tops should be flat and even!

These cupcakes are super moist and, in my opinion, have the perfect cupcake-to-frosting ratio! The orange extract provides a light orange flavor that pairs really well with the black cocoa!

This recipe is for paid subscribers. If you’re looking for free recipes- check out my blog Milk & Cardamom.