• Servings: 24
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons of grated orange zest
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup of orange juice (no pulp)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cloves

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, zest, ground cloves, salt and baking powder together in a bowl and set aside.
2. Place eggs and sugar in a mixer and beat on high for 30 seconds until light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and oil and mix until just combined.
4. Add some of the dry ingredients and then the orange juice. Alternate the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry.
5. Scoop into cupcake papers about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan after the first 15 minutes. Check with a cake tester or toothpick for doneness.

My friend Babette, who is also the creator of Bakespace, is celebrating the Bakespace birthday this month, so I decided to make her her very own cupcake. This is a slightly citric, lightly aromatic, and hedonistic spice cake. It's comforting and eloquent with it's bold, in-your-face flavors. Orange cake has been laced with hints of freshly ground cloves to give it a bit of a bite. A vanilla buttercream acts as a simple, if not perfectly paired backdrop to allow the real star flavors to shine. The candied orange peel has also been given a bit of raw ground clove as well, it's pungent and slightly bitter flavor creating sweet little pinpricks on your tongue. It's a delicious thing to bite into. Here's to you darlin'! Congrats!