Clementine Cupcakes

These flashy cupcakes are sure to turn heads.  The hardest part is peeling the membranes from the clementine sections, but once you've got that done it's smooth sailing the rest of the way.

And while you're at it, I suggest dipping a few extra sections in chocolate.  They make for a tasty snack.

Yield: 44 cupcakes

Ingredients

• Cupcakes
• 2 packages white cake mix (18.25 oz. each)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 8 egg whites
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp grated clementine peel
• 3-4 clementines, peeled and sectioned with the membrane removed
• Frosting
• 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese
• 4 tbsp butter, softened
• 16 oz white chocolate, melted and tempered
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 4-5 cups confectioners' sugar
• Topping
• 4 clementines
• Dark chocolate, melted
• If using real chocolate, it needs to be tempered.  Alternatively, you can use confectionary coating.
• Alternatively, you can also use fudge sauce.
• Coarse sea salt

Directions

1. For the cupcakes, combine the cake mix, water, egg whites, juuice, oil, and grated peel and mix well.  Fill paper-lined muffin cups half-full.  Place one clementine section in the middle of each.
2. Bake at 350°F for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely.
3. For the frosting, cream together the cream cheese,  and butter.  Add the chocolate and lemon juice and whip together.  Mix in enough confectioners' sugar to form a frosting that is thick enough to hold shape, but still soft enough to be piped.
4. For the topping, peel and section your clementines, leaving the membrane in tact.
5. Dip each section in the melted chocolate and lay flat on wax paper.  Sprinkle with sea salt before the chocolate sets.
6. Once the chocolate is set, frost each cupcake using a star tip on your pastry bag.  Place a chocolate coated clementine section on the top of each cupcake.
7. Store in the refrigerator.

Adapted from Taste of Home.