How good do these chocolate orange muffins look?! Moist, sweet, chocolatey and fragrant. This may be the ultimate muffin recipe!
Hey friends, how’s it going? This past weekend this little food blog turned a mammoth TEN years old! That’s like a Great Grandmother in the world of blogging :D
Obviously I fancied making a gigantic showstopper cake to celebrate. One that was so darn beautiful it broke Pinterest, but as: a/ I was so strapped for time and b/ I’m not the world’s best showstopper baker, I figured I’d rootle around in the archives here on the Hedgecombers, and remake one of my favourite baking recipes from the past 10 years. And these chocolate orange muffins won!
They were originally published back in 2013, but the pictures were horrible. So here’s the same great recipe, with far prettier pictures! And if you fancy the occasional upgrade to make this recipe far more decadent, hold on to your hats because I have a naughty (but oh so nice!) chocolate orange buttercream recipe coming out real soon too. Shhh ;)
Meanwhile back in 2013…
These Chocolate Orange Muffins are a delightful sweet treat, perfect for packed lunches and after school treats. They also freeze really well for those extra busy days – keep reading to find out how best to freeze them.
Jonny & I both reached a health junction recently. Surprisingly, it’s the first time we’ve ever had the same desire to clean up our diets, at the same time.
His was initiated by a routine 40+ health check from our surgery, mine was sparked by a mild despair at the numerous, minor health conditions I’ve been living with for the the past few months. And the knowledge that if I don’t change things soon, it might be too late.
So, whilst I’m cooking up a deliciously moist batch of chocolate orange muffins today, that contain both sugar & white flour (both of which I’m planning to cut back on in our every day meals), once cooled they’ll be headed straight for the freezer.
I’ll freeze them in individual bags, making them easy to pull out and pop in Jonny’s lunchbox first thing in the morning. By being frozen we won’t be able to mindlessly snack on them, and hopefully they’ll be sweet enough to stop him from needing to buy chocolate on his way to work.
If you want to try freezing your muffins too, aim to squeeze or suck all the air out of the bag before sealing and freezing, and use them within a week or two. This will make sure the flavour stays fresh and the texture is maintained. And let’s be honest, no one wants to eat a freezer burnt muffin!
Oh, and by making them with cocoa powder, rather than chocolate, you get to control exactly how much sugar goes into your bake. Clever huh?
Chocolate Orange Muffins
- Zest and juice of 2 oranges
- milk, water or orange juice
- 1 egg, beaten well beaten
- 90 ml vegetable oil
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 5 tablespoons cocoa powder, you want the neat powder, not anything already mixed with sugar or milk powder etc
- 100 g sugar
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Preheat the oven to 190/375/gas 5. Line a muffin tin with paper or silicone cases (remember, muffin cases are bigger than cupcake cases, so if you're using a cupcake tray, this mix will probably make more than 12 and will need a little less cooking time).
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Pop the zest & juice from the oranges in a jug, then top up with enough milk, water or orange juice to reach 250ml.
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Add in the beaten egg and oil and stir well.
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In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, bicarb and cocoa powder together. Add the sugar and mix to combine.
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Pour the jug of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry, and quickly and smoothly fold them together.
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Spoon into the awaiting cases and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the tops spring back when pressed, and a skewer comes out clean.
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Let cool fully before storing or freezing.
Need more baking inspiration? Check out Elizabeth’s divine looking Tunisian orange cake, my full collection of muffin recipes, or my best flapjack recipe.
And if you give these muffins a go, be sure to share a pic with me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
Jane x
Tammy/Our Neck of the Woods says
These sound really delicious! Chocolate and orange make a great combination. I like the idea of putting them in the freezer so you can’t snack on them whenever you want :) Great tip!
Jane Sarchet says
Out of sight, out of mind :D
Janie x
Louisa Foti says
Love choccie orange cakes! And these aren’t all that naughty, especially if they’re in the freezer so can’t be gobbled down in mass – I’ve started freezing slices of cakes so I can bring them out for the kids…or myself… for a wee treat. Something about being 39 has made me more health conscience than ever before about what I eat…..or rather what I SHOULD (or should not) be eating. Though the practice is all a long way off the theory! Stopping buying biscuits or anything at all with trans fats is a good one. And I’ve started using spelt or wholemeal flour in most cakes and bakes, and dark brown sugars only :))
Jane Sarchet says
Great tips Louisa, and I am with you on the theory/practice side of things! Practice makes perfect right?!
Janie x
Sylvia says
They look perfect for my soft food diet ;-) chocolate and orange is always a good combination! xx
Jane Sarchet says
The Perfect excuse Sylvia! Enjoy :)
Janie x
Sarah Louise Lancaster says
I have been looking at this recipes would like to try is it plain or self raising flour I need
many thanks sarah
Jane Sarchet says
Hey Sarah, it’s plain flour in the recipe. Thanks for asking, I’ll go and make the recipe clearer :)
Janie x
Sany says
Hi,
I tried these muffins for my kids lunch box. They were delicious and boys loved it. I did some changes though
Instead of 2 cups flour I used 1 cup oats and I cup flour and 1/2 cup of currants and reduced sugar. It was awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Jane Sarchet says
Hey Sany, thanks so much for taking the time to let me know how much you enjoyed them!
Love your alterations too – I find it hard to follow a recipe to the letter too! :)
Janie x
Paula says
Hi,
was the batter supposed to be super liquid? I was afraid when I saw that and added more flour. But now I can barely taste the orange, even though I may have added just 4 table spoons of flour. What did I do wrong?
They still taste good, just chocolate though.
Thanks!
Paula
Jane Sarchet says
Hey Paula, sorry the recipe didn’t work out how you imagined.
It’s been a long time since I last made this recipe, I’ll pop it on my list to remake them and get back to you :)
Jane x
recipesfromapantry says
I never get tired of making these Janie.
Michelle Dixon says
Hi Janie,
Is it sugar you use or caster sugar, moat recipes I have seen say caster sugar? I’m going to make these today :)
Thank you
Jane Sarchet says
Hey Michelle, I hope you get this in time! Honestly, you can use either.
I always use granulated sugar in muffins, actually there’s only a handful of recipes that I’d bother buying caster for :)
Jane x
Kate says
Oooh I love chocolate and orange together! These muffins sound delicious – and I can’t wait to see that choc orange buttercream recipe!
Jane Sarchet says
I just wish there was some of that chocolate orange buttercream left Kate, it was sooooo good! :D
Emma says
Chocolate and orange is one of my favourit flavour combos – in fact, the top tier of my wedding cake is going to be chocolate and orange and my OH and I are going to keep it to ourselves :D These would be the perfect muffins to make for him for valentines day :D
Demeter says
Wow, congratulations on your 10 year blogiversarry! And wow, these muffins look incredible. Love those flavors!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks so much demeter!
Lisa | Garlic + Zest says
My husband and I have been thinking about cleaning up our diets here too. I need to take off about 8-10 pounds and he’s got about 15 to go… These muffins will be a good reward after we’ve lost the weight.
Jane Sarchet says
Exactly, good luck with it Lisa :)
Danielle says
So chocolate and orange is one of my favorite flavor combos. These sound amazing!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Danielle, they are real good!
Chris says
Chocolate and orange is one of my all time favourite combos. But in muffin formation? I think I just fell into a food coma just reading this! YUM!!!
Jane Sarchet says
Haha, #sorrynotsorry :D
Thanks for stopping by Chris x
Emma says
These came out so light and fluffy! Just the right amount of orange too, absolutely delicious! If i were to make these as just chocolate muffins would i just leave out the orange juice and zest or substitute it with something? Thanks
Jane Sarchet says
Yay! That’s great news Emma, so glad you enjoyed them :)
I would start with removing the orange juice & zest (topping back up with milk instead). Perhaps add a splash of vanilla essence to bring out the chocolatey flavours, and maybe some dark chocolate chips too? YUM!
I’m just finishing up the chocolate orange buttercream recipe and will be publishing it soon. I hope you give it a go next time you need a very decadent treat ;)
Jane x
Susie says
This is one my favourite things I’ve ever baked. So soft and perfect. The first time I made them I filled them with chocolate-orange pudding. Now I’ll try it with some candied orange peel.
Jane Sarchet says
Best message of my week Susie!!!
So glad you love them too, and thank you so much for taking the time to drop me a note :)
Jane x