Orange and Chocolate go so well together, so I decided to try to bake some mini cupcakes. The recipe I used also had a orange and white chocolate buttercream icing on top but I thought I’d try it without it. Sometimes cupcakes just don’t need icing. I found this recipe off BBC Food which has many interesting recipes to try, luckily they also have both the metric and imperial measurements.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
120g/4oz plain flour
140g/5oz caster sugar (Halved to 70g)
1 tsp baking power
40g/1½oz unsalted butter
50g/2oz dark chocolate, melted
1 free-range egg
125ml/4fl oz milk
1 orange, juice only
3 tbsp granulated sugar
For the white chocolate and orange buttercream
125g/4½oz unsalted butter, softened
250g/9oz icing sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
50g/1¾oz white chocolate, melted
1 orange, zest only
100g/3½oz orange chocolate
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until combined.
3. Whisk the melted chocolate, egg and milk together in a jug.
4. Stir the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, mix the orange juice and granulated sugar together in a bowl. Carefully pour the orange juice mixture over the warm cakes and set aside to cool completely.
7. For the white chocolate and orange buttercream, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Carefully stir in the icing sugar and continue to beat for five minutes. Beat in the milk, melted chocolate and orange zest.
8. Decorate the cupcakes with the buttercream
Impressions
I found the recipe did require the buttercream icing on top because the orange juice mixture didn’t really soak through the cupcakes. They basically just slid off the tops. It also gave the cakes a slightly damp feel to them as a result. The chocolate flavour was quite good though, perhaps its because the recipe requires chocolate and not just cocoa powder as some recipes do. With the orange juice mix you can taste it slightly but just not enough. I think I’ll try making it with an orange buttercream but without white chocolate as white chocolate tends to be extra sweet.
ohdenny 