Christmas is coming, and we all know what that means – chocolate orange time! Although, I do have to confess that the reason I came up with this recipe was that I had one going off! Somehow, recently I haven’t been eating many sweet things – I prefer my salty snacks and savoury things! I decided that instead of just eating it plain, it could be good to try using it in cupcakes since that way you have some portion control – it’s a lot easier to keep eating another segment every few minutes, but much harder to go for a second chocolate orange cupcake!
According to my sister, these cupcakes are better than a chocolate orange too! These have gone down an absolute treat in my family, so I’d definitely recommend them to placate your family if Christmas dinner is running a little late on the day!
Rather than melting the chocolate orange to use it in the cupcakes, I decided to finely chop it. I used a manual chopper meant for nuts and some veggies to get it nice and fine. This left me with sizes ranging from small chocolate orange chunks to fine dust. As it turns out, this combination is perfect for good flavour all the way through, as well as some gooey goodness in the middle! The cupcakes are so moist that they’re plenty good enough plain – my mum even prefers them that way!
In this recipe, we use margarine instead of butter. This is partially because we’re much more likely to have margarine at any given time. However, it also makes it much easier to mix all the ingredients together by hand. This makes the recipe much easier for kids to help make, although they may need help chopping up the chocolate orange finely as it’s quite hard on your fingers!
The cupcakes may seem a little gooey in the middle despite being cooked. This is ok – they will always be very moist, especially when still warm since any chocolate orange chunks will have melted. So long as you think they’re just about cooked, they should be ok. However, if you’re unsure, you can always bake them a little longer.
If you choose to ice them, I’d recommend chocolate buttercream icing. However, you could choose vanilla instead; too much chocolate may be overwhelming, but if you’re a chocoholic then go for it! The great thing about buttercream is that you can make it as rich as you want as well. The final 1/4 of the chocolate orange that wasn’t needed for the batter is great chopped up as decoration.
If you make these, let me know how they turn out on twitter or on pinterest. I’d love to know what your friends and family’s reactions to these were (or if they all disappeared at your office Christmas party!).
These also go great as a gift with this chocolate caramel bark if you’re baking for a large group or making gifts in bulk.
Terry's Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
A medium batch of rich and gooey Terry's chocolate orange cupcakes with plenty of smooth, silky buttercream icing.
Ingredients
- 80 grams (2.7 oz) margarine, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 95 grams (scant 2/3 cup) plain flour, sifted
- 15 grams (2 tbsp) cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 80 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
- 3/4 Terry's Chocolate Orange, very finely chopped
- Chocolate or vanilla buttercream icing, optional, to decorate
- Terry's Chocolate Orange, segments halved, optional, to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and place 15 cupcake cases in a tray.
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and beat until just combined, do not overmix.
- Fill the cupcake cases around 1/2 way with mix, around 1 large tsp in each.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until just cooked. They will still be soft and gooey due to the chocolate orange melting.
- Decorate with icing and more chocolate orange as desired. Serve immediately or store in a cool place for up to 5 days.
Notes
If using other sizes of cake cases, bake times may vary.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1 cupcakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 127Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 78mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g
All nutrition values are an estimate and may vary. Nutrition information does not include frosting or other decorations.
Choc orange is my fave! And the frosting on these looks especially moreish!
Mine too! These also work with the dark chocolate oranges if you prefer them – they’re so customisable! The frosting is gorgeous – such a simple chocolate buttercream, but I can never get enough!