I love these orange chocolate cupcakes. They are packed with all my favorite flavors – orange, ginger and chocolate. And I can eat these any time of the day.
Orange Chocolate Cupcakes – Orange Cupcakes with Candied Ginger Filling and Chocolate Ganache Topping
The distinct feature of these orange and chocolate cupcakes lies in the way I have combined all these flavors together. Although they are all in one cupcake, I have added them as separate components. When you take a bite into one of these orange chocolate cupcakes, you will be biting into an orange-flavored cupcake that has chunks of candied ginger as the filling and chocolate ganache as the topping. Chocolate and orange are already a delectable combination and the candied ginger simply adds a lovely twist to them.
How to Make Orange Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
This orange chocolate cupcakes recipe is a make-from-scratch recipe, just like all my other cakes and cupcakes recipes on this site. And the ingredients are pretty common too except for the candied ginger which can be purchased from any cake supplies shop. These are the ingredients for the cupcakes:
- Butter
- Castor sugar
- Eggs
- Self-raising flour + baking powder + salt
- Grated orange rind and orange juice
- Candied ginger
- Chocolate ganache
Mixing the cupcake batter
- These orange chocolate cupcakes are made using the creaming method. To begin with, cream the butter and sugar until they turn light and fluffy. For the recipe amount below, this should take about 2 minutes. Well creamed butter and sugar will produce soft and fluffy cupcakes. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure there are no lumps of butter or sugar that are not well creamed.
- Add the eggs after that, one at a time. Each time, beat them in until the traces of the egg is no longer visible. Scrape the bowl.
- Next is the flour, salt, and baking powder. You can sift these first or simply mix them with a whisk before adding them into the batter. Fold them in alternately with the orange juice. And finally, add the orange rind and mix well.
Assembling the cupcakes
The candied ginger is not mixed into the cupcake batter, rather, it is used as a filling. Candied ginger is normally sold in small little cubes of about 1cm to 2 cm. I chopped them into smaller pieces (I chopped each piece into 2) and added to the orange cupcakes as a filling before the cupcakes are baked.
- To assemble the cupcakes, fill each cupcake casing with the orange batter until about ⅓ full. Drop the chopped ginger in the center.
- Top the candied ginger filling with the remaining orange batter until almost ⅔ full.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Decorating the cupcakes
- To decorate the chocolate orange cupcakes, fill chocolate ganache (should be in piping consistency) into a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D piping tip.
- Pipe simple ganache swirls and top each cupcake with finely chopped candied ginger.
The dark chocolate I used for the chocolate ganache is not overly sweet. It makes a perfect combination with the sweet, tangy and spice flavored cupcakes.
The final number of cupcakes you will get out of each batch would depend very much on the size of the cupcake casings you use. I used medium-sized muffin casings and managed to get a total of 10 cupcakes with the recipe below.
Notes
Candied ginger
- This is sweet candied ginger that is normally used for baking. They are typically sold in small cubes measuring about 1cm to 2 cm.
- You can add them in large sizes into the cupcake batter if you like, or you can even chop them into smaller pieces. The only problem with large pieces is that they might sink to the bottom of the cupcakes due to their weight.
- The other option of using candied ginger in these cupcakes is to chop them up and mix them into the cupcake batter before filling the cupcake casings. This way, the ginger will not be confined to the centers of the cupcakes but will be randomly present in the cupcakes.
Butter
- As in all my other recipes, I use salted butter for these cupcakes. You can substitute it with unsalted butter. If you do, increase the quantity of salt to a ¼ teaspoon.
- To check if your cupcakes are baked, poke a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cupcakes are baked and can be removed from the oven.
Orange
- This recipe calls for the use of both orange rind and orange juice.
- It is always easier to grate the rind first before juicing fruit, so be sure to rind and juice your oranges in this order.
Moist texture
- For perfectly moist cupcakes, do not overbake them. Check for doneness a few minutes before the baking time is up. Insert a toothpick in the center of one cupcake – if it comes out with no wet batter sticking to it, the cupcakes are done and can be removed from the oven. Even if you see small wet crumbs sticking to the toothpick, the cupcakes are ready to be removed from the oven.
- Baking time for the cupcakes will depend on the cupcake size. If you use larger cupcake casings, increase the baking time and for smaller ones, reduce the time.
- Another tip to ensure your cupcakes remain moist is to cover them with a kitchen towel when cooling down. This avoids the cupcakes from becoming dry. As soon as they have cooled down, keep them in a tightly covered container to avoid any moisture loss.
Storing the orange chocolate cupcakes
- These orange chocolate cupcakes can last up to 4 to 5 days at room temperature. If you wish to keep them longer, refrigerate them. Store them in an airtight container to avoid them from drying out in the fridge.
Orange Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Here is the full printable version of my orange chocolate cupcakes recipe.
Orange Chocolate Cupcakes with Candied Ginger
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
- 100 g castor sugar
- 100 g butter
- 2 eggs
- 100 g self-raising flour
- 2 tbsp grated orange rind
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp orange juice
- 50 g candied ginger chopped
- ⅛ tsp salt
Frosting & Decoration
- Chocolate Ganache
- Chopped candied ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°Celsius.
- Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with orange juice, starting and ending with flour.
- Fold in the grated orange rind.
- Pour batter into baking cups until they are about one third full. Drop a few chunks of candied ginger in the center and top them with cupcake batter until the baking cups are about two thirds full.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the size of the casing you use) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out without any wet batter sticking to it.
- Remove the cupcakes from oven and let them cool completely before decorating. If the cupcakes are not to be decorated immediately, store them in an airtight container. If they are left open at room temperature for too long, the cupcakes tend to dry out. The best way to make sure the cupcakes remain moist is by letting them cool with a cloth covered on them after being removed from the oven. Once cooled down, store them in an air tight container.
- To decorate the cupcakes, fill chocolate ganache into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe large swirls and top each cupcake with chopped candied ginger.
Nutrition
And that’s my orange chocolate cupcakes recipe for you.
Here are my other posts you might want to check out:
- Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies with Molasses
- Orange Layer Cake with Orange Buttercream and Candied Peels
- Coconut Candy Recipe – A Quick and Easy Treat
- Coconut Candy – A Homemade Treat
Happy baking 🙂
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