Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

These chocolate orange buns will be loved by kids and adults alike. They are quick, easy and impressive. Last weekend was one of our closest friend’s daughter’s first birthdays. Any first birthday deserves to be celebrated but here we had a special reason to party. This little girl has been through the mill in the past year. Born incredibly early she has been in and out of hospital since her arrival, has undergone surgery and spent many a day/week/month wired to machines and fed through tubes. Despite this I have never known a baby with such a ready, fantastic and infectious giggle.

cupcakes

Cooking time: 40 min

You’re going to need:

  • 225 g butter
  • 175 g caster sugar
  • 50 g brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 50 g cocoa
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • Zest of two oranges
  • 200 g icing sugar sieved
  • 150 g soft butter
  • 100 g plain chocolate
  • 1-2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 Terry’s Chocolate Orange

Instructions:

  • Preheat the oven to 170⁰C.
  • Beat together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time adding a little of the flour if the mixture splits.
  • Sieve in the remaining dry ingredients, add the orange zest and stir together ensuring you do not over-beat the mixture.
  • Spoon into the bun cases.
  • Bake for 20 minutes. Ensure the buns are fully cooked before you remove them. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean. Alternatively, the bun should spring back when you press the top gently.
  • Melt the chocolate. The easiest way to do this is to heat it gently in the microwave. I put it on rapid defrost and it takes about 1 minute. Make sure that you stir it every 15 seconds or so. This will aid the melting and ensure it doesn’t burn.
  • Whilst the chocolate is cooling beat (or whisk if you dare) together the icing sugar, butter and orange juice or liqueur.
  • Add the cooled chocolate and beat together once more.
  • Once the buns have totally cooled place a small spoonful of the icing onto each bun pressing a segment of chocolate orange into each little mound of icing.