Chocolate Orange and Chocolate Chip Cupcake with Orange Buttercream Frosting

I've been meaning to find a good cupcake recipe for me to practice my frosting skill. And I wanna find a go-to chocolate orange cupcake recipe. This recipe is actually for chocolate cupcake but I altered it and add orange zest and orange juice.

Don't you just love the combination ? I do, a lot and a lot and a lot ! But in this recipe the orange flavour is very subtle in the cake. That's why I accompany the cake with an orange buttercream frosting. The result ? YUMMY times 10 millions ! 

Next time I'm doing this I'm gonna use 2 oranges to get the full flavour of orange.

Chocolate Orange and Chocolate Chip Cupcake

Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup hot brewed coffee ( I used 2x1/4 cup )
• 1 1/3 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 3/4 tspn baking soda
• 1/4 tspn salt
• 8 tbspn ( 113 gram ) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2-3 tbspn orange juice
• 1 tspn orange zest
• 1 tspn vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Methods :

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Place cocoa powder in small bowl. Whisk in hot coffee until smooth and let cool until mixture is lukewarm, about 5 minutes.
3. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt with a fork.
4. In medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. After second egg, scrape down the sides and bottom and beat again. Beat in vanilla and coffee mixture. 
5. Beat in orange zest and orange juice.
6. Stir in flour mixture. Try to mix as little as possible because if you do the cupcakes will turn out tougher as usual. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Divide batter evenly by using 2 tablespoons, filling each cup about 3 quarters full. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Transfer muffin tin on wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Cool completely out of the muffin tin.

Orange Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from Bake Space

Ingredients :

• 137 gram unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 3 tbspn orange juice
• 1 tspn orange zest

Method :

1. Beat butter and orange zest together until creamy.
2. Gradually add icing sugar, beating until well blended.
3. Stir in 2 tablespoon orange juice, adding additional orange juice if necessary, to reach desired consistency.

Orange Cake with Orange Icing

I have always loved the citrus flavour ever since I can remember. When dining outside I will order fresh orange juice or iced lemon tea. Those two are the only drinks that I'd order. And I love the colour orange when I was in secondary school. That didn't fade when I reached 25, but I had grown up to love other colours MORE than orange. But orange is still in my list of fav colours.

So I baked the orange cake when I chanced upon a website (whose owner has baked the orange cake). To be honest, I didn't like the taste at first because it kinda has this subtle orange flavour to it and the butter overpowered orange. I had my mom, aunts and cousins to taste it and they said that it was great. Despite my reluctance of letting them to taste the cake.

I hold to the principle 'If you don't like it, don't serve it'. I forgot where I saw/read it. This cake proved that princple can't be applied all the time. So from now on, I'm not gonna beat myself too hard. ;)

Orange Cake with Orange Icing

Adapted from Technicolor Kitchen

Ingredients :

• 127 gram unsalted butter, softened
• 162 gram caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 225 gram plain four, sifted
• 1 tbspn milk
• finely grated zest of 1 large orange
• 4 tbspns orange juice

Method :

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Butter loaf pan, line with parchment and butter the parchment.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl for about 8 minutes or until light and creamy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well for each addition. Add flour and baking powder, mix well.
4. Add milk, juice and zest; mix until smooth.
5. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes or until golden.
6. Cool completely before unmold.

Orange Icing

 Ingredients :

• 175 gram icing sugar, sifted ( I used only 150 gram )
• 2 tbspn orange juice

Method :

Combine sugar and juice in a bowl and mix to form a paste.