Orange Chocolate Muffin
intro
Fluffy, zesty quick-bread muffins studded with rich dark chocolate chunks, balancing bright citrus aroma with melty, indulgent chocolate in every tender bite.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and muffin tin
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) with a rack positioned in the middle position. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper baking liners, or lightly grease each cup with non-stick spray or melted butter to prevent sticking.
Whisk dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine 240g all-purpose flour, 100g granulated sugar, 10g baking powder, and 1g fine sea salt. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds until all ingredients are evenly distributed, with no clumps of baking powder remaining.
Mix wet ingredient blend
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the 2 room-temperature large eggs, 180ml whole milk, 57g slightly cooled melted butter, 5ml vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons orange zest, and 80ml fresh orange juice. Whisk for 20 seconds until the mixture is smooth, with no streaks of raw egg visible.
Fold batter and chocolate
Pour the entire wet ingredient mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Use a silicone spatula to fold gently for 10-12 strokes, until just combined with no patches of dry flour remaining—some small lumps in the batter are normal, do not overmix. Fold in 110g (3/4 cup) of the dark chocolate chunks, reserving the remaining 40g (1/4 cup) for topping.
Portion batter into tin
Use a 3-tablespoon (45ml) spring-loaded cookie scoop or measuring cup to divide the batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each cup roughly 2/3 full to leave space for the muffins to rise as they bake. Sprinkle the reserved 40g of dark chocolate chunks evenly over the top of each portion of batter for a chocolatey, decorative top.
Bake and cool muffins
Place the filled muffin tin on the middle oven rack and bake for 18-20 minutes at 190°C (375°F). Test for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of a middle muffin: it should come out with 1-2 moist crumbs attached, not coated in wet raw batter. Once fully baked, transfer the tin to a wire rack to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then lift each muffin out by the paper liner to cool directly on the rack for an additional 10 minutes before serving.
Tips
2.Use room-temperature eggs and milk for the wet mixture: cold ingredients will cause the melted, cooled butter to re-solidify into small clumps, creating an uneven, greasy batter texture.
3.When zesting oranges, only grate the bright outer orange peel, not the soft white pith underneath: the pith is intensely bitter and will leave an unpleasant aftertaste in the finished muffins.
OMG these muffins are SO good! I made them for my kid’s soccer team potluck last weekend and every single parent asked for the recipe. The orange zest cuts the richness of the chocolate so perfectly, and they stayed moist for 3 whole days in an airtight container — total game changer for quick weekday breakfasts too! Only tweak I made was adding a handful of extra dark chocolate chips on top before baking. 10/10, will make again every month for sure.
Super easy recipe, perfect for my Sunday meal prep rotation! I was worried the orange flavor would taste fake since I only had bottled orange juice on hand instead of fresh squeezed, but it still turned out amazing. The 35 minute cook time was totally spot on in my beat-up old convection oven, no burnt edges or raw middles to deal with. My partner ate 3 straight as soon as they cooled down, lmao.
Made these in my dorm common room kitchen last night for my floor’s late night study session and everyone went crazy! I didn’t have a muffin tin so I used a square 8x8 baking pan and cut them into fudgy, brownie-like squares, and they still came out so moist and rich. The orange flavor is so subtle and nice, not overpowering at all like I was worried it might be. Will definitely be whipping these up again for finals week coming up!
Took these to my office holiday potluck yesterday and they were gone in 10 minutes flat! Multiple coworkers said they were way better than the overpriced coffee shop muffins we usually cater for team meetings. Only note I have is that I used regular unsweetened cocoa powder instead of Dutch-processed and it worked totally great, no weird bitter aftertaste at all. This recipe is so easy even someone like me who burns toast half the time can pull it off, lmao.