Chocolate orange muffins are a delightful start to the day! A rich chocolate muffin batter combines with a bright and citrus orange cream cheese filling for an elevated breakfast muffin.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE MUFFINS
While some chocolate orange muffins use a muffin batter infused with orange flavor, these muffins are filled with a cool cream cheese center that’s made with orange juice and zest.
There’s something extra special about cheese filled muffins! To me there’s an extra layer of decadence and tastes a bit more like a treat straight from a bakery!
I like to store these in the fridge so that cream cheese center gets nice and chilled for the perfect bite!
NATURAL ORANGE FOOD COLORING
The original recipe for these was actually a cupcake called Goblin’s Delight that my mom had on these recipe cards when we were growing up.
You’ll see the they got the orange coloring from using a bit of red and orange food dye. I don’t completely abstain from artificial food dyes but if I could find I away around them here I wanted to give it a try! I tested these muffins a few ways using mango juice, peach nectar, orange juice, and carrot juice. Have a guess which was the winner?
Carrot juice!
Are you surprised? Here’s the deal…while the mango, peach, and orange juice all tinted the color, the carrot juice was the only one that didn’t alter the flavor of the cream cheese filling. Trust me, there is NO flavor change with the carrot juice.
Here is the carrot juice I used, and there is also this brand of carrot juice usually found in the produce area of your grocery store near then natural juices. Since you’ll have a good bit of the bottle left over, check out this article on how you can use up leftover carrot juices in sauces, soups, and more!
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE ORANGE MUFFINS
These beautiful muffins are made in a few steps!
Step 1. Make the orange cream cheese center and mix in the chocolate chips.
Step 2. Make the dark chocolate muffin batter.
Step 3. Add a layer of the cream cheese filling, then top with additional chocolate batter.
Step 4. Bake!
They aren’t all that complicated but the flavors with truly make your guests feel like they are eating a muffin from a local bakery.
HOW TO STORE THE MUFFINS
Because these have cream cheese in them, they will eventually need to be stored in the fridge.
Normally what I do is let them sit out the day I bake them and allow them to come to room temperature. Then, keep them stored in the fridge. I actually love that cool cream cheese filling bite you get right out of the fridge. But, if you like a warmer muffin just let it sit out and allow it to come back to room temperature before enjoying!
Want more muffin recipes? Here are some more of my favorites on the blog!
Pumpkin Carrot Cake Muffins
Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Muffins
Chocolate Espresso Muffins
Peanut Butter Muffins
Apple Muffins
Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Plus a few more can be found here in my muffin collection!
PrintChocolate Orange Muffins
Chocolate orange muffins are a decadent rich chocolate muffin infused with orange flavor! The orange cream cheese filling adds a cool and creamy bite!
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
For the Orange Cream Cheese
7 ounces softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons bottled carrot juice (for color, you can sub with a few drops of red + orange food coloring if you prefer)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup dark chocolate morsels
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Make the orange cream cheese filling by combining the cream cheese, carrot juice (or food coloring), powdered sugar, salt, and orange zest. Stir to combine then add the chocolate morsels and stir until blended throughout the filling. Set aside as you prepare the muffins.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare the muffin pan with liners or well greased. In a larger bowl combine the flour, cocoa, white sugar, baking soda, and salt.
3. In another bowl, combine the oil, sour cream, half & half, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and orange zest.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and stir to combine. The batter should be thick, but if it’s too thick add a few tablespoons of the half & half to loosen it up.
5. Begin to layer the muffins in the pan by filling each holder half way with the chocolate batter, add about 2 generous tablespoons of the filling, then top with more chocolate batter….filling the holder all the way to the top.
6. Bake for 27 minutes, allow to cool slightly then savor every bite.
Notes
After coming to room temperature, these should be stored in the fridge. You can allow the muffin to come back to room temperature before eating, or eat them right out the the fridge. I love them warm the day I bake them, but the also really love that cool orange cream cheese once these are chilled!
Leave a Reply