Mini Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins – High Tea Series (Part 3)

Mum made two different chocolate chip treats when we were kids.  My brother and I both loved the chocolate chip cookies but he was not a fan of the chocolate chip muffins, which was great for me.  From memory I think it was because of the orange flavour which is kind of funny now as he loves orange chocolate, so much so that the hubby and I gave him about five kilograms of Jaffas for Christmas a few years ago.  Needless to say, he went off orange chocolate for a while again.

For the final tier for my High Tea, I needed something small so I decided to make Mini Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins which would fit quite nicely.

I slightly changed the recipe from my youth, by including the zest of the orange that you need.  It is a little ridiculous that I never did this before but it does add a little bit more orange flavour to the muffins, plus the little specks of orange look awesome.  In addition to the orange, you will need self raising flour, sugar, an egg, milk, oil and of course chocolate chips.

Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.

You will notice that the orange juice and milk are already combined in the jug.  This is because you need to juice the orange and then top it up with milk until you reach 3/4 cup.  Add the egg, oil and orange zest and then whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and lightly mix until moist.  Pour in the chocolate chips and then stir again until evenly distributed.

Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, place the mixture into your muffin tray (which you can line with cupcake liners for easy clean up) and then bake at 190°C for 18-20 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden.  I made mini muffins so I did not have any liners so sprayed the entire pan with Pam (or any other cooking spray will do) to ensure they would come out easy.

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Actually, I highly recommend you eat one when you remove them from the pan as you cannot beat a fresh muffin from the oven especially if you make the larger version which would create more of the “muffin top” which is clearly the best part of the muffin.  The other option, you could just make the muffin top by using one of the muffin top pans that are out on the market these days.

Print Recipe

Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from a recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (unable to recall title).

Course

Muffins and Scones

Servings

muffins

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg(s)
• 3/4 cup milk with the juice of one orange
• 1 whole orange zest
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Course Muffins and Scones Servings muffins Ingredients 1 3/4 cup self-raising flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg(s) 3/4 cup milk with the juice of one orange 1 whole orange zest 1/3 cup oil 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C and place liners in a muffin tray (or lightly grease the muffin tray).
2. Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
3. In another jug or small bowl, whisk the egg, milk (with orange juice), orange zest and oil.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and stir until combined taking care not to over mix as this could yield a tough muffin.
5. Add the chocolate chips and stir through until evenly distributed.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes.
7. Leave the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Recipe Notes

Variation - For a basic plain muffin, omit the chocolate chips and orange juice and adapt as you would like (e.g. leave plain and dip the tops in melted butter and sugar).

High Tea Series

This is the final instalment of my three part High Tea series and you can see what I made proudly displayed on my new High Tea stand.

If you missed the first two, please go back and check them out.

• Part One – Mars Bar Slice
• Part Two – Chocolate Rose Biscuits with Rose Water Buttercream