8.12.2011

Orange-Chocolate Cupcakes

Do y'all watch Cupcake Wars?
I just recently got into the show
and now DVR every episode 
so I don't miss a one!

I just LOVE all the ideas
and cutting edge flavors
that are discovered through 
the pressure to impress.

About 2 weeks ago
there was a contestant who 
used a hallowed out orange
as the cupcake liner ...

GENIUS, right!?!

Needless to say,
that got my juices flowing!
Here's my take:


Ingredients for Six Cakes
{adapted from Stefani Pollack of Cupcake Project}
Cupcakes:
3 Oranges
1/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Instant Coffee or Espresso
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
2/3 cup Dark Cocoa Powder
2/3 cup Orange Juice
3 tbsp. Butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
Zest of 1/2 Orange

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut each orange in half and juice, reserving for later.


Hallow out the inside. Turn each half on it's side and slightly trim the bottom, giving it a flat surface to sit upon. Set aside.


In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients together until combined. Fill each half orange with batter, being sure not to over fill.

{ FYI: This is over-filled ... lol, made quite a mess! ;) }

Place each half orange on a baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested in cake. Let cool.

Nutella Ganache
1/4 cup Nutella
1/4 cup Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
In a microwave safe bowl, place ingredients in the microwave and cook for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Cook for 30 more seconds and stir again. It should be a great ganache consistency.
Dip cooled cupcakes into ganache.

Candied Orange Butterflies
If you would like to make these super cute and yummy little butterflies, I followed THIS recipe from foodnetwork.com.
Top each cupcake with a butterfly and serve with a spoon!


I don't even have words
to describe how
flippin' fantastic 
these little guys are!


The cake is
moist,
rich and
chocolaty ...

the ganache is
creamy,
smooth and
nutty ...

and the orange flavor
seeps into the cake
to flavor each bite 

perfectly!


{Oh, did I forget the butterfly? It adds wonderful flavor and crunch!}


Try 'em!
You will fall in LOVE!
Enjoy and
Happy Baking!
PARTY TIME:
Sweets For A Saturday - Sweet As Sugar Cookies
Weekend Wrap Up - Tatertots and Jello
Fat Camp Friday - Mangoes and Chutney
Weekend Show Off - Ladybird Ln.
Show And Tell - Be Different, Act Normal
Shindig Saturday - Kims Kandy Kreations
Strut Your Stuff - Six Sister's Stuff
Sweet Indulgence Sunday - A Well Seasoned Life
Savory Sunday - The Sweet Details
Savvy Homemade Mondays - Home Savvy A-Z
M.M.M. - C.R.A.F.T.
Craft-O-Matic Mondays
Amaze Me Mondays - Dittle Dattle
Mingle Monday - Add A Pinch
Recipe Sharing Monday - jam hands
Show Me What Ya Got - Not Just A Housewife
Topsy Turvy Tuesdays
What I Whipped Up Wednesday - Sugar and Dots
Cast Party Wednesday - Lady Behind The Curtain
What's Cooking Wednesday - Extreme Personal Measures
This Chick Cooks
Whatever Goes Wednesday - Someday Crafts
Sweet Treats Thursday - Something Swanky
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jelly Beans
Recipe Swap - Prairie Story

25 comments:

Lady Behind The Curtain said...

What an awesome idea! I love chocolate and orange together! GREAT JOB!!! Thanks!

Ladybird Ln said...

Hey, I remember at camp one summer they made us cook muffins in a orange peel over a fire! This looks more appetizing, no Mtn. Shake n Bake! I found you at TT&J, and also have a party going on at my place if you are interested!

Carlee
www.ladybirdln.com

Teri said...

Oh my goodness. These are unique and look delicious. I will be trying these. I linked to you from Fat Camp Friday. You have a great blog!

Coley said...

I love Cupcake Wars too! I saw that episode and thought using the orange was so neat and wondered how you'd go about doing it. Glad you figured it out. Looks like it turned out well!

Anonymous said...

This looks DELICIOUS!!! And fancy. (and it's hard to make cupcakes look fancy) :-)

Kim McCallie said...

What an interesting concept?!? Plus, I love the easy clean-up. These look delicious! Thanks for sharing on Sweet Indulgences Sunday.

Unknown said...

WOW! That looks amazing...I really want to eat one right now! I'm tempted to lick the screen, lol. Thanks for sharing; I'll have to try that out!

Amy
oneartmama.blogspot.com

Erin said...

when I saw this post at strut your stuff saturday i knew you had to have watched cupcake wars! :) I DVR it as well and cannot wait to try this! i thought it was genius and super cute!
erin
http://eatingmywaybackblogspot.com

Erin said...

Genius!!! I'm totally pinning this so I can make it! Thanks!!!

AudreyO said...

I've watched many episodes of Cupcake Wars and I've not seen the hollowed out orange. What's fun though is visiting some of the shops of the contestants.

Amy said...

What a creative use of orange! I love it, especially nothing go to waste! ;)

Anonymous said...

This is one of the most creative recipes I've ever seen. I love how you used the orange entirely, juice, skin, and all. I bookmarked this... it looks to die for :)

Ladybird Ln said...

PS, I am featuring these tonight!

Carlee
www.ladybirdln.com

Vicki V @ blestnest.blogspot.com said...

What a great concept! I love anything with orange (and chocolate, for that matter!). Visiting from Savory Sunday.

keatseatsblog said...

Stumbled and pinned these bad boys!

Unknown said...

OH' MAN MY MOUTH IS WATERING TERRIBLY.... I love those chocolate holiday oranges so this is total heaven. Thanks for sharing.

Erin of HomeSavvyAtoZ.com said...

This is such an awesome idea and you have my wheels turning on thoughts of what else I could bake in!

Thank you so much for linking up at my Savvy HomeMade Monday this week!

extreme personal measures said...

Yummm! your pics have my mouth watering!


Stop by and link up at What’s Cooking Wednesday!

http://www.extremepersonalmeasures.com/2011/08/whats-your-favorite-cookbook.html

Pattie @ Olla-Podrida said...

How clever! And loving the chocolate and orange combination as much as I do, I am definitely going to try them.

Pup Fan said...

What a cool idea! I love that each bite would have a hint of orange. And Nutella... yum!

laurie said...

Now this is interesting! It caught my eye right away on sweet treats thursday. I'm a new follower!

Ali said...

Thank you so much for sharing this at Recipe Sharing Monday. The new party is now up and I'd love for you to link up again :)

Ali said...

Thank you so much for submitting this to Recipe Sharing Monday. This delicious post was featured this week. Please drop by and check it out :)

Desi said...

What a creative idea! I love that the cupcake is served inside of the orange peel. I wanna make this!

Manette Eaton said...

I saw the first part of this episode but was unable to finish it. I'm dying to know how that cupcake turned out on the show. Can anyone tell me which episode it was or what the theme was?