These orange muffins are simple, soft, and intensely fragrant little cakes, perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Orange juice and zest give them freshness and character, while the flat top can become an opportunity to add a finishing touch. Instead of the classic dusting of powdered sugar, you can choose a light, slightly citrusy cream cheese topping that enriches the cake without masking its flavor. A fresh, mildly sweet cream to spread with a spoon in a natural and imperfect way — just how I like it. But they’re delicious with just a dusting of sugar too. You’ll see… they fill the kitchen with fragrance and are easily eaten one after another.
Other muffin recipes you might be interested in:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients for 8 orange muffins
I listed the topping as optional because these orange muffins are delicious even if simply dusted with powdered sugar.
- 1 cup + 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 1 orange (untreated – zest and 1/4 cup (60 ml) juice)
- 5 1/2 tbsp butter (about 80 g (2.8 oz))
- 1 pinch salt
- baking soda (scant 1/8 teaspoon (tip of a teaspoon))
- Half packet baking powder (8 g (about 2 tsp))
- 3.5 oz cream cheese (spreadable) (about 100 g)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon orange juice
Tools
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Hand whisk
- 1 Citrus zester
- Electric whisk
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Sieve fine-mesh
- 1 Muffin pan with 8 cavities
- 8 Liners paper or silicone
Preparation of the orange muffins
First, in a medium bowl, immediately mix the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, a pinch of salt and the orange zest obtained with a citrus grater. This way the flour will become very fragrant.
Melt the butter in a bain-marie or in the microwave and let it cool slightly.
Put a little rice in the bottom of each muffin well. This is a small trick that will help keep the bottom of each muffin clean since the batter won’t release grease and moisture onto the paper. Of course, if you use silicone liners you can skip this step.
Crack the eggs into a second bowl, add the sugar and beat them with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
Then pour the warm melted butter in a thin stream while continuing to beat the mixture with the electric mixer.
At this point, gradually add the dry ingredients by sifting them through a fine-mesh sieve and folding them in with a spatula.
Of course, the orange zest will remain in the sieve. Add it after incorporating the flour.
Finally, add the orange juice.
Once you have a homogeneous batter, divide it among 8 wells (I used two 6-cup pans).
Bake the orange muffins in a preheated conventional oven at 356°F for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar. Enjoy! Paola
If you don’t want to limit yourself to a simple dusting of powdered sugar, you can top the muffins with a fresh, light cream cheese topping (spreadable cream cheese), perfect for enhancing the orange aroma without weighing it down.
Place the cream cheese in a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon orange zest, 1 teaspoon orange juice and 1 tablespoon honey. Mix gently until you obtain a smooth cream.
Spread the topping over completely cool muffins using the back of a spoon.
Finish with small pieces of orange zest and a drizzle of honey. Optionally, you can also add some chopped nuts.
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