Chocolate.
A humble bean that’s spawned so much pleasure and big business around the world.
It’s Pork Belly’s go-to flavour for most special occasions, mainly because it combines so well with others, either savoury or sweet. On this occasion he went traditional with orange.
There’s something very luxurious about the choc-orange combo, probably because they’re both historically rare and precious. Sweet oranges began to be cultivated in China many millennia ago but it took centuries before modern transport and food technology made them available worldwide. That’s why an orange in the bottom of your Christmas stocking was every Victorian child’s dream.
And chocolate – hard to grow and laborious to prepare – always was and always will be a luxury item.
In 1932 Terry’s of York came up with the idea of the chocolate orange, the inspiration for Pork Belly’s muffins.
A chocolate orange in cake form. Oh so desirable – and perfect if you prefer a plant-based lifestyle.
These little beauties are made entirely egg-and-milk-free, using vegan-friendly cocoa and choc options. They’re a delight non-vegans will happily share.
Vegan chocolate orange muffins
Ingredients
- 200 grams plain flour
- 90 grams dark brown sugar
- 50 grams caster sugar
- 70 grams cocoa powder
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 2 – 3 tsp orange extract
- 450 ml non-dairy milk We used oat milk
- 3 tbsp oil We used olive oil
- 125 grams dark chocolate chips Check ingredients as some brands include animal products. We used Dr. Oetker
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 deg c/gas mark 4
- Stick the chocolate chips in the freezer while you prepare the ingredients
- Line a muffin tin with paper cases
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a bowl
- Remove two tablespoons of the mix and put aside
- Add the baking powder and combine
- In a jug measure out the milk, oil and orange extract
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir
- Get your chocolate chips from the freezer and put aside 50g
- Toss the remaining chips in the flour and cocoa mix and fold gently into the batter
- Pour the batter into the prepared cases – a large ice-cream scoop is useful for this
- Scatter the remaining chocolate chips onto the tops of the muffins
- Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, testing after 20 to see if a skewer comes out cleanly
- Allow them to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before putting them on a wire tray to finish cooling, if you can keep your hands off them for that long!
Other recipes you may like:
• Banana, rum and raisin muffins
• Beetroot marmalade
• Cinnamon Cappuccino Fudge