Orange and Cardamom Muffins ~ delicately fragrant muffins flavored with bright orange zest and warm, spicy cardamom, this easy muffin recipe is unique and delicious!
For a quick, easy, comforting breakfast, nothing beats my homemade orange and cardamom muffin recipe!
Is anybody making muffins anymore? It seems like they’ve totally gone out of fashion, right? But every time I make a batch I’m reminded of why I love them. These orange and cardamom muffins bake up so nice and tall, with a sugary crust on top, how could you resist? I don’t know why I thought of combining citrus with cardamom, I don’t think I’ve done it on the blog before, but boy, it’s so perfect. Neither taste is overpowering but they blend beautifully. The aroma is especially great when they’re just out of the oven, Definitely going to use this combo again!
You know I love my one bowl no-mixer recipes
They make baking from scratch so much more do-able. There’s less mess, and less lag time between the inspiration to bake and your first bite. Just grab your bowl and a whisk and you’re off to the races.
A plain muffin needs a little something something on the top, right?
I used my favorite Sparkling Sugar to add a little glitz and a sweet crunch. Less homey, more coffee shop. You could use regular sugar if that’s all you’ve got, but sparkling sugar has a bigger crystal and a great texture. I recommend picking some up from Amazon.
Muffins are nice to have around because they’re already pre-portioned and they keep well. Pop day old muffins in the micro for 20 seconds to revive that amazing aroma. They’re special enough for office potluck parties, especially in winter when a cozy muffin is everything.
One of the saving graces of deep winter is all the juicy citrus that comes into season.
It’s surprising how many different ways you can incorporate citrus into baking. In this recipe I use the juice and zest of the orange, but it’s the zest that really brings the orange flavor home. The outer orange colored part of the peel, or the zest, contains the flavor and aroma oils, which provide the true essence of the fruit flavor. The more you use, the more flavor payoff you’ll get.
How to zest an orange
- The zest of citrus fruit is the very outer part of the peel…the part that is colored.
- When you zest citrus fruit you are looking to remove just that outer colored part, with as little as possible of the white part underneath, which is bitter.
- I highly recommend using a citrus zester, which is a tool specifically created to do the job.
- Be sure to zest your fruit before cutting or juicing!
- Zest your fruit as close to adding it to your recipe as possible, because the oils start to dissipate quickly.
More wintery breakfast ideas ~
- Warm Maple Oat Nut Smoothie
- Fresh Tangerine Scones
- Homemade Chicken Apple Sausage
- Fresh Ginger and Pear Cake
Orange and Cardamom Muffins
Video
Equipment
- standard muffin pan
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- zest of 1 large orange, grated
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping
- 3 tbsp sparkling sugar (or regular sugar), Find sparkling sugar on Amazon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and butter a muffin tin, or line with muffin tin liners.
- Whisk together all the wet ingredients well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, then add to the wet ingredients and fold everything together until there are no dry bits of flour left.
- Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins, and top with a sprinkling of the sparkling sugar.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until risen and starting to turn golden brown around the edges. A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out without wet batter clinging to it.
Nutrition
Could these be made with gluten free flour? Or a combo of flours, like almond flour?
I think your best bet with this recipe would be to substitute a good quality 1:1 gluten free baking mix for the flour.
I’ve been in the mood for muffins lately and my husband doesn’t like bananas so these were right up our alley. My house smells so good! I like that they aren’t overly sweet and the cardamom is such a nice spice.
Can this be made in a loaf pan?
I haven’t tried that, but I assume you could.
Great use for cardamom. I use concentrated orange juice with a splash of water to equal 1/4 cup juice. I cut white flour to 1 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. Time for coffee and another muffin!
I was looking for a cardamom muffin recipe and stumbled upon this one. I made half the recipe, lowered the sugar by a third, replaced half of the oil with unsweetened applesauce, added a little cinnamon and they were delicious! A great crumb and strong orange cardamom flavor. Looking forward to sharing these with loved ones 🙂
Great ideas for ‘healthifying’ these, thanks!
I clicked on the Orange Walnut Oat Bran Muffins and this cardamom recipe keeps popping up.
Please send me the Oat Bran muffin recipe
I’ve sent it to your email address Beverly.
I just made these muffins this morning. CRAZY GOOD!!!! I can see now why they would be delicious with coffee or tea. Thank you for the recipe.
Out of your 2000 plus recipes, this is only the second one I’ve tried, and it was another winner. Thanks for sharing this lovely muffin recipe. I will definitely be checking out more of your recipes soon.
2 down, 1998 to go 🙂
These were so easy and tasty! I loved the flavor combo, and you can taste both. My only issue was it’s a tad salty, but that could be a users error. Thanks for the recipe!!
I have made these a couple times and they’ve turned out perfect every time! I used clementines for the zest the first time and blood orange this time. I’m happy to have an easy, quick recipe that I don’t have to get out my mixer for to make a special treat on a rainy morning! Thanks for sharing this one!