Orange cardamom muffins are delicately flavored with bright orange zest and warm, aromatic cardamom ~ this easy and unique muffin recipe is a family favorite.
For a quick, easy, comforting breakfast, nothing beats my homemade orange cardamom muffin recipe. Here’s why you need these in your life:
- The orange cardamom flavor combo is a-mazing and I bet you’ve never had it before! Neither taste is overpowering but they blend beautifully. The aroma is especially great when they’re just out of the oven, Â Definitely going to use this combo again!
- Muffins are probably the easiest of all breakfast bakes, ready from start to finish in 30 minutes.
- Uses oil not butter for a moister muffin that keeps well.
- These muffins bake up nice and tall with a little crunchy sparkle on top.
what readers say about orange cardamom muffins
DEB: “Wonderful flavor! Cardamom is not on everyone’s radar but should be. One of my favorite spices!”
VALORA: “I love this recipe! The muffins turned out soft and buttery with the perfect balance of orange and spice. They aren’t too sweet and pair well with a hot cup of tea or coffee. 10/10”
HELEN: “What a beautiful delicate combination with the taste of orange and cardamom. Thanks for the brilliant recipe.”
EMILY: “My 8 y/o daughter rates these 1 Million out of 10! We love the flavour and light, fluffy texture. Thank you for the excellent recipe.”
TONI: “The best muffins i have made!”
ELLEN: “Being of Scandinavian heritage I don’t need convincing to use cardamom. With the orange addition this recipe is 5 star. I have even made it in a loaf pan. You will not be disappointed.”
a few baking tips for orange cardamom muffins
Don’t skimp on that zest! 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 in these orange cardamom muffins. The more you use, the more flavor payoff you’ll get.
Adjust cardamom to your taste ~ if you’re a newbie, use one teaspoon, but if you love the flavor like I do, increase to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Sparkly muffin tops ~ I used my favorite Sparkling Sugar to add a little glitz and a sweet crunch to these muffin tops. 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.
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.
related: How to Make Citrus Sugar
orange cardamom for special diets (and variations)
Several readers have made these gluten free using a 1:1 baking mix.
Replace the dairy milk with your favorite plant based milk such as almond, oat, or coconut milk.
Replace the sparkling sugar with a glaze made with orange juice and powdered sugar.
Add 1/2 cup or more chopped walnuts or dried cranberries to the batter.
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Orange and Cardamom Muffins
Video
Equipment
- standard muffin pan
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- zest of 1 large orange, finely grated
- 1 tsp ground cardamom, use 1 1/2 teaspoons for a more pronounced cardamom flavor.
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.
Notes
Nutrition
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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!