Who needs frosting when you can have a luscious orange chocolate chip cheesecake filling? 220: Orange Chocolate Tuxedo Cupcakes

Long time no post! Nate and I just got back from a roadtrip up through Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, and wowow they were gorgeous. Our trusty steed, Mango (yes I named my car after a fruit) took us 3,200 miles roundtrip and is really happy to be parked at sea level again.

Rainbow rocks, crystal-clear lakes, treehouse airbnbs, and huckleberry ice cream sandwiches . . . definitely worth all the miles!

I know these aren’t huckleberry, but hear me out: rich dark chocolate orange olive oil cake with a hidden pocket of chocolate chip orange zest cheesecake. Yes please!

I’ve met these cupcakes under many different names throughout my life (self-filled, inside-out, etc.) Tuxedo is definitely the most fun to say and it makes them feel a little fancy. I also associate the orange chocolate combination with special occasions! Probably thanks to the Trader Joe’s chocolate-covered orange jelly candies – yum.

I’ve compiled a recipe from various sources so I can’t give direct credit for this one. Sending a thank you out to the authors of all the random online recipes I used over the years to get me to this one!

For the orange chocolate cake:

• 95g all-purpose flour
• 45g cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temp
• 100g sugar
• 100g brown sugar
• 1/3 cup orange olive oil
• 2 tsps vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or mix a teaspoon of lemon juice into a 1/2 cup of milk and let it sit for 5 minutes before using!)

You can obviously use regular olive oil! But if you want that extra level of orangey yum, try to find an infused version. My fave is from Chef’s Olive Mix in Sacramento, but I’m sure you can buy it lots of places.

For the filling:

• 8oz cream cheese
• 67g sugar
• 1 large egg
• A pinch of salt
• 1 cup of dark chocolate chips
• Zest of a large orange

Snuggle them together in whatever cute cupcake papers you have lying around. (No one will judge if they’re leftover Halloween ones, since they’ll be getting a fresh-baked cupcake!)

Bake at 350F for 16 – 18 minutes. I recommend checking them around 15 minutes since my oven seems to run lower than it should.

Hot tip: cool them in the fridge before eating – they taste way better cold!

Happy munching!