Orange Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream

Cupcakes

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp instant coffee or instant espresso- Not the grounds but the instant you add to water
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk plus
• 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 cupcake molds or muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.
2. To make the cupcakes, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and instant coffee.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, and white sugar. Whisk in the orange juice concentrate, orange juice, and melted butter. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake molds, filling them about three-quarters full.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Using a small spatula or knife, remove the cupcakes from the pan. Continue to cool on a wire rack to room temperature. 

Orange Buttercream

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoon grated orange zest (Just the orange part of the rind try not to get any of the white
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Top with a  mandarin orange slice or a half slice of a regular orange.

Tips- For this cupcake I just took parchment paper and  folded it into cup shapes to make these.
         Before I eat an orange, I use a micro planer and take the zest off of the orange. I zest it off onto a piece of wax paper and then push the zest into a pile in the middle of the square. I fold it up into a tiny square and place in a freezer bag in the freezer. This way I always have fresh zest for recipes waiting for me in the freezer.