Orange Cardamom Muffins with Sourdough Discard

Ingredients for Orange Cardamom Muffins

The ingredients for these orange cardamom muffins are pretty basic muffin ingredients. I used orange juice and the orange zest with the wet ingredients. These muffins have a strong, sweet, and refreshing orange flavor. Instead of throwing away your sourdough starter discard, you can use it in a delicious muffin recipe like this. Here’s what you’ll need for the recipe:

If you aren’t a huge fan of orange, but you like apple, you can change up this recipe a little bit. To make these into apple cardamom muffins, simply sub the orange juice for apple juice!

Using Sourdough Discard to Make Cardamom Muffins

It’s so easy to incorporate sourdough starter into muffin recipes. Simply add the sourdough starter to the wet ingredients and combine! It’s very important to combine all the wet ingredients first and separately combine all the dry ingredients. Then, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until it’s all just combined. Do not over mix this muffin batter, or the muffins will be too chewy and dense. Usually, it takes me about 7 folds to get everything evenly combined. The muffin batter will be very thick.

Sourdough Starter Discard Orange Cardamom Muffins

Since this is a sourdough starter discard recipe, you may be wondering what kind of sourdough stater I use. I mainly keep a Sprouted Rye Sourdough Starter. We also have an Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe with Sourdough Starter Feeding Instructions you can check out! 

If I need to feed my starter, but I don’t plan on spending the whole day baking a loaf of bread, I like to use the discard in fun recipes like this. Jon and I both love these muffins for a quick grab and go breakfast or for an evening sweet treat.

Other Sourdough Recipes to Try

• Simple Sourdough Carrot Cake Banana Bread
• Blueberry Sourdough Bagels
• How to Bake Sourdough Discard Banana Nut Muffins

Sourdough Discard

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Orange Cardamom Muffins with Sourdough Discard

These sourdough orange cardamom muffins are so flavorful, perfectly sweet, and are great for an easy breakfast on the go. This recipe also has an option for apple cardamom muffins.

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• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1 teaspoon cardamom, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp soft/melted
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon orange juice (glaze)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (glaze)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper liners, or grease the tin with a bit of oil.
3. In a medium-large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. 
4. In a separate bowl, mash the ripe banana. Then add in the remaining wet ingredients with the banana. Whisk until just combined. 
5. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until everything is just combined. Do not over mix. The batter should be thick. 
6. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. 
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. 
8. Allow cooling for about 45 minutes
9. Mix icing, and drizzle it on top the muffins.

Notes

• you can evenly substitute the milk, eggs, and butter for vegan alternatives to make these muffins vegan.
• to make these apple cardamom muffins, sub the orange juice for apple juice.

Kaitlynn Fenley Food Microbiologist and Fermentation Specialist

Kaitlynn is a Food Microbiologist and FSPCA-certified fermentation specialist. An alumna of the LSU College of Science, she combines her academic background in microbiology with her Cajun heritage to create safe and delicious recipes.

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