Triple Chocolate Muffins

 

I confess.  I love chocolate and it doesn't matter what kind of chocolate it is.  Dark, milk . . .   in cakes and cookies . . .  good candy bars, good chocolates . . . pies and puddings.   The only kind I am not fond of is chocolate milk or chocolate ice cream.  I'm not even really fussy on hot chocolate drinks.  I don't know why that is. It is a mystery to me too.



The Toddster of course, he doesn't like chocolate in any form other than chocolate candies or hot chocolate.   I know!  It just ain't human, but I'm not complaining as that always means more brownies for me!!

 

Chocolate Baked goods are notoriously difficult to get a good photograph of.  I don't know why that is.   I apologize for a lack of tasty photos of these fabulously delicious muffins.   No matter how I tried, they just did not want to come out right.  Nevermind . . .



You will just have to take my word for it that they are tasty.  Moist.   Chocolaty.   Stogged full of three kinds of chocolate.  Hard to resist . . . and . . . mine, all . . . mine.   I ain't complaining!

*Triple Chocolate Muffins*

Makes 8 extra large muffins, or 12 regular 

Printable Recipe  

I have just one word for these . . . mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . Warm they are divine.  Cold they are bliss.  Maybe a bit too much like dessert to be a muffin, but why quibble.  A rose by any other name and all that.  

6 TBS unsalted butter

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (115g)

2 cups plain flour (280g)

2/3 cup granulated sugar (126.5g)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (37g)

1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk (296ml)

1 large free range egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks (90g)

1/2 cup milk chocolate chunks (90g)  

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 4.   Butter a muffin tin really well, or line with paper liners.  Set aside. (Don't forget to butter the top of the tin too!)  

Place the butter and one half of the  bittersweet chocolate into a saucepan.   Melt over very low heat, whisking to blend. (Alternately do in a bowl set over simmering water, taking care that the bottom of the bowl not touch the water.)  Remove from the heat and set aside. 

Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl.   Whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla.  Pour this along with the melted chocolate/butter mixture over top of the dry ingredients.  Stir just to combine.  Fold in all of the chocolates.  Divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups.  They should be at least 2/3 full.    

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.  Don't over-bake.  You want them a bit squidgy not dry.  Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Strawberry Filled Brioche Rolls

 

I do get sent the nicest things.   I am sure you get quite tired of reading about the latest things I have been sent to try sometimes, but I do try to make my posts more interesting by creating something tasty with whatever it is that I have been sent!



The East India Company recently sent me a couple of their products, a pot of Strawberry and Pepper Jam and a jar of Chocolate Island Cane Sugar.   I had not heard of the East India Company before they contacted me but what I learned about them was very interesting indeed.

Granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, The East India Company was founded to explore the mysteries of the East. As The Company grew, it mapped trade routes through unchartered territory and changed social customs, tastes and ways of thought to influence the very fabric of our lives today.




The Company’s pioneering spirit and sense of adventure created British India, founded Hong Kong and Singapore and introduced tea to Britain and India. Their warehouses were places of wonder, stocking never before seen silks, chintzes, calicos, porcelain, coffees, chocolates and spices from around the world. They played a pivotal role in writing our history by planting the first teas in Darjeeling, causing the Boston Tea Party; holding Napoleon captive; and generating the fortune of Elihu Yale, founder of Yale University.



Strawberries and Black Pepper are a beautiful combination.  I often sprinkle my berries with black pepper, and in fact shared a recipe for you a while back for  Strawberry Shortcakes with Black Pepper and Elderflower Cream, which was fabulous.  So I was really excited about trying this Strawberry and Pepper Jam.   It was wonderful.   We love jam in this house and there is just the right combination of sweet, with a nice burst of peppery.   Ten out of ten!  You can buy this jam on their page.  At £6.95 it's a tad bit pricey, but that is often the case with speciality goods and this is definitely a speciality good.



I was also sent a jar of their Chocolate Island Cane Sugar.  From their page:

 A blend of organic hand-grown and harvested sugar combined with the irresistible flavour of cocoa. A dash of this artisan chocolate sugar will breathe devilish goodness into any recipe.

Presented in an attractive jar, with a cork lid and red seal on the top, it looked quite nice and there was a nice burst of chocolate scent when I opened the jar.  It also tasted very chocolatey, and left a nice coating of cocoa on my fingers after I ran them through it.   It, too, is a bit pricey, at £10, but once again, it is a speciality item.   You would and should expect to pay more for something like this.   This would make a fabulous gift for the chocolate lover in your life.



I was able to use some of each to create these delicious breakfast brioche rolls.  Using tender and buttery  French Milk Brioche Rolls that I usually have in the house and some eggs, and just a bit of each ingredients these rolls made a wonderfully different breakfast roll that was a treat and not so hard to make as you would think.



It's as simple as gently tearing a hold in the centre of the rolls, dipping them into beaten egg and then rolling them in cinnamon sugar . . .



Spooning some jam down the centre into the hole you have torn . . . sprinkling them with the chocolate sugar (or regular demerara sugar if that is all you have), placing them in a baking tin, dotting some butter around and then  baking them for several  minutes.



The end result being a moreishly butter bun, with a crunchy cinnamon sugar coating and a delicious jam filling.   What's not to like about that I ask?    Absolutely nothing I say !  These were simply quite quite fabulous.

 

*Strawberry Filled Brioche Rolls*

Makes 6

PrintableRecipe 

Kind of like a jam bread and butter pudding, except it's enclosed . . . in buttery brioche rolls that are dipped in cinnamon sugar and baked with butter around them.  Decadently delicious breakfast treat.

2 large free range eggs, beaten with a fork

6 TBS granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 tsp ground cinnamon

6 small French Milk Brioche Rolls

12 tsp of strawberry preserves

4 TBS of cold butter, cut into small cubes

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.  Line a baking dish with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl, mixing thoroughly.  Beat the eggs together in another shallow bowl.    Take the brioche rolls and gently tear them apart in the centre so that you have a hollow down the length of the roll, leaving them intact at either ends, without removing any bread.  Just gently tear and press an opening into the centres.   Dip the rolls into the beaten eggs, letting it soak in a bit to the interior, and then allowing any excess to drain off.   Roll the tops of the rolls into the cinnamon sugar and then place into the prepared baking dish.   Spoon 2 teaspoons of jam down the centre of each.   Sprinkle with the extra granulated sugar evenly over top.  Drop the small cubes of butter around and between each roll and the sides of the pan.

Bake for about 10 minutes in the heated oven until the butter has melted and soaked into the rolls and the rolls are golden brown and lightly crisped and the jam is bubbling.   Allow to cool slightly before eating.  These can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

If you are looking for something just a little bit unique and special for that foodie in your life, I would highly recommend the East India Company.  You can order from a fairly extensive line of fine foods online, and they also have some retail stores that you can shop in the London area.  (Mayfair, Blue Water and Covent Garden)  You can also find their products in Selfridges, Harrods, The British  Library, Mitsukoshi, and the National Maritime Museum.  (Again all in the London area.)

Many thanks to the East India Company for sending these lovely items to me.

Note:  Although I was sent these articles to try, all opinions are my own.

Baked Carrot Cake Doughnuts

 


We are awfully fond of doughnuts in this house.  I especially like the Crispy Cremes we can get at the local Tesco and on the Motorway.  Occasionally I will buy a box to treat the missionaries with, and  . . . we have been known to indulge in one or two when we are on a lengthy trip along the motorway.  But deep fried doughnuts are a once in a blue moon treat for us, which is as it should be.

 

I am not adverse to baking doughnuts however.  I bought myself several doughnut baking pans last year and I break them out every so often.  Baked doughnuts are still a real treat, except they are not fried.  I guess they are a bit like muffins, except they are shaped like doughnuts.  What's not to like about that?

 In the past year I have made . . .



Baked Chai Spice Doughnuts.



Honey Glazed Granola Doughnuts.



Baked Chocolate Buttermilk Doughnuts.



White Chocolate Drizzled Gingerbread Doughnuts.  




Jam Filled Baked Cinnamon Doughnuts.



Glazed Red Velvet Baked Doughnuts.

I have to say that each variety was quite delicious in their own right.   Today though . . . I baked a new favourite.   Carrot Cake Doughnuts.



How could you not fall in love with your favourite flavour of cake . . . in doughnut form???  It's not humanly possible I don't think.   Enjoy.



*Baked Carrot Cake Doughnuts*
Makes one dozen

Printable Recipe  

Your favourite cake in a doughnut.   Simple and quick to make and very tasty.  You can sub soy milk for the regular milk for a dairy free version if you like and leave out the icing.   Just drizzle with honey whilst still warm in that case.

300g self raising flour (2 cups)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

75g toasted walnut pieces (3/4 cup)

115g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)

2 large free range eggs, beaten

200ml of milk (generous 3.4 cup)

150ml of sunflower oil (scant 2/3 cup)

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange extract (can use the finely grated zest of one orange)

For the glaze:

150g of cream cheese (5 ounces)

(Do not use no fat)

50g sifted icing sugar (1/3 cup)

1 tsp lemon juice
chopped toasted walnut pieces, optional

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Grease well two six cup doughnut pans.  I use nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nuts together in a bowl.   In a separate measure whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, milk, oil and extracts.   Stir in the carrot.   Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to just combine.  Spoon into the prepared donut pans.  I find 3 dessert spoons in each is sufficient.



Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until risen and golden.   Allow to rest in the pans for about 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the glaze, beat together all of the ingredients.  It should be thick but slightly drizzable.  Spoon over or dip the tops of the  baked doughnuts in this mixture, swirling to coat.  Sprinkle with toasted walnut pieces before the glaze sets.



Ohhhhhhhhhhhh  SO delicious!  I do hope you will give them a try!  I just know you are going to love them too!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I love muffins.  I love them even more than cupcakes.   Cupcakes are nice, but they don't stay with you as long as a muffin does.  Muffins are heavier and when you eat one, you feel satisfied.  A muffin is a meal that feels and tastes like a real treat. 

 

I saw a joke poster the other day that said that once you lick the frosting off a cupcake that turns it into a muffin . . . so that made it a healthy option.  I beg to differ on several fronts.  A cupcake can never be a muffin . . . muffins aren't cake.   And a muffin can't be a cupcake, not if it's a true muffin that is . . . they are two completely different animals.  Mind you . . . that is only my opinion.



They also differ greatly when it comes down to mixing them up.   Cupcake batter is mixed like cake batter . . . you cream the fats and sugars together first until light and then you beat in the egg (s) . . . adding the dry and wet ingredient alternately and normally mixing to a smooth batter before putting it into the tin (s).

 

In making a muffin generally you mix together all the dry ingredients together in one bowl . . .  all the wet in a measure . . .  and then you add the wet to the dry and mix just to combine.  Lumps are ok and in fact an overmixed muffin is tough.   The best muffins come from a batter that's only been lightly used and mixed together.  Muffins tend to have a much heavier texture than  cake and taste wonderful served warm with some butter or even jam, depending on the flavour of muffin. Corn muffins served hot with butter AND jam are a marriage made in heaven . . .



I used to own my own coffee shop and I baked and sold tons of muffins each day.  The favourite was the carrot muffins, with the banana ones following closely at their heels.   The third place was a toss up between blueberry muffins and these delicious chocolate chip muffins.   Of course that could vary as well . . . with taste.   Some people would crawl through fire to get a good chocolate chip muffin.

I am one of those.



A Chocolate Chip muffin lover.  These are the best.  I add chopped walnuts to mine and sometimes I even add sultanas . . . but then again I have been known to add those to my chocolate chip cookies too.  It's a matter of taste, but if you are looking for a great basic chocolate chip muffin that is moist, and stogged to the hilt with chocolate chips, look no further.   These chocolate chip muffins are quite simply the best.

In my opinion.

 

*Chocolate Chip Muffins*
Makes 12 large  

Printable Recipe

We love these muffins in this house.  A beautifully dense and buttery muffin just filled to the brim with delicious bits of milk  chocolate.  Try to use the best chocolate you can afford to buy.  These are incredibly moreish, just so you know.  Also, when I say large I do NOT mean texas sized, but the next size down.


2 cups flour  (198g)
1/3 cup soft light brown sugar, packed (66g)
1/2 cup white sugar (95g)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk (160ml)
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled (115g)
2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

11 ounces milk chocolate chips (311g)
1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts, pecans or walnuts (optional) (57g)






Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Generously grease 12 large muffin cups, or line with paper liners.  Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.  Whisk in the sugars, until the mixture is well blended.

In another bowl, stir together the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.  Blend together well.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and then add the milk mixture all at once.  Stir together just to combine.  It doesn't matter if the batter it lumpy.  All you want is the dry ingredients to be moistened.  Fold in the chocolate pieces and the nuts, if using.  Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the tin to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Serve warm.

These also freeze very well.  To re-heat from frozen just pop the frozen muffin into the microwave on a piece of paper toweling and zap it for about 30 seconds.

Vanilla Fudge Muffins

Every once in a while I like to revisit something scfrummy which I enjoy eating.  I don't always cook new things every day and today I felt like baking some muffins to enjoy for our breakfast.

 

I don't always feel like having cereal for breakfast and I don't always fancy having an egg instead either.  Sometimes I like to indulge myself with a delicious fresh baked muffin.

 

These ones are particular favourites of mine . . . quick and easy to make and they always turn out fabulous!!  I love them and so does everyone I have ever made them for.



They're are moist and delicious . . . stogged full of lovely bits of fudge and white chocolate chips, and in all honesty you can also add some toasted chopped nuts if you wish.  It doesn't matter what kind of fudge you use.  You can use the fudge chunks that come ready chopped in bags like chocolate chips, or you can use homemade or storebought fudge, any flavour you want, just so long as you cut it up into small bits.

 

I used brown sugar fudge, which turns almost to caramel when it is baked . . . very, definitely moreish. But you can use any kind of fudge you want to . . . chocolate, butter pecan, rum and raisin, vanilla . . . pick your own favourite kind.  Warm, cold or in between, these are winners no matter how you partake of them.

 

Perfect for the lunch box or for a quick breakfast in hand as you are running out the door, or as a January weekday indulgence when the skies are dark and grey and you want something to make your heart smile and make you feel just a little bit special. 

 

They also freeze very well.  I pack them up individually and pop them into the freezer, ready to take out whenever the whim strikes.  You can take the time to thaw them out if you wish . . . or you can pop them into the microwave frozen for 35 to 40 seconds and they will taste like you just took them out of the oven.


 
 I do hope that you try them and if you do, that  you enjoy them even half as much as we do!    These are simply quite scrumdiddlyumptiously tasty!  Perfect to cure those January/after Christmas blues!

 

*Vanilla Fudge Muffins*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Eat while warm for moreish squidginess!  Almost dangerous!

300g of self raising flour (2 cups)
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
115g of golden caster sugar (1/2 cup)
85g of fudge chunks (1/2 cup)
85g of white chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
125ml of whole milk
100ml of half fat creme fraiche (scant 1/2 cup)
1 large free range egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g of butter, melted (1/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Butter a 12 hole muffin tin, or line with papers.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, white chocolate chips and fudge chunks together in a bowl.  Whisk the milk, creme fraiche, egg, vanilla and butter together in a beaker.  Add all at once to the dry ingredients and fold together just to combine.  Spoon big dollops into your prepared pan.

Bake for about 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.  Leave to cool in the pan for several minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.  Eat warm for the best flavour.

Note:  Any leftovers can be warmed in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds.

Chocolate Sauced Banana Brioche Buns

    

If any of you have been reading my blog for very long you will know by now that I am rather lazy when it comes to cooking.  Not that I am not capable of doing complicated and labor intensive recipes.  I am more than capable . . . but if I can find a quick and easy way of doing something and have it come out top delish, then I am all for it!    

I was watching food tv the other day  while I was dusting, as you do (doesn't everyone??) and I just caught the end of this recipe that a guy (don't even know his hame) was making and it looked simple and easy.  I kind of caught the grasp of what he was/had done and I could remember certain elements and so I kind of threw them together and this is what I came up with.  

I love brioche . . . those sweet, soft butter buns . . . so good with a nice hot drink, or warmed and spread with butter and ham . . . or nutella.   (Don't judge me!)  This recipe used those lovely little finger brioche, along with bananas caramelized under a grill.  

You slip the caramelized bananas into that sweet buttery bun, and then slather it with a rich chocolate sauce, top with toasted almonds and dust with  some icing sugar.   Easy peasy.  

Nobody has to know how quick and easy it was.  It can be our little secret.  I reckon the only way this could get better would be if you added a caramel sauce and some chopped marachino cherries.  Sounds like a banana split to me!

*Chocolate Sauced Banana Brioche Buns*
Makes 4 servings

Printable Recipe  

A quick simple dessert that will have your family licking their chops! 

For the Chocolate Sauce:
4 ounces good quality unsweetened chocolate
190g granulated sugar (1 cup )
pinch salt
1 TBS butter
230ml single cream (1 cup)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

you will also need:

2 small bananas

3 TBS golden Caster Sugar

4 brioche finger rolls

1 rounded TBS of toasted flaked almonds

Icing sugar to dust

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to serve 

First make the chocolate sauce.  Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, over simmering water. (Or a bowl that will fit over a saucepan without the bottom touching the simmering water underneath)  Melt slowly, stirring occasionally.  Once the chocolate has melted place the top of the double boiler directly on the burner, over low heat, and whisk in the sugar, butter, salt and single cream.  Cook and whisk to combine and melt the butter.  Increase the heat to medium and cook for a further 4 minutes or so (without allowing the mixture to boil) until the sauce thickens.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Keep warm. 

Preheat the grill to high.  Peel the bananas and cut in half lengthwise.  Place them onto a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with the caster sugar.  Pop under the grill and grill them until the sugar melts and begins to caramelize. Keep an eye on them as it won't take very long.  You don't want the bananas cooked, just glazed.  While this is happening, warm the brioche in a hot oven. 

Take four dessert plates.  Top each with a warm brioche which you have sliced down the middle almost all the way through.  Place a glazed banana in the centre of each.  Drizzle with some chocolate sauce and toss some flaked almonds over each.  Dust with icing sugar.  Serve immediately with either a dollop of whipped cream on top or a scoop of ice cream.  You can pour more chocolate sauce over the ice cream if you wish. 

Note - This will make a lot of chocolate sauce, but no worries as it keeps well in the fridge.  Just reheat gently to use.