Rebecca's Rambles…

My sweet tooth has definitely been alerted after reading this BBC article on sweets. It questions the nostalgia/novelty surrounding our most loved sweets and I for one, have a strong craving for sour boiled sweets now!

Therefore for all you chocolate lovers, I thought I would share a recipe that I have perfected. It is really simple and takes about 20 minutes preparation time and 30 minutes cooking in the oven (total time = 50 minutes). Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon or mid-week treat.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 200g caster sugar
• 130g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 50g cocoa powder
• 160ml whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 160g unsalted butter
• 70g white chocolate
• 50g milk chocolate (or I use Galaxy Counters)

• 12 hole-muffin tray with paper cases

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C
2. Mix the egg and sugar until well combined and pale in colour. You can use either a handheld or electric whisk.
3. In a different bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and add the pinch of salt.
4. In another bowl combine the milk and vanilla extract.
5. Gradually add the two mixtures to the egg mixture. Beat until all the ingredients are fully mixed together.
6. Stir in the melted butter.
7. Chop the white chocolate into small chunks and half the Galaxy Counters (or chop milk chocolate). Then add all the chocolate to the mixture.
8. Using an ice cream scoop, add one scoop to each case and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Tip: Ice cream scoops are ideal for ensuring each paper case contains a similar amount of cake/muffin mix. It saves using two or three spoons to scrape the mixture. Simple and easy giving a professional finish to your end baking results.
9. After 30 minutes check to see if the sponge bounces back when touched and use a skewer to see if all the mixture is cooked.
10. Leave to cool before turning out onto a wire rack.
11. Enjoy your sweet, moist muffins avec a cup of tea!