Chocolate muffins with nuts, fruits ...

Interesting recipe. Chocolate cupcakes which can be topped up with anything you like. I have already made them with apricots. This time I sprinkled them with granola, almond flakes and cranberries. They are delicious. 

Ingredients for 12 -14 muffins:

• 200g flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 100g chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 100g sugar
• 1 mug of buttermilk
• 125 ml oil
• granola, almond flakes, cranberries and whatever else you would like to put on top 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Grate the chocolate and put into a bowl. Add flout, baking powder, cocoa and stir well. 

In separate bowl whisk eggs with sugar until pale and creamy. Add buttermilk and oil and stir well. 

Pour the wet ingredients into a bowl with dry ones. Mix them all until just combined. Spoon the batter into paper cases. Sprinkle with granola, nuts and cranberries. Bake in preheated oven 20 - 25 minutes.

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish 

German chocolate cupcakes

This is Ina Garten's recipe for German chocolate cupcakes . As usually cupcakes were divine. Spongy, chocolate cake with lovely rich custard frosting packed with coconut, almonds and pecans. I truly recommend it to everybody.

Ingredients for 24 cupcakes:

• 170g butter
• 150g sugar
• 120g brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 250 ml buttermilk
• 125 ml sour cream
• 2 tbsp freshly brewed coffee
• 295g flour
• 41g coca powder (should be twice that much but I haven't got more in the cupboard)
• 1 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Place the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt in a bowl and whisk them together.  In a separate bowl whisk the buttermilk, sour cream and coffee.

Butter, sugar and brown sugar beat in an electric mixer until fluffy for about 5 minutes. Add one egg at a time. When egg are well incorporated add the vanilla extract. Then beating continuously add alternately the flour and buttermilk mixture in three additions. 

Spoon the batter into prepared paper cases, 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

Transfer baked cupcakes into a wire rack to cool down. In a meantime prepare the frosting.

Frosting ingredients:

• 170g butter
• 410g evaporated milk
• 230 g brown sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond essence
• 135g dessicated coconut
• 100g almond flakes
• 50g chopped pecans
• 1/4 tsp salt

 Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Stir in the milk, brown sugar and egg yolks. Heat this mixture up stirring continuously. Cook for 15 minutes until thickens. Set aside from the heat and add the vanilla extract and almond essence. Then stir in the coconut, almond, pecans and salt. Set aside for an hour to cool the mixture down.

Spread the mixture over each cupcake top.

 Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

 

Cupcake birthday cake

It was close to my youngest 4th birthday when I realised I have no idea what cake to bake. Asking the birthday girl was pointless as her imagination is greater then my decoration skills. I was looking for something tasty, easy to make and easy to serve. Attending to different parties I have seen too often beautiful birthday cakes not eaten, parents struggling to cut the cake... ah not this year. This year I have decided to bake my children's favourite chocolate cupcakes, arrange them into a cake and decorate them with frosting. When I asked my little one about sun cake she was delighted. I am aware of the fact that this cake doesn't look professional but it was home baked, tasty, took seconds to serve and what is more important most of it was eaten.

     

Ingredients for 20 cup cakes:

• 250g margarine for baking
• 4 tbsp milk
• 4 tbsp baking cocoa
• 1 1/2 mug* of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 mug* of flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 16 g vanilla sugar

 *take regular coffee mug

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a muffin tin with paper cases.

In a sauce pan put the margarine, milk, sugar, cocoa powder and bring it to boil stirring all the time. When it is boiled let the mixture to cool down. After some time, when the mixture is room temperature, add the flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar and egg yolks. Give it a good stir. In separate bowl whisk egg whites until stiff (add pinch of salt). Gently fold the egg white foam into the batter. Spoon the batter in paper cases 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 min. Check with toothpick if baked in the middle.  

Transfer baked cupcakes to the wire rack to cool them down completely. While cooling down prepare the frosting.

 Frosting:

• 300g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 250g soft butter
• 2 cups icing sugar
• food colourings

 Put the soft butter into an electric mixer bowl and whisk until smooth. While whisking add icing sugar. When the sugar is well incorporated start adding cream cheese. When all cream cheese is added increase the speed and whisk until smooth and fluffy.

Divide the frosting among bowls and stir in the food colourings to get desire colours. Chill in the fridge for about an hour.

Arrange the cooled cupcakes on a tray. Transfer the frosting into piping bags. Use the yellow frosting to create the Sun, fill the gaps with blue frosting and with black and red create the face. 

 

 Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Salted caramel chocolate tartlets

Salted caramel chocolate tartlets were delicious.  Although preparation, especially of the dough, was a bit time consuming you wouldn't be sorry. Baked tartlet shells were perfect plain, topped with caramel just divine. Original recipe comes form this web site . Following this recipe I have skipped one layer, I haven't put ganache on top as I though caramel is enough. I would truly recommend salted caramel chocolate tartlets to everybody.  

Ingredients for dough - 24 mini tartlets:

• 115g butter
• 100g sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 140g flour
• 50g cocoa powder

Beat the butter and sugar until smooth in the stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add the egg, salt, vanilla and beat again until smooth. 

In separate bowl sift the flour and cocoa powder. 

Add the dry ingredients into the creamed butter. 

Shape the batter into a disc warp it int cling film and put into a freezer for about 1 hour to chill.

In a meantime grease the mini muffin tin. 

Preheat the oven to 180.

Remove the batter form the freezer. Pinch of a pieces of dough and form into about 2 cm balls. Place each ball in muffin tin cup. With your thumb press the dough down in the centre. 

Bake the tartlets for 10 - 15 minutes. The dough will rise while being baked. When removed form oven leave it to cool down for a few minutes, then press the dough again. When it is completely cooled down remove tartlets form the tin, sharp knife is helpful.

Transfer the tartlets into a plate and prepare the caramel. Instead of making caramel form the scratch I have melted soft, butter caramels.  

Ingredients for caramel filling:

• 115g soft, butter caramels
• 60 ml cream
• pinch of slat
• rock salt for decoration

Place the caramels in the sauce pan, pour in the cream, add the salt. Heat them up stirring occasionally until turn into soft creamy mixture. 

Pour the mixture into prepared earlier chocolate tartlets, sprinkle with rock salt and enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Yummy chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting

I used to bake those cupcakes before but never decorated them with frosting. Most of the time we ate them plain or with fondant. To remind you please have a look here. This time I have decided to try them with frosting. I used this particular frosting before for beetroot muffins . This frosting is very tasty, chocolaty and really fuss free to make. Honestly it takes only a few minutes to make this one. Also you don't have to remember to take our your ingredients from a fridge good few hours before. 

Anyway I took this two recipes and turned them into delicious, yummy, fluffy, chocolaty cupcakes. They are perfect for any children parties and believe me  adults will love them too. 

 Ingredients for 12 - 18 cupcakes:

• 250g margarine
• 4 tbsp milk
• 4 tbsp baking cocoa
• 1 and 1/2 cup of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cup of self rising flour
• 16g vanilla sugar

Put the margarine, milk, cocoa powder, and sugar into a big pot. Heat the ingredients up until start boiling, stirring occasionally. When ready, set aside to cool the mixture down. 

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin with with paper cases.

Separate the egg whites. Put the yolks in a small bowl as you will add them to the batter later.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff, set aside. 

When the mixture in a pot is close to room temperature add the flour and yolks and mix in well. Then gently fold in whisked egg whites.

Spoon the batter into paper cases half full. Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Check with skewer, when clean after inserted in the middle of the cake it is time to remove cupcakes form the oven. Transfer the cupcakes to wire rack to cool them down completely before frosting.

 While cupcakes are cooling down prepare the frosting.

Ingredients for frosting:

• 60g margarine
• 60g baking cocoa
• 90 ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract*
• 460g icing sugar

* most of the flavour comes form vanilla extract, please use a good quality one

Melt the margarine and pour it into an electric mixer bowl. Add the cocoa and mix them until form thick paste. Then pour in the milk and vanilla. Mix for a while then add the sugar. Mix the mixture until turn into smooth, creamy frosting. Set the frosting aside for a few minutes it will stiffen a little. 

Transfer the frosting into piping bag with your favourite nozzle  and decorate the cupcakes. Mine were for children so I have sprinkled them with mini Smarties.

 Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Black bean muffins

These muffins are great if you need to trick children to eat something healthy. They taste like regular dark chocolate muffins while they made entirely of beans. They don't only taste but look like chocolate muffins. This is important too as children won't put into their mouths a suspiciously looking think. They were really nice and it's hard to believe that beans may taste so good :). Next time when I will be making them I will skip the chili, they were a bit too spicy for little ones.  Anyway  you have to try them. The original recipe comes form this website.

Ingredients for 24 mini muffins:

• 190g cooked or tinned beans (1 cup)
• 120g almond butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 banana
• 50g cocoa powder (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder 
• 1 tsp gluten - free baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 60 ml honey (1/4cup)
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• chili flakes optional

If you use dry beans soaked them in cold water overnight. Pour the water over the beans covering them completely.  Then cook them in the water they were soaked in until soft. Drain and set aside to cool down. While using tinned just drain them.

Preheat the oven  to 200C. Slightly grease the muffin tin. Even if yours is covered with non - stick layer it's highly recommended to grease as this type of butter sticks a lot while being baked.

Put the beans in blender, add the almond butter and banana. Blend the until smooth. The mixture is very thick so it takes time to blend all ingredients. Then add to the mixture in the blender the cocoa powder, chili, baking powder, vanilla, honey, salt and egg. Blend them until smooth.  

Spoon the batter into muffin tin. Filling each cup 3/4 full. Sprinkle with chili flakes if you wish. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes until risen. Then remove form the tin, place on a wire rack to cool down. 

  Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish.

Mars muffins

Today I would like to present the Mars muffins. I wanted to bake them some time ago but every time I bought Mars bars they were disappearing form cupboard. Finally I have baked them yesterday. I wasn't fully happy with result. The cake was a little bit dry and crumbly, and the places where Mars chunks were baked turned into empty holes :(. Honestly those muffins itself without addition would be much nicer. Anyway children really enjoyed them... maybe its me getting old :(. So ether it's me getting more demanding with age or with every muffin I bake I found my taste. Unfortunately they weren't my favourite.  The recipe comes form this website.

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 300g flour
• 110g sugar
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of cinnamon
• 250ml milk
• 125 ml oil
• 1 egg
• 2 Mars bars (30g each)
• 50g chocolate for decoration
• 1 Mars bar for decoration

 Preheat the oven to 200C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Into a big bowl sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda, cinnamon. Then add the sugar and salt. Whisk them together. 

In separate bowl whisk the egg, milk and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into a dry ones. Stir them until just moist.

Chop the Mars bars into small chunks (try as small as possible to avoid holes in baked cake). Gently fold into the batter the Mars chunks.

Spoon the batter into paper cases about 3/4 full. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Transfer to the wire rack to cool down.

Melt the chocolate and cut the Mars bar into small pieces. Drizzle the chocolate over each muffin top and decorate with Mars chunks.

Enjoy ! 

Recipe in Polish

 

Chocolate hearts

Chocolate hearts for Valentine's Day. This is the recipe for chocolate bread which I transformed into chocolate heart shaped buns. The buns were spongy, soft. I enjoyed them with butter and orange marmalade.

The recipe comes from 'Home baking cookbook'.

Ingredients for 6 buns:

• 225g flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp dried yeast
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp oil
• 150 ml water

Sift the flour, salt and cocoa powder into a an electric mixer bowl. Add the sugar and yeast (if they don't need to be dissolved with water first - check on package). Mix everything together. 

In a jug mix the warm water and oil. If your yeast need to be dissolved stir them in now. 

Pour the wet ingredients into a dry ones. Mix with a dough hook until form a dough. Then knead for 5-10 more minutes. 

Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Brush muffin tin holes with oil. 

Tour out the dough again and knead lightly for 1 minute. Cut into 6 even pieces and place each in muffin tin hole. Cover with a cloth and leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Bake the buns for 25 - 30 minutes. Transfer the buns to wire rack and leave to cool. Serve with butter and jam.

If you would like to make a loaf of bread from this recipe double to amount of ingredients, follow the method and bake in 900g loaf tin. 

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Pear, walnuts and ginger muffins

Those muffins were delicious ! The cake itself was fluffy, light for me perfect. I think I will try to bake this cake again but this time plain. The ginger, per and nuts were lovely combination. Those muffins were packed with them. Although next time I would rather skip the ginger, it was little bit too spicy for me. Anyway you may expect to see this recipe again as I think this cake would be perfect with other fruits, nuts or chocolates. 

Ingredients for 12 - 14 standard size or     6 - 7 big muffins:

• 2 big pears
• 60g ginger from a jar*
• 250 g flour
• 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 75g walnuts
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 100g sugar
• 100g butter or margarine
• 250 ml milk
• 100g white chocolate
• walnut halves for decoration

* I used ginger in vinegar, but it can be replaced with crystallized ginger  or ground ginger.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Peel the pears, remove cores. Chop the pears into small chunks.

Drain the ginger and chop into small chunks. Or if u use crystallized ginger just chop it. Add to the pears, stir and set aside.

Chop the walnuts and set aside. 

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder. Stir in the walnuts.If you use the ground ginger add it to the flour mixture.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed and add alternately the flour mixture, milk and soft margarine. When all ingredients added and batter is smooth stop the mixer. Then gently fold in the ginger and pear mixture. 

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier paper cases. Bake in preheated oven for  20 - 30 minutes until well risen. Remove form the tin to cool down. 

 While muffins cooling down melt the chocolate. Spread the melted chocolate over each muffin top and place half of walnut as a decoration.

Enjoy !

The recipe in Polish. 

Chocolate mini cheesecaces

I like all types of cheesecakes. I have already bake a few mini versions of different flavors cheesecakes. Already you can find on my blog :

- plain mini cheesecakes with jam

- coconut mini cheesecakes

- marzipan mini cheesecakes

- lemon mini cheesecakes .

This time I have decided to try chocolate cheesecake baked in small, made of bourbon biscuits, bowls. And they were divine ! Crunchy, chocolaty shells filled with creamy, velvety, chocolaty cheesecake. I think they worth to try. 

Ingredients for 12 mini cheesecakes - shells/bowls:

• 400g Bourbon biscuits
• 90g butter

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool it down. Place the biscuits in the blender and blend them until remains fine crumbs. Pour the butter into crumbs and mix until all crumbs are evenly coated.

Divide this mixture among all muffin tin cups (about two heaped tablespoons of crumbs into each cup). Press with you fingers or with back of the spoon until cover the bottom and edges of each cup. If you like you can first line muffin tin with paper cases. It will definitely help you remove ready baked cheesecakes form the tin but it is not necessary.  

Insert muffin tin into the oven and bake the shells for about 10 minutes. Then remove form the oven and set aside to cool down a bit.

In a meantime prepare the cheesecake filling.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 600g cream cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp semolina

Place all the ingredients in a blender and  blend until smooth. Divide the cream cheese mixture among baked shells. Remaining cream cheese filling lace in a ramekin and bake placing beside muffin tin. 

Bake the mini cheesecakes for about 20 minutes until the cream cheese won't be wobbly. 

Remove form the oven and set aside to cool down. The insert into a fridge to cool them down completely. When cooled remove form the tin. For those who used paper cases it is easy but those who didn't have to use a knife. With a knife gently cut around each cheesecake and try to lift it from the bottom. Cheesecakes should easily 'jump out'. Before served should be kept in the fridge.  To decorate them you may sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.

 Enjoy !

Choc crunchies cupcakes

Very chocolaty, crunchy ... just delicious. And they are very easy to make. The recipe comes form 'Let's cook. 52 cakes, bakes and chocolate' BBC GoodFood. 

Ingredients for 8 cupcakes:

• 200g digestive biscuits
• 100g butter + extra for greasing
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 50g raisins (I used dates)
• 200g dark chocolate

Prepare the muffin tin. Grease 8 nest with thin layer of butter. Set aside. 

Place the digestive biscuits into a plastic bag. Seal the bag and bash into uneven crumbs with a rolling pin. 

Melt the butter and honey in a pan. Stir in the cocoa and raisins/chopped dates. Add the biscuit crumbs and stir them in. Spoon this mixture into prepared earlier muffin tin pressing the crumbs with a back of the spoon. 

Melt the chocolate. You can place the chocolate chunks in a bowl and melt the chocolate simply placing the bowl into a microwave. Or you can place chocolate chunks in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. When melted spread the chocolate over each biscuit base. You may decorate them with small chocolate pieces, I used white chocolate hearts.

Insert the muffin tin into a fridge and chill the cupcakes for at least half an hour.

When chilled remove form the fridge. Leave on the kitchen counter for half and hour. Then turn the muffin tin upside down and bang on the kitchen board. This should release each cupcake without any harm. Place the cupcakes on a plate and enjoy !   

Chocolate muffins with apricots

Those muffins look very pretty: dark cake, orange fruit and white icing. Lovely combination of colours I hope you will share my opinion. This is my favorite type of cake, light and fluffy, not too sweet and, thanks to fruits content, little bit sour. The recipe a little bit change by me comes from this website.  I tried to make them healthier so plain flour was replaced by wholemeal one. 

Ingredients for 16 muffins:

• 200g wholemeal flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 100g grated dark chocolate
• 3 eggs
• 100g sugar
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 125 ml canola oil
• 8 fresh apricots
• almond flakes

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Grate the chocolate on finely shreds and place them in the bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, cocoa and mix them well. Set aside.

Break the eggs into separate jug add the sugar and whisk until pale and creamy. Add the buttermilk and oil and mix well. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients bowl. Combine until all ingredients are just moist.

Spoon the batter into muffin cases, half full.

before baking

On top of each muffin place half of apricot, sprinkle with almond flakes. 

 

Bake in  preheated oven 25 - 30 minutes. Until skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

When ready remove from the oven and set aside to cool down.

In a meantime prepare the icing.

Incing:

• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 tbsp milk

Place all ingredients in small bowl and combine with a spoon or fork until smooth and thick.

Spread the icing on top of each muffin.

 

Enjoy !