Chocolate Rum babas for Valentine's Day

Around this time of year my heart shaped muffin tin is widely used. This time I have baked heart shaped babas which are perfect for Valentine's Day. Rich in chocolate, yeast cake soaked in honey and rum syrup sounds like perfect romantic dinner dessert. They also not very much difficult to make. It is only the time you need to let the dough rise. 

The recipe comes form Jacqueline Bellefontaine "What's cooking. Chocolate" cookbook.    

    Ingredients for 6 babas:

• 100g flour
• 25g cocoa powder
• 6g yeast
• salt
• 15g sugar
• 40g dark chocolate grated
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp milk
• 50g melted butter

Into an electric mixer bowl put the flour, cocoa, yeast (check the packed they may need to be dissolved first if so add them to wet ingredients), salt, sugar and dark chocolate. Mix them until combined.

In separate bowl whisk the eggs with milk. Pour in warm, melted butter. If your yeast need to be dissolved add them now to the wet ingredients and stir well.

Pour the mixture into a bowl with dry ingredients. Mix with a dough hook for about 10 minutes.

Slightly brush the muffin tin holes with oil. Divide the dough among all muffin tin holes filling them half way. 

Set aside in a warm place, covered with kitchen cloth to let them prove. When the dough rises almost to the top of the tin preheat the oven to 200C. Bake the babas for 15 - 20 minutes. Remove form the oven and leave for a few minutes to cool them down.

 While the babas are being baked prepare the syrup. 

Rum and honey syrup:

• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp water
• 4 tbsp rum

Pour all ingredients into a sauce pan and heat them up until turn into a smooth, slightly thick mixture.

When babas are cooled down turn the muffin tin upside down and press the babas out. Drizzle the syrup over the babas and leave them to soak for about 2 hours. You may serve them with whipped cream.

Honestly we couldn't resist and we ate them before that time. They were delicious. Children loved them too but they ate the ones I haven't drizzled with rum. 

Enjoy !

Recipe in Polish

Coconut and rum muffins

Coconut and rum muffins with glace cherries and fresh pineapple were soft, sweet, fruity with a strong rum flavour. We liked them despite that they sank in the middle a little bit. The recipe comes from '75 best - ever mufins'

Ingredients for 8-12 muffins:

• 175g fresh pineapple
• 115g glace cherries
• 45ml rum
• 225g flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• 175g butter
• 160g light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 75ml coconut milk
• desiccated coconut optional

Cut the pineapple into small chunks and place them in a bowl. Add the glace cherries. Pour all fruits over with rum and leave them to soak for 30-60 minutes.

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

Sift the flour, baking powder into a bowl. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in the electric mixer bowl and beat them until creamy. Then gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and coconut milk.

Add the rum soaked fruits with the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Spoon the batter among muffin cases. You may sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes until golden on top. 

Leave the to cool slightly. Serve warm :)

Enjoy !

Gingerbread muffins with rum soaked prunes and chocolate icing

Very spicy a little bit dry cake with rum soaked prunes and chocolate on top. Have to say they were very tasty. Slightly different then traditional moist muffins  but good. The recipe comes form here.

Ingredients for 5 big muffins:

• 70g honey
• 40g butter
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 50g icing sugar
• 1 tsp soda
• 200g flour
• 60ml milk
• 100g prunes
• rum

Put the prunes into a small bowl pour over the rum to cover all prunes a leave them for a few hours to soak.

Pour the honey, butter and spices into a sauce pan and heat up until the butter melts down. Stir well and set aside to cool down.

Drain and chop the prunes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven. Line muffin tin with paper cases.

Put the egg and sugar into an electric mixer bowl and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the baking soda into a sauce pan with honey and spices mixture. Stir in well. Pour this mixture into egg mixture. Mix gently. Gently fold in half of the flour, when combined add the milk and remaining  flour. At last but not at least gently fold in the prunes.

 

Spoon the batter into paper cases. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. When removed form the oven transfer to the wire rack to cool down.

Chocolate icing:

• 50g chocolate
• 1 tbsp butter
• sugar sprinkles (optional)

Melt the butter and chocolate in microwave or in a pan over a steaming water. When smooth spoon over each muffin top. Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles. Enjoy !

Gingerbread cupcakes with orange icing

This is Ina Garten's recipe so it has to be delicious. If only you like moist, spicy filled with fruits cupcakes with sweet and fruity icing you will be delighted. Although  I reduced the amount of raisins as we don't like that many. And unfortunately  instead of thick icing I made thick sauce which was delicious too, but slightly messy.  

Ingredients for 12 big cupcakes:

• 150ml rum or water (originally 250ml)
• 130g raisins (originally 220g)
• 115g butter
• 185g black treacle (originally 16 tbsp)
• 200g sour cream
• 1 orange zest
• 350g flour
• 3/4 tsp soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 70g diced crystallised ginger

Place the raisins in a saucepan pour over the rum or the water and heat up until the liquid starts boiling. Then remove from the heat, cover with lid and set aside. Dice the crystallised ginger.

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

Into a separate sauce pan pour the black treacle add the butter and heat up until starts boiling. Then pour this mixture into an electric mixer bowl. 

While this mixture cools down prepare dry ingredients. Sift the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt into a bowl and whisk them together. 

Add the freshly grated orange zest into a black treacle mixture, then add sour cream and beat them together. Beating continuously add the dry ingredients. When the batter is smooth gently fold in soaked raisins and diced ginger. 

Spoon the batter into prepared earlier paper cases about 3/4 full bake for 20 -25 minutes. When well risen remove from the oven, leave them for a few minutes in the muffin tin then transfer to the wire rack to cool them down.

While the cupcakes are cooling down prepare the icing. Unfortunately mine icing turn into a sauce, was a little bit runny but was really tasty.

Ingredients for icing:

• 225g cream cheese
• 115g soft butter
• 1 orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g icing sugar
• crystallised ginger for decoration

Place the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla extract in an electric mixer bowl and beat until all ingredients well combined. When ready add icing sugar and again beat only for a while. What I did wrong was that I was beating the mixture for too long, that is way it was too runny at the end. 

When cupcakes are cooled down spread the icing over each cupcake top, decorate with ginger and enjoy :)  

Rice muffins

Those muffins were very moist and gooey. It was difficult to remove paper cases, they a little bit got stick to them. The rice sank in the batter. But their taste was interesting. It reminded me about rice pudding. The recipe comes from ' New Italian cuisine. Muffins.'

Ingredients for 12 muffins:

• 150g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 250 ml milk
• 60g melted butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp rum
• 75g cooked rice
• icing sugar for dusting

Cook the rice. Sift it into salted boiling water. Set aside to cool down.

Melt the butter and set aside,

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line muffin tin with paper cases or grease muffin tin cups (I think greasing is better option this time)

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into big bowl. Add one egg at the time whisking with hand electric mixer. Then add the milk, butter, sugar and rum. The batter is very runny. At the end fold in the cooked rice. 

Put the batter into muffin cups. Because the batter was very runny I used ladle to transfer it from the whisking bowl. 

Bake for 25 minutes until risen.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool down. 

Dust with icing sugar and enjoy.

Coconut cupcakes with chocolate and rum

Those cupcakes are definitely for adults only. Not only because they contain alcohol but there taste is very chocolaty almost bitter and children might not like that. Those cupcakes are spongy but not fluffy, moisture and rich in chocolate. Coated with chocolate and rum mixture give beautiful scent which make one eat and enjoy. This recipe comes from 'New Italian cuisine. Cupcakes'.

Ingredients for 12 cupcakes:

• 75g dessicated coconut (I used dessicated coconut flakes)
• 125 ml rum
• 150g flour
• 50g baking cocoa
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 125g melted butter
• 250 ml milk
• 2 eggs
• 150g sugar

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

Sift the desiccated coconut into a bowl and pour over the rum. Set aside.

Sift the the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a bowl, whisk them together and set aside. Melt the butter, pour it into a jug with  milk and set aside.

Into electric mixer bowl put the eggs and sugar and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed and add alternately the dry ingredients mixture, the milk and butter mixture and the coconut and rum  mixture. The batter is going to be very runny.

Pour the batter evenly among prepared earlier muffin cases. Bake for 20-22 minutes until well risen and spongy. Transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool down. 

Ingredients for icing:

• 180g chocolate - I had dark one, in original recipe there is milk one,
• 25 ml rum
• dessicated coconut to sprinkle
  

Melt down the chocolate, stir in the rum. Chocolate will harden a little when a cold rum will be added. With a knife spread the chocolate mixture over each muffin top and sprinkle with coconut. 

Raisin and rum muffins

When I found recipe for rum and raisin muffins I just had to try it. Muffins were a little bit thick but filled with rum raisins were moisture enough to break dryness of the dough. And, what is a good news for all rum lovers, the rum aroma was perfect. As far as I am concerned, they came out tasty but not indulging. They reminded me rather raisin buns than muffins. In my opinion they were not sweet enough, so next time I will add more sugar than recommended  2 tbsp. All in all, I think I will bake them again in future :)     

Ingredients for 10 muffins:

• 280g flour
• 2 tbsp cane sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 100g raisins
• 120 ml rum
• 1 egg
• 180 ml milk
• 80g melted butter

Chocolate cover:

• 3/4 bar dark chocolate
• 3 tbsp milk

Put the raisins into bowl pour the rum and leave overnight.

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

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and combine. Melt down the butter, when it is cooled down add milk and egg and whisk with fork. Pour the wet mixture into dry ingredients add soaked raisins and rum leftovers. With a fork combine all ingredients together. Spoon the batter into paper cases. Bake for 20-25 min.

In a meantime melt down the chocolate stirring continuously add the milk. Pour the chocolate mixture over warm muffins. Enjoy !