Treacly Chocolate Muffins

Following on from my previous post, I am still in 'recycle' mode and furiously using up the bits and pieces left from christmas and whatever happens to be lying around in the larder. Spring cleaning has come a tad early!

A fellow chef once said to me that I was the only person he had ever known that could make something out of nothing......he was too kind! but what he meant really was, he needed 4 desserts, 5 starters and vegetables for that nights menu, then he would point me in the direction of the storeroom and cold-room and tell me to just use whatever there was on hand and then I was to tell the other chefs what to do!

Sometimes the task would seem impossible especially near the end of the month when dry stock was running low, and I would be in a complete panic, but by conscientiously reading practically every new cook book that came on the market, and back in the late eighties and early nineties there weren't that many! and scouring the women's magazines in waiting rooms and food magazines while standing in the actual newsagents, I built up a store of ideas that could be dragged out and adapted when needed.
This same method applies to my cooking today, the knowledge is stored in my head or ideas are scribbled down and I have note books filled with lists, ideas for this and that, and recipes that have actually come to fruition. After many years in the kitchen you do get a sense of what flavours work well together and which ones simply just won't, not in a million years!

This next recipe came about while cleaning out my 'baking' cupboard. There were the makings of chocolate muffins but not enough sugar for the full recipe. Then I came across a tin of treacle kindly donated by my mother, and I began to think of sticky treacly chocolate gooeyness... hash-tag YUM!


So here is my recipe for Treacly Chocolate Muffins, they are moist and chocolaty with that not quite liquorice flavour you get from treacle.
I do recommend warming them a little and topping with a good dollop of proper vanilla ice cream......ooh I just had another thought, try adding some crunchy caramel pieces or even some chopped pistachios or other nuts to the mix! hash-tag YUM yet again!

you will need: 

makes 12 - 14 muffins depending on how big you want them!

200 g soft unsalted butter or baking margarine

130 g soft dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200 g self raising flour

50 g good quality dark cocoa powder

3 medium eggs at room temperature

3 tablespoons treacle

1 level teaspoon cinnamon

approx 100 mls full fat milk...you may need more you may need less

how to:

• break the eggs into a bowl, whisk them to break them up and set them aside
• sieve the flour, cocoa powder and cinnamon together and set aside
• cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• slowly add the eggs to the butter and beat well between each addition to avoid curdling, if it looks like it is curdling add a little flour and fold in gently
• once all the egg is added, fold in the remaining flour and cocoa
• spoon in the treacle and mix gently until incorporated
• add  the milk slowly while mixing until you have a nice dropping consistency, the batter should be light, not stiff, add more milk if needed until you're happy
• scoop the batter into muffin cases
• bake in a pre heated oven 170oC approx 18 minutes, do check them after 15 minutes, poke them with a wooden toothpick and if they are dry then take them out

Because of the treacle and brown sugar in this recipe there is a tendency for these to burn if you don't watch them carefully, as soon as they are dry take them out, they will be deliciously moist!