Banana Chocolate chunk Muffins

The whole world is reeling under the "Corona scare" and all we can do is take precautions and keep ourselves and dear ones safe by social distancing.Here in Chennai,though people are yet to completely understand the gravity of the situation,we have stocked up on necessities if ever God forbid,there's a lockdown.When it comes to stocking up,how much is enough is a question we need to ask ourselves.Please stock sensibly and spare a thought for those who have no access to supermarkets and online shopping.Do your bit and we'll survive this together :)

These muffins were a result of some over ripe bananas which were waiting to be used up.I usually add it to milkshakes,or mix a banana into my chapathi dough or even better,make dough for Buns.But this time as Arjun has holidays,I made muffins to satisfy the hunger pangs every minute:)

My stash of chocolate chips got over,so chopped up some chocolate and added into the batter.These taste amazing if I may say so myself.Perfect with a cup of milk :)

Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Recipe source

Ingredients

Ripe Banana - 2(I used 4 small)

Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Melted Butter - 1/3 cup

Egg - 1,beaten

Vanilla - 1 tsp

Flour - 1 1/2 cups

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Chocolate chunks - 1/2 cup

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.Prepare a Muffin pan with liners.

In a bowl mash the bananas.Add sugar,yogurt,melted butter,egg and vanilla and mix well.

Add the flour,baking soda and salt and fold lightly till the batter is thick and combined.Fold in the chocolate chunks coated in little flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups till 3/4th full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the muffins turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let it cool and serve it with a cup of milk :)

Step by Step Tutorial

Preheat oven to 180C.Prepare a Muffin pan with liners.

In a bowl mash the bananas.

Add sugar,

yogurt,

melted butter,egg and 

vanilla and mix well.

Add the flour,

baking soda and salt and fold lightly till 

the batter is thick and combined.

Fold in the chocolate chunks coated in little flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups till 3/4th full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the muffins turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let it cool and serve it with a cup of milk :)

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Molten Center Chocolate Cupcakes

One of the first recipes I bookmarked when I got hold of The Big Book of Baking,this one is a very simple recipe.What I liked most about the recipe is the quantity of the ingredients,almost half of regular cupcakes and it yields 8 big Cupcakes[since I have a 9 hole Cupcake tray,I adjusted a bit here and there to get 9].

Many of my readers expressed concern over uncooked batter when I posted the Molten Lava Cake,though personally I have no problems in baking/eating it,I was amused because many people felt that way.This recipe uses chocolate pieces as the molten centers and it creates a gooey center and there's no question of uncooked batter too.

Having baked a 'cooked' MLC sometime back,I was wary of over baking the cupcake and kept a close tab on it while it baked.While the recipe says 190C,I went with 180C which is the temperature I bake my cupcakes in.The centers were not 'cooked',but the chocolate was not gooey either.I had to Microwave the cupcake[after it baked] for 15 seconds and then the chocolate slowly started melting.But I didn't have to do it after all coz the cupcakes disappeared as soon as they came out of the oven!

Molten Center Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from The Big Book of Baking


Ingredients



Butter - 55 gms
Castor Sugar - 55 gms
Flour - 85 gms
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
Egg - 1
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Milk - 1-2  tbsp
Chocolate - 100 gms,chopped into small cubes


Method

Preheat oven to 190C.Line a cupcake tray with paper cups or use a silicon muffin pan.
Sift together flour,baking powder and cocoa powder.Keep aside.



Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Mix in egg and vanilla,beat for one more minute.
Sift in the dry ingredients and beat until the last trace of flour disappears.If the batter seems too stiff,add milk to 'loosen' the batter.The final batter should be of dropping consistency.





Pour half of the batter into the cupcake molds.Make an indentation with the back of a spoon and place the chopped chocolate on top.Pour the other half of the remaining batter and cover the chocolate.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or till the cupcakes have risen and firm on top.
Let it cool for 2-3 minutes,then remove the cupcakes from the tray and cool on a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar on top and serve.




Notes

• As I mentioned earlier,the centers were not so molten,so you can try baking it at a higher temperature for a gooey center.190C or 200C would be ideal.
• I found the cupcakes to be a lot less sweet for my liking,nothing that a drizzle of Hershey's couldn't save,but if you are serving the cupcakes on their own,increase the sugar.I think 70 gms would be fine.
• The original recipe calls for self rising flour,so if you have it--use it and skip the baking powder.

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Chocolate and Vanilla Marbled Loaf

Seeing so many posts of Marble Cake recipes in the blogosphere,I was tempted to bake one too.For someone who likes to bake at the drop of a hat,it was quite difficult to stay away from baking for some time now.The reason being,many of our friends[with whom the cake would be shared with] are out of station and I fear we'd end up eating the whole cake on our own,not a good thought.

I got the perfect opportunity to bake last weekend as we had guests at home and that too kiddie guests--a friends' nieces and what better way to treat them than with a cake,so Marble cake it was!





Chocolate and Vanilla Marbled Loaf
Recipe from The Big Book of Baking


Ingredients


Semi sweet Chocolate - 55g / 2oz
Milk - 3 tbsp
Butter,unsalted - 70g / 2½ oz,plus extra for greasing
Caster Sugar - 85g / 3 oz
Egg - 1,beaten
Soured cream* - 3 tbsp
Self raising flour - 115g / 4 oz
Baking powder - ½ tsp
Vanilla extract - ½ tsp





Method


Preheat the oven to 160C / 325 F.
Grease/line a 450g / 1lb loaf tin.


Break up the chocolate,place in a small heatproof bowl with the milk and set over a saucepan of simmering water.Heat gently until just melted.Remove from the heat.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and the soured cream.Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture,then fold in lightly and evenly using a spatula.
Spoon half the mixture into a separate bowl and stir in the chocolate mixture.Add the vanilla to the plain mixture.
Spoon the vanilla and chocolate mixtures alternately into the prepared loaf tin,swirling lightly with a knife or skewer for a marbled effect.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch.


Cool in the tin for 10 minutes,then turn out and finish cooling on a wire rack.





Notes

• For making self raising flour at home - sift together the said amount of plain flour with 1¼ tsp baking powder and use.
• *I substituted the soured cream with plain yogurt and it works out just fine.
• The cake is not overtly sweet and I think the sugar can be increased to 100g.
• My cake was cracked on top unevenly,probably because I used a smaller pan than required. 

How did we like it - The cake was gone as soon as it was cut since kids were around!Except for the cracked top,everything about the cake was great,nobody else seemed to notice the crack though!.I served it with tea and it was a great combo.If planning to serve the cake on its own,I would suggest increasing the sugar.

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