This recipe is adapted from American cook and author Ina Garten’s chocolate cake recipe. Whether you make muffins or one big cake, the result is moist, light and delicious.
If preferred, cook the mixture in one 20cm cake pan (and cut it in half horizontally after cooking) or two 20cm sandwich cake pans, rather than as muffins. Cooking time will be about half an hour and you will probably need to double the icing, so there’s enough to put some in the middle and some on top.
I bought the chocolate coloured paper muffin liners online.
2 eggs
1½ cups brown or white sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (or ordinary milk)
1¾ cups plain flour, sifted
¾ cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup hot coffee
12 squares dark chocolate (optional)
Icing:
100g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate, broken into squares
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 Tbs cocoa powder
4 Tbs icing sugar
Milk, cream or buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper liners.
Place eggs, sugar and oil in food processor or electric mixer. Mix well until thick and light coloured, then gradually add the other ingredients, in the order they’re listed, except for the dark chocolate squares, stopping the machine from time to time to scrape down the sides. Don’t over mix, just enough to incorporate everything.
After adding the coffee the mixture will be quite runny, so I find it easier to scrape it into a jug and fill the muffins from there. Divide mixture between the muffin liners, filling each case about two thirds full. If liked push one square of chocolate into the middle of each muffin, submerging it completely. Bake for 20 minutes or until well-risen and firm to touch.
Cool the muffins before icing them. Melt butter in microwave, add the chocolate and stir to dissolve. Mix in the sifted cocoa and icing sugar and enough milk, cream or buttermilk to achieve a thick spreading consistency. Start with 1-2 Tbs and add more as necessary. Ice the muffins and store them in a container with a lid.
Makes about 12 large muffins
