Hummingbird Bakery Chocolate Muffins

Yesterday I became the proud new owner of 2 glorious items: a 1 kg bag of Cocoa Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder and The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I could barely sleep with the anticipation of putting both to good use come the morning. So rise and shine, I was up at 6 am on a Saturday ( you know you are a baking addict when....) and made a lovely dark and luxurious batch of chocolate muffins. Did either recent purchases disappoint? Not in the least !

The muffins were moist, soft and perfectly flavored with the rich cocoa powder and milk chocolate chips. These were light and air, not dense like a regular muffin. In fact, you could easily compare these to the taste and texture of a cupcake.

In the past I have always used Fry's Cocoa Powder not by choice but out of necessity. There is simply not another brand around here at the grocery store. Then I decided to just go for it and buy Cocoa Barry Extra Brute online. I clearly had no idea what a 1 kg bag would look like because when it arrived I was shocked to see the size of it. I thought to myself "I am never going to use all this!" but when I opened the bag today I realized how wrong my thinking was yesterday. It is like silk. Not a clump to be found. It is a dark chocolate color and the smell that greeted me when I opened the bag was incredible. I felt like I was in a chocolate factory. I am in love and cannot wait to use this gorgeous cocoa powder in many a baked dessert to come!

And the cookbook? Another great purchase!

Each recipe has a photo and the book is beautifully laid out into various sections including muffins, cupcakes, cakes, pies, cookies and bars. I decided to try the chocolate muffins as my first baking experience from the book switching up the recipe a bit as I went along. What I noticed right away was the low oven temperature and longer baking time. These bake at 325F for 1/2 hr. The came out of the oven nothing short of sheer perfection.

So without further ado, let's get baking!

RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe Chocolate Muffins, Hummingbird Chocolate Muffins

WHAT YOU NEED

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup milk - 2 % works fine
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 3 tablepoons unsalted butter melted
4 oz milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 325F
LINE MUFFIN TIN with 12 paper liners

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER fitted with paddle attachment, cream eggs and sugar for 3 minutes on MED speed
IN SEPARATE MEDIUM bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt
IN SMALL BOWL, combine milk and vanilla extract
ADD FLOUR MIX AND MILK MIX in 3 alternate batches mixing just until combined
STIR in melted butter and chocolate chips
WITH ICE CREAM SCOOP, fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter
BAKE 30 minutes - toothpick inserted in center should come out clean
LET COOL 5 minutes in pan then transfer muffins to cooling rack

ENJOY !



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