Double Chocolate Buns

Are these muffins?  Nope.  Cupcakes?  Nope.  These are in fact what the British refer to as a chocolate "buns".  They are a cross between a cupcake and a muffin. They have a somewhat cake-like consistency, though not nearly as sweet yet are definitely richer than a muffin.  They are also frosting-free.  These are wonderful eaten plain and without any fuss needed at all.

They are named Double Chocolate Buns because of 2 types of chocolate in the batter:  Dark Cocoa Powder and White Chocolate Chips (the latter not really being a chocolate at all).

You can make these all in one bowl and you don't even need your mixer as long as you have some decent upper body strength to blend the butter and sugar.  Everything else gets folded in and blended just until combined then baked up for 20 minutes.

These rise up beautifully and your house will be infused with the smell of chocolate. They are tender, moist and hard to resist.  My daughter inhaled 2 while they were still warm.

British Jumbles

These cookies are so unique because of they way the batter is prepared. You mix everything together in a deep dish skillet/saucepan! They come together in a snap and bake up with another unique trait: the crust. It has a very flaky texture on top but the insides of these cookies are quite dense.

I flavored mine with chocolate chips and walnuts but I felt they lacked any true punch of flavor. Next time I would add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (Saigon preferred for a good flavor kick) and up to 100 grams of raisins. Give this a shot if you decide to test out this recipe yourself.

Also, if adding chocolate chips, be prepared for melting. Just fold them in gently with a rubber spatula and then scoop up into drop cookies asap before they melt any further.

To get started you will need a fair sized deep dish skillet, saucepan (large enough to hold all the ingredients) or even a small dutch oven will do. I whisked in most of the ingredients initially with my wire whisk but once you add the flour you will need to switch over to a wooden spoon. Finally, switch over again to a rubber spatula when adding your fruits, nuts, chocolate, etc.



So let's get started !

RECIPE:
*source recipe : Jumbles, The Great British Book of Baking

WHAT YOU NEED

125 grams unsalted butter
100 grams fine granulated sugar
50 grams light brown sugar
1 medium egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
175 grams all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
up to 100 grams of flavorings: chopped chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, etc

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 375F
LINE 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper
IN MEDIUM SKILLET with high sides, melt butter over NED/LOW heat
REMOVE from stove-top
WHISK in sugars
IN SEPARATE BOWL, whisk together egg and vanilla
ADD egg mixture to skillet and whisk until combined
WITH WOODEN SPOON, stir in flour and baking powder into skillet mix until thoroughly combined
FOLD in flavorings
DROP by tablespoon onto prepared pans leaving 1 inch space between cookies
BAKE 10-12 minutes
LET COOL in pan 3 minutes
MOVE cookies onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely
STORE in airtight container

ENJOY !

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