Tuesday, September 21, 2010

TWD—Chocolate-Break Muffins

It’s no secret that I don’t drink or use coffee.  So when I saw this week’s chosen recipe for Coffee-Break Muffins (page 15 in Baking From My Home to Yours), I knew exactly what I would do to adapt them and it actually worked great. 

Get ready for it, wait, wait—I used chocolate!  Surprise.  not.  If figured I’d use hot cocoa in place of the coffee.  Try it.  Makes a pretty darn good muffin.  I even used some gingerbread cocoa that I have, which only added well to the spice that is already in the recipe.  Along with the cinnamon in the recipe, I also added a little more ground ginger and a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg.  So in place of the one cup of coffee, I used the gingerbread hot cocoa mix. 

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I couldn’t stop there with the chocolate, so I added four ounces of chopped Lindt 70% Excellence dark chocolate.  This recipe made 12 regular muffins and four minis.  

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While I thought the muffins were good, I really didn’t think I could eat all of them.  Well, I suppose I COULD, maybe that I shouldn’t eat all of them.  You see, I knew the boys wouldn’t eat them if I said, “Here, have a chocolate gingerbread muffin.”  So I sort of told them a little fib.  First I decided they WOULD eat them if they thought they were cupcakes.  So I called them cupcakes.  But cupcakes need frosting.  So I made a frosting for them. 

I made a chocolate ganache with 4 1/2 ounces of chopped chocolate and 1/3 cup heavy cream.  I pour the  boiling cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute, then whisked it together until it was smooth.  I LOVE ganache.  I dipped about half of the “cupcakes” in the ganache, then I thought it would be fun to make frosting with the rest of the ganache.  So I added two tablespoons of butter to the ganache and beat it in the electric mixer for a few minutes, then I added 3/4 cup powdered sugar and let it beat for a few minutes. 

Frosted fake cupcake gingerbread cocoa muffins--

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And the boys ate the cupcakes.  These muffins have a nice kind of crisp outside and are moist and flavorful on the inside.  Want the real recipe?  Rhiani at Chocoholic Anonymous chose this week’s Tuesday’s With Dorie recipe.  You can find the recipe on her blog.  Check out the other TWD blogs and their cupcakes muffins. ;)

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your chocolate version sounds great! Weren't you just saying you can't decorate cakes and cupcakes? That's a pretty fancy looking frosted cupcake!

Leslie said...

I love what you did with this one! So creative to frost them to make them cupcakes (but even more dangerous, in my book!)

chocolatechic said...

I bought chocolate milk to use in place of the coffee.

Lisa said...

What a creative idea. Glad your family liked them.

Fallon said...

Chocolate makes everything better!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

How do you manage to make everything a bit better than it is supposed to me. These are stars, in their own right.

Yes, they are like cupcakes so why not.......?

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Oh my gosh. I think I just went into chocolate overload (which is a very good thing!). I need one of those cupcakes NOW!! :)

Unknown said...

You bribe your kids into eating dessert by putting more chocolate in them?? Why weren't you my Mom?? :(

Rachel said...

I love your version!! That's the way to eat a muffin/cupcake! :)

Lisa Ernst said...

Chocolate -- what a great idea! Of course you really got my attention when I scrolled down and saw the ganache topping. Still want to recreate a chocolate chip coconut muffin with chocolate ganache that I had over Christmas in California. The best muffin I've ever eaten.....could be a cupcake. :-)

Jaime said...

chocolate sounds way better than coffee! :)

Valerie said...

I love how much you love chocolate since I do too!!!

Megan said...

Such deception - I love it!

Just thinking about gingerbread hot cocoa makes me swoon. Seriously - I love the stuff. Can't WAIT for cold weather!

Barbara Bakes said...

I love that you sold them to the kids as cupcakes. I'm sure chocolate ganache was a fabulous addition.

Emily said...

Haha I love that you have to trick them. What do they have against delicious muffins? Silly kids.

These look great!

Eliana said...

I'm not a coffee fan either to I love the idea of using chocolate instead. Will definitely be giving these a try very soon.

Jeannette said...

gingerbread hot cocoa!?! i want some!!! they sound splendid!

Amber Marie said...

Chocolate - what a great substitute! I liked these but probably wouldn't make them again although I am tempted to try the chocolate version!

natalia said...

Wow Katrina you did a great job on cupcaking these !! I bet they finished in seconds !

spike. said...

perfect substitution! nice work as always

Anonymous said...

So which version was better? I am sure I would have tried both. I made the coffee version and I think the chocolate was essential.

Rhiani said...

Looks like you and I were on the same wave length, although I decided to put both the ganache and the frosting on each and every one of mine :)

LimeCake said...

i love coffee-flavored anything! these look darn delicious!

Rylan said...

Katrina!!! I missed your blog too!

This looks like I'm in Chocolate heaven (hear the cliche?). I'm really digging the look of the frosting on this one--looks totally good...I can feel it in my mouth! Yum!!!

Paula said...

The funniest line in this post... "Want the real recipe?" You always make me smile when I come here.

Flourchild said...

Your muffins look incredible..I love the icing piled on top! Im glad you enjoyed them and got creative!! They look so good!
Happy Baking!!

Evelyn said...

These look wonderful and I bet they don't even need frosting. I bet the kids smell them and are in heaven!

Lisa said...

Hey, I saw your comment on April's blog. I'm also going to be doing the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and hope you'll be able to bake along as well. I've loved seeing all your recipes and know that you'd come up with something amazing.

Mimi said...

As always you can chocolafy anything.
Mimi

Pamela said...

Looks good to me! And any reason to add frosting is a good reason. Glad they liked them.

Cookie Sleuth said...

Thanks for visiting Cookie Sleuth! These look great, and I really like your pumpkin cookies from earlier this week.

Amanda said...

Haha! How cute are those!

Kayte said...

Delicious looking for sure. I figured you would have chocolate in them somehow. Next time I make them the guys want me to put in some chocolate chips. I don't like coffee, but I liked these for some reason!

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