Chocolate-Lemon Muffins

This was my first baking attempt without using any easy-to-implement cake mix formula from the supermarkets. I had very bad experiences with baking in the past. The last time I baked any cakes was probably about 7 years ago. The cakes I baked either sank in the middle, ended up in a weird shape or had a horrible texture. I was very happy that I overcome my baking ‘phobia’ and tried this out. Because of this experience, I am definitely going to try out more baking recipes. Yeah!

This recipe was adapted from one of the food magazine series from the Coles Supermarket. I am really impressed with the number and variety of simple recipes in such magazines. The recipes not only work but are very useful to amateur cooks like myself. Best of all, these magazines are FREE copies!!! :)

One of the main ingredients for this recipe is orange. However, I did not have any of this fruit when I tried out this recipe so I substituted it with lemon instead. The muffins have a very rich chocolate flavour and they are well complemented with the citrus taste of the fruit. Be careful not to over bake the muffins as this may cause the cakes to have a bitter base and a dry texture. Baking exactly between 20-25 minutes in the oven (please refer to the recipe), is the perfect baking duration for these muffins.

Chocolate-Lemon Muffins Recipe (makes about 12)

Ingredients:

175g of butter (at room temperature, chopped)

175g of dark chocolate (chopped)

1 cup of brown sugar

3 eggs (lightly beaten)

½ lemon (juice)

1cup of self-raising flour

2 tbsp of cocoa powder

12 small pieces of lemon slices

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.

3. Add eggs and lemon juice. Beat with a wooden spoon until well-combined.

4. Sift the flour and cocoa powder and fold into a mixture, until just combined.

5. Fill the prepared muffin pan with the mixture and top each with a lemon slice.

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.