Chocolate chunk muffins (and a blueberry version, too)

I know that none of us who like to bake need a reason to try a muffin recipe.  Muffins and cookies are just fun to make, and too easy to eat!  So this is the latest muffin recipe I tried: chocolate chunk muffins from the Huckleberry cookbook.

I've never been to Huckleberry Bakery in Santa Monica but I sure would love to.  I was captivated by the beauty of their cookbook, and the food described in the pages. As expected, I gravitate towards simple recipes and chocolate chunk muffins...well, I can make and eat that any day, any time.  

Here's the thing: my chocolate chunk muffins looked nothing like the ones in the cookbook.  They didn't puff, dome, or crack open like I expected from looking at the photo in the book.  I know there are many possibilities for this - from differences in oven types to technique - but while I was disappointed at first, the taste more than made up for it.

These muffins/cupcakes have a wonderfully moist and tender texture - the kind that stays that way for days.  I'll give credit to yogurt and a bit of ground almonds for that. Baked goods made with yogurt don't ever seem to disappoint; it makes for a hefty muffin in the best way.  Because they are so moist and tender, you need to be a little careful to gently lift them out of the muffin tins after baking, especially since, in my case, the muffins spread and turn out with wide, flat tops (which make for very nice crusty, browned edges).

A hefty dose of chocolate chunks certainly doesn't hurt either.  But if chocolate muffins aren't your thing (I suppose that's a possibility), this muffin recipe is a good basis for other types of mix-in's - fruit instead of chocolate [see blueberry version near the end of the post].  But of course, chocolate is totally my thing so I happily went with it during my first go-round, mixing in a combination of 60 to 70% dark chocolate for a little bit of nuance. I added a touch of almond extract to my batch of muffins because of the ground almonds in the batter and because I was thinking about chocolate yogurt snack cakes, which I typically make for my little guy whenever I have extra whole milk yogurt around.

Eating a chocolate chunk muffin with a side of strawberries makes for a balanced breakfast, right?

Once you start, it's hard to stop eating these.  I found myself trying to get at every bite of chocolate encased within the bouncy moist cake.  Looks like I found another way to put my whole milk yogurt to good use!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day!

I had intended to make some red-white-and-blue mini fruit tarts (what would have been a new endeavor for me) to mark the fourth of July holiday.  But with the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks and keeping busy with my little one now that school is out, that exciting project had to be deferred.  In its place, I decided to make a little birthday cake to celebrate our nation's birthday if you will.  Yes, I admit I'm always looking for an excuse to make a cake. 

This relatively simple one-layer cake is chocolate, of course.  The recipe for the cake batter is the same one I used for my very first post on chocolate cupcakes.  I think it's fun to use one recipe but mix it up between cupcakes and a traditional cake.  Chocolate ganache frosting is my absolute favorite frosting and I'm using it again here.  I think "ganache" may be one of my all-time favorite words because it conjures up that incredible taste and texture for me.  It's amazing what chocolate and cream can become together.

On Independence Day, I think a little about my life here in the States.  Not having been born here, I occasionally wonder what my life would have been like had our family stayed in Hong Kong, where I'm from.  No doubt, that life would've been vastly different from the one I'm living now and there's really no way to know just how.  It's interesting to think about all the forks in the road during our lives and how one turn, one decision, can lead to an extremely different path and outcome.  All I know for sure is I'm glad to be where I am and couldn't imagine or want my life any other way.