Total time: 45 mins
Makes: 10
Ingredients
50g dark chocolate (55% cocoa solids is fine)
85g butter
1 tbsp milk, water, or coffee
200g self-raising flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g light muscovado sugar
50g golden caster sugar
1 egg
142ml carton of soured cream
For the topping
100g dark chocolate (as above)
100g white chocolate
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to fan 170C/ conventional 190C/gas 5 and line
a muffin tin with 10 paper muffin cases. Break the chocolate into
a heatproof bowl, add the butter and liquid. Melt in the microwave
on Medium for 30-45 seconds (or set the bowl over a pan of
gently simmering water). Stir and leave the mixture to cool.
Step 2
Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and both sugars in a bowl. Beat
the egg in another bowl and stir in the soured cream, then pour
this on the flour mixture and add the cooled chocolate. Stir just to
combine – don’t overmix or it will get tough.
Step 3
Spoon the mixture into the cases to about three quarters full.
Bake for 20 minutes until well risen. Loosen the edges with a
round-bladed knife, let them sit in the tins for a few minutes, then
lift out and cool on a wire rack.
Step 4
For the topping, make two piping bags out of greaseproof paper
(or cut the ends off two clean plastic bags). Break the dark and
white chocolate into separate bowls and melt in the microwave on
Medium for 2 minutes (or over a pan as in step 1). Put 2
spoonfuls of dark chocolate in one bag and the same of white
chocolate in the other.
Step 5
Working with one muffin at a time, spread with dark chocolate
from the bowl, letting it run down a bit, then pipe four concentric
circles of white chocolate on top. Using a small skewer, drag
through the circles at regular intervals, from the centre to the
edge, to create a cobweb effect. Repeat with four more muffins.
On the remaining five, spread over the white chocolate and
decorate with the dark. Best eaten the day they’re made – even
better while the chocolate’s soft.