Chocolate Prune Muffins

Yes I know this might sound like an odd and unattractive combination, but I was looking to add some fibre to my toddler's diet.

The prunes make the mixture look nice and chocolatey and you can't really taste them. The original recipe is actually a cake but I wanted a quick baking / easy to freeze snack and so made them in muffins tin.

The toddler only got plain un-iced ones, but I fancied them up a bit for my older kids (including hiding a little surprise in the middle!)

Here's my Thermotalk version:

Ingredients

150g pitted prunes

65ml boiling water

140g oil

200g raw sugar

20g cocoa powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

250g buttermilk

375g plain flour (I used 200g wholemeal, 175g white)

2 1/2 tsp bicarb soda

2 tsp baking powder

12 small easter eggs, wrapping removed (optional)

Method

1. Soak prunes in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease muffin tins. (I used 1 x large muffin tin and 2 x mini muffin tin).

3. Place sugar in TM bowl, grind for 3 seconds on speed 9. Set aside.

4. Place prunes and buttermilk in TM bowl. Blend for 10 seconds on speed 7.

5. Add oil, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, eggs and vanilla. Mix for 5 seconds on speed 5.

6. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix for 15 seconds on speed 4 with the aid of the spatula.

7. Spoon mixture into muffin tins.  For the larger muffins, if you want to add the easter egg in - spoon a heaped tablespoonful of the mixture into the muffin tin. Place the easter egg in the middle and top with another heaped tablespoonful of mixture.

8. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes for mini muffins and 18-20 minutes for larger muffins, so that when you push it gently in the middle the muffin springs back.

Icing: Dust with icing sugar or make a chocolate ganache (100g chocolate, grated 10 seconds speed 8, add 30g cream, melt together 2 minutes 50C speed 4) and spread over the top.

Variations: Add chocolate chips - white, milk or dark to add extra chocolatieness to it!