* Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins {Nigella Lawson}

The last time I tried to make anything resembling a chocolate muffin or cupcake, it all went volcanically wrong - I think it's because I use my fan oven for just about everything, and it's really not suited to baking smaller cakes, at all. It either dries them out or blows them up.

There is a chance that it's actually a non intelligent life form that is making attempts at nuclear fusion via cake batter.

Well I've finally used my noggin and removed it's funding (stopped using it for little cakes, ya follow?) and I used my conventional oven instead to cook these Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins from a Nigella Lawson recipe.

It worked.

It worked so well that I got too excited to wait to photograph these babies and the chocolate-chips on the top were still a bit hot and shiny. I absolutely promise that I did not lick the top of every single muffin to create a shiny effect.

Though the temptation was certainly there.

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Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins Recipe {Nigella Lawson}

Makes 12 Muffins

Prep time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 20 minutes (maybe slightly less in a fan oven)
Total time - 30 minutes

You will need
12 hole muffin tray
12 muffin cases(If using large American Muffin Cases you'll get less muffins)

Ingredients 
9oz/250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp best quality cocoa powder
6oz/175g caster sugar
5oz/150g chocolate chips (save 1/4 of the chips for sprinkling)
9fl oz/250ml milk
3fl oz/90ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

• Preheat the oven to 390f/200C/160c fan
• Pace the muffin cases in the muffin hole tray.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and 3/4 of the chocolate chips into a large bowl and mix well.
• Place all of the liquid ingredients together in a bowl or jug and mix well.
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix together with slow and gentle strokes. Stop stirring once the last traces of flour disappear. Don't over mix.
• Spoon the batter into paper muffin cases. An ice cream scoop is perfect for this, even though the mixture is a bit sloppy.
• Scatter the remaining 1/4 of the chocolate chips on top and bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are dark, risen and springy.
• Allow to cool slightly (or completely) before stuffing in your face.

EAT

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