If Chocolate Curl Meringue Kisses did not do it for you, here's a second to feed your chocolate addiction from Choclatique (Running Press, October 2011) by Ed Engoron.
Better-Than-Paradise Dark Chocolate Ganache Muffins
In Nora Ephron’s movie, Julia and Julia with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, I had to laugh at the scenes relating to the cooking discipline at Le Cordon Bleu, which were so reminiscent of my own experiences at that famed academy. During our baking semester, we had several classes on muffins. I found that the recipes taught produced heavy, paperweight-like scones, not at all like the lighter New England–style muffins I was accustomed to. I felt compelled to develop my own recipe, which is definitely better than Paris or Paradise. The instructor insisted that they were “très bon!”
Makes 18 muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 15 to 17 minutes
Cooling Time: 10 minutes
Level: **
Special Toolbox:
18 paper or foil muffin cup liners (21/2 inches in diameter)
muffin tins for 18 muffins
wooden spoon
cake tester
wire cooling rack
21/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
11/2 cups half-and-half
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Hot Fudge Ganache
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper or foil liners, or butter and lightly flour the muffin cups.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the half-and-half, butter, and eggs until barely mixed. The batter may appear to be lumpy with streaks of flour.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about one-third full. Top each with about 3/4 tablespoon of the Hot Fudge Ganache and then top with additional batter to fill the cups two thirds
full.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool the muffins on a wire rack.
Chef Secret: To have the lightest, fluffiest muffins, be very careful not to overmix the batter (which will make the muffins tough), and pop them into the oven as soon as they’re mixed.
Please note that you will need Old Fashioned Hot Fudge Ganache details to complete this recipe. We will send it to you upon request.
(* Recipe from Choclatique by Ed Engoron with Mary Goodbody, Running Press, 2011- Photography by Jason Varney, all rights reserved)