Chocolate muffins with curd cheese filling

Wonderful, well-balanced chocolate muffins with a curd cheese filling. Delicious, soft and fluffy – it’s hard to stop at just one ;). Perfect for a quick treat when you’re craving something chocolatey. They’re quick to make and require no fuss. I baked mine in paper cups, but you can also use a standard muffin tin with cases.

Makes 10 – 12 muffins.

Ingredients for chocolate muffins:

• 250 g plain flour
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 100 g caster sugar
• 70 g muscovado sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 175 ml milk
• 115 g butter, melted and cooled
• 70 g dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

In a bowl, combine the wet ingredients: eggs, milk and butter. Add the sugars and whisk until combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Mix gently with a whisk until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a muffin tin with 10–12 cases or prepare sturdy paper cups on a baking tray. Divide the batter evenly between the cases, filling them no more than ¾ full. Add about 2 teaspoons of the cheese filling (recipe below) to the centre of each muffin. Using a teaspoon, gently swirl it into the top layer of the chocolate batter to create a marbled effect.

Bake at 170°C for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool.

Ingredients for curd cheese filling:

• 170 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese (or mascarpone or cream cheese such as Philadelphia)
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 8 g vanilla sugar

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl until smooth.

Enjoy!