Chocolate Banana Streusel Muffins

I always seem to have some overripe bananas hanging around as I'm not a fan of them when they start to go brown on the outside. This means I'm always on the lookout for recipes that will use them up. I spotted this recipe on Pinterest a couple of months ago and decided to give it a go as I had all the ingredients already. Chocolate and banana is a combination that can't go wrong and if you add an oaty topping you can almost believe they're good for you! I think these would be great for brunch but they will work just as well at any other time of the day with a cup of tea or coffee.

This recipe will make 8 muffins. As it is an American recipe the measurements are in cups. With hindsight after tasting these today I think you could probably up the amount of banana as when I tried one the banana isn't that strong so if you like a stronger banana flavour maybe try adding two bananas.

Ingredients:

Streusel topping:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (approx. 30g - cold)
2 tablespoons oats

Muffins:
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons mashed banana (approx. 1-1 1/2 bananas)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate spread (I used Nutella)

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a muffin pan with 8 paper cases.
2) In a small bowl combine the streusel topping ingredients until it makes small lumps. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl combine the dry muffin ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and baking powder). Then add the mashed banana, milk, chocolate spread, vanilla extract and egg yolk. Stir well with a wire whisk until the ingredients are combined. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.

 4) Fill each paper case approximately 3/4 full with the muffin mixture. Then sprinkle the streusel topping over.

5) Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the muffins have risen and a springy to touch. Allow them to cook for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

6) Enjoy! 

Chocolate & Pear Torte

Our friends Simon & Louisa came round for lunch today (accompanied by their super cute son Finn). Following on from my carrot cake post where I was using up some carrots I was given at work I also had some pears that needed using. I decided to opt for Jo Wheatley's Chocolate & Pear Torte from her 'Home Baking' book. You can find the recipe online here. I had considered this BBC Good Food flourless chocolate and pear cake and this BBC Good Food squidgy pear and hazelnut spread cake but I find Jo's recipes easy to follow and that they produce good results.

This torte will serve 8-10. You will need a 25cm springform or loose-bottomed cake tin that you have lightly greased.

Ingredients:

For the syrup:
250ml water
60g caster sugar
peel of half an orange

For the cake:
3 small dessert pears (peeled, cored & quartered - mine were very small so I used 4)
300g good-quality dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
250g unsalted butter
4 large eggs (separated)
100g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

Method:
1) Preheat your oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. Lightly grease your cake tin.
2) Put the water, caster sugar and orange peel in a saucepan and bring to the boil (stirring to dissolve the sugar). Add the pears, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 5-10 minutes until just softened (this will depend on the ripeness of your pears).

3) After the pears have cooked, remove them from the saucepan using a slotted spoon. Leave them to cool. Continue to cook the poaching liquid (with the lid off) until has reduced by half and is thick and syrupy. Set aside.

4) Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and remove from the heat.

5) Whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks.

6) In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale, light and fluffy. Using a metal spoon fold in the almonds, salt and vanilla (I was worried at this point as the mixture became very thick but don't worry - just try not to knock too much of the air out of it.)

7) Add a spoonful of the egg white mixture and beat it in to loosen the mixture, before carefully folding in the remaining whites. Then fold in the melted chocolate and butter.

8) Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and push the quartered pears into the batter in a circular shape (as mine were so small I made two circles - one on the outside and one in the middle.)

9) Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until it starts to come away from the sides of the tin (mine took a little big longer than this - about 45 minutes as although it was cooked around the outside it wasn't in the middle - it ended being a little bit over done on the edges though.)
10) Once cooked and removed from the oven, run a palette knife around the sides of the tin and remove from the ring from the tin (but not the base.) Leave the torte to cool completely on a rack. Once cool, chill for a minimum of 2 hours before sliding off the base onto a plate.

11) Brush with the reduce pear syrup and serve (with cream if you're feeling indulgent!)

Banana, walnut & chocolate chip loaf

Well 2013 is nearly at an end. I would like to wish all my readers a very happy new year. 2013 was the year I started writing this blog and I have really enjoyed recording all my baking adventures. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I was very lucky to receive a personalised 'Little Birdie Baking Blog' apron from my brother and sister-in-law (thanks Ian and Steph!) as one of my presents. It has already been used to make today's post!

Christmas is a time to catch up with family. Yesterday we went to a gathering of Mr Birdie's family and I of course offered to take a cake along. As usual I had some bananas that were beyond their best so decided to make a banana loaf. Now usually I would opt for my Wholewheat Banana Nut Loaf, which I have featured before but decided I would try something new. After some research I found this Paul Hollywood recipe on the BBC Good Food website. The beauty of this recipe is that it only requires one bowl. Apologies for the photos - I was at home at Devon and only had my mobile phone to take the photos with.

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas (peeled)
250g caster sugar (I used golden)
2 eggs
140g butter (softened)
2 teaspoons baking powder
100g walnut pieces
100g chocolate chips

Method:
1) Heat oven 190C/170C (Fan)/Gas 5. Line a 900g/2lb load tin with baking parchment.
2) In a large bowl, mash together the bananas and the sugar with the back of a fork.

3) Add the eggs and mix well with an electric hand whisk until fully incorporated, then add the butter for a couple of minutes more to blend everything together (it won't completely blend together but don't worry - it will be fine).

4) Sieve in the flour and baking powder and fold together with a spatula.

5) Then add the walnuts and chocolate chips (I used chunks of chocolate instead as I had a spare bar). Give everything a final mix before tipping into the lined loaf tin.

6) Bake for 1 hour & 5 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean (I personally think Paul is being a little bit ambitious here. Mine took at least 1 1/2 hours! I covered mine over with foil towards the end as I didn't want it to catch too much. What I didn't realise was because I was using my Dad's gas oven instead of my electric one at home is that I should have turned it around so it was browner on one side than the other - oops!)
7) Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then turn out and serve cut into thick slices. Any uneaten cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

8) Enjoy!

Christmas Is Coming Part 2 - Triple Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

As promised another cranberry based cookie recipe. These cookies are packed full of Christmas flavour. Cinnamon - check. Cranberries - check. Chocolate - check. I made these last year and they were well received so decided to give them another go. The recipe is from the blog 'What Megan's Making' which I am a fan of. You can find the recipe here. It is an American recipe so you will need some cups for measuring out the ingredients. It also gave me an opportunity to try out my new cookbook stand that I picked up in TK Maxx this week.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (approx. 140g) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/2 sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar (I used light brown soft sugar)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oats
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
2 ounces white chocolate chopped (for drizzling)

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2) In a medium sized bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3) In a large bowl beat together the butter and both sugars until smooth. Then beat in the egg and vanilla.

4) Add the flour mixture and oats and stir until blended (This will take some time and is a good work out for your arms!)

5) Stir in the chocolate chips and the cranberries.

6) Drop about a tablespoon of the mixture onto your prepared sheets leaving spaces for the cookies to spread.

7) Bake until the edges are light brown for about 15 minutes.
8) Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
9) Melt the chopped white chocolate in a bowl over a barely simmering pan of water. Then drizzle the melted white chocolate over the cookies.

10) Enjoy with your favourite festive drink :-)