Better chocolate than rain drops

I wanted to wish you a happy Monday, a nice and stress free beginning of the week, but how can I do so on a cold, rainy day. My daughter was right when she said, "mom, it's autumn so winter's here" ?!? ^__^.
At least with the beginning of this cold, rainy season, we go back to our favourite comfort recipes. We start thinking about a warm bowl of soup, packed with autumn veggies, nice slice of freshly baked bread, and... chocolate, of course.
Raise your hand if you don't think chocolate is comfort food !!!
How could it not be???
Just thinking about anything chocolate makes my heart feel warm.
And if it's a muffin packed with warm, melting chocolate, in and on top, so is my tummy.
Have to go now, to pick the little Loch Ness monster up from kindergarten and take her to the swimming pool later - she fell in love with these, and who could blame her? ^__^ ?



Chocolate chocolate-chip muffins
(by Nigella Lawson)


250 g flour (1 3/4 cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 TBspoons bitter cocoa
175 g sugar (3/4 cup)
150 g chocolate chips (plus more for sprinkling on top) (3/4 cup)
250 ml milk (1 cup)
90 ml vegetable oil (1/3 cup)
1 large egg
1 TBspoon pure vanilla extract

Put the flour, the baking powder, the baking soda, the cocoa, the chocolate chips and the sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk them together.
Put the egg, the milk, the oil and the vanilla extract in another bowl (or measuring glass) and lightly whisk together.
Add the wet mixture to the dry one and stir well to bring them together into a lumpy sticky batter.
Fill the paper muffin cups up to 2/3, sprinkle the top with chocolate chips and bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry.

Is your cappuccino ready? I'm bringing muffins, of course ^__^




Muffin al cioccolato e gocce di cioccolato
(di Nigella Lawson)


250 g farina "00"
2 cucchiaini di lievito per dolci
1/2 cucchiaino di bicarbonato di sodio
2 cucchiai di cacao amaro
175 g zucchero semolato
150 g di gocce di cioccolato (più per cospargere)
250 ml latte
90 ml olio
1 uovo grande
1 cucchiaio di estratto puro di vaniglia


Mettete la farina, il lievito, il bicarbonato, il cacao, lo zucchero e le gocce di cioccolato in una ciotola e mescolate con una frusta.
Mettete l’uovo, il latte, l’olio e l’estratto di vaniglia in un’altra ciotola e sbattete leggermente con una frusta a mano.
Versate il composto umido nella ciotola con ingredienti secchi e mescolateli bene insieme (sempre con la frusta a mano o con un cucchiaio di legno).
Riempite i pirottini per i muffin con il composto fino a 2/3, cospargete con un po' di gocce di cioccolato e metteteli nel forno già caldo a 200°C per circa 20 minuti.
Sfornateli e lasciateli raffreddare.
Se per caso vi avanza qualche muffin (difficile), conservateli ben chiusi in una scatola di latta o avvolti nel alluminio.




Čokoladni muffini s čokoladnim kapljicama
(po receptu Nigelle Lawson)


250 g brašna
2 žličice praška za pecivo
1/2 žličice sode bikarbone
2 žlice gorkog kakaa
175 g šećera
150 g čokoladnih kapljica ili nasjeckane tamne čokolade (plus još malo za posipati po muffinima)
250 ml mlijeka
90 ml ulja
1 veliko jaje
1 žlica čistog ekstrakta vanilije


Stavite suhe sastojke, brašno, prašak za pecivo, sodu bikarbonu, kakao, šećer i čokoladne kapljice u zdjelu i promiješajte ručnom žicom.
Stavite vlažne sastojke - mlijeko, jaje, ulje i ekstrakt vanilije - u drugu zdjelu i lagano razmutite ručnom žicom (pjenjačom).
Sipajte vlažnu smjesu u suhu i opet samo dobro izmiješajte pjenjačom ili drvenom kuhačom da se sastojci spoje.
Napunite smjesom papirne košarice za muffine (kojima ste obložili kalup) do 2/3, pospite s još malo kapljica po površini, i pecite u pećnici zagrijanoj na 200°C oko 20 minuta (čačkalica ubodena u sredinu mora izaći suha).