Double Chocolate Banana Espresso Muffins

I just fell in love with a new cookbook. I'm quite frivolous when it comes to cookbooks, and have yet to be able to name a month where I haven't taken a new one home. True, I am not loyal to each and every one of them at all times, but I find myself remembering an old flame a couple months down the road and browsing its pages with immense pleasure. While I have not tried nearly as many recipes as I would want from each and every book, just flipping through the pages is a constant source of inspiration. This new cookbook is a real keeper. It's the Baked Cookbook, from a bakery in Brooklyn and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw the cover. Yes... I do judge on appearances!

These muffins were the first recipe I tried from the book. They worked out wonderfully because I had been saving a couple bananas for weeks. The thing with bananas is that they really get sweeter as they ripen. When the skin gets really dark brown and the banana really soft, you know it will give you the most delicious base for banana bread or in this case.. banana chocolate muffins! I also chopped the chocolates into coarse pieces instead of using chocolate chips which added a nice rustic look to the final product.

Recipe, for 12 muffins, adapted from the Baked Cookbook

1 1/2 cups of mashed ripe bananas (about 4 medium-sized bananas)
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup of whole milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon of strong espresso
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
3 ounces of milk chocolate, cut in small pieces
3 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, cut in small pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir in the banana, sugars, butter, espresso, milk and egg.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and gently add in the banana mixture. Stir into just combined. Gently fold in the chocolates.

Fill each muffin tin about three quarters full and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Once cooked, move muffins to a cooking rack. The muffins can be stored in an air tight container for up to two days. Enjoy!

Milk Chocolate Pot de Creme

First, a little word of advice: this is not for light eaters, so consider yourself warned!

I had made these pot de creme a while back with bittersweet chocolate, but had always wanted to jazz them up a little. Yesterday seemed like the perfect day: it was cold outside and an ideal day to watch chocolate slowly melt. I had bought really good quality milk chocolate, you know the kind that you get in big uneven chunks from specialty stores? The kind that come by weight without any fancy packaging but that tastes like an intense version of chocolate.. and smells like it too? Still in my fleur de sel mood, I added a tad of saltiness to the mix and it added a nice hint of caramel-y flavor.

This really is a rich dessert though - and it can't be eaten in very large quantities. Although, the one I made for Oliver yesterday was eaten at a steady rate throughout the evening...and the once full little ramekin was found empty by midnight.

Recipe: (for 4)
4 oz good quality milk chocolate, chopped in small pieces
2 egg yolks, beaten lightly with 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar
3/4 cup of whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of Grand Marnier
1/4 teaspoon of Fleur de Sel
Whipped cream
Chocolate Shavings

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Once it has fully melted, add the cream and whisk so that the mixture become a uniform color of brown. Add a small ladle of the chocolate mixture to the beaten eggs and stir to temper the eggs. This ensures that the egg slowly heats up before being added to the heat so it doesn't curdle. Slowly add the egg mixture to the chocolate and cream mixture and stir with a whisk. Add the vanilla, salt and Grand Marnier. Cook on the double boiler for 3-4 minutes, whisking gently. Once the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and stain to remove any egg lumps. Transfer to small ramekins or espresso cups and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or until set. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and some chocolate shavings. Enjoy!