Chocolate Orange Melt-In-The-Middle Muffins

Squirrelface and I are off to Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest this weekend, so we can save our money for the overpriced East London booze, I decided to make some treats we could take with us.

These lovely oaty muffins are robust enough to survive in an airtight container in a bag for a day and are moist enough that they will keep for at least 3 days - if they last that long, they're pretty scoffable.

You could substitute the orange marmalade for lemon curd, orange zest and juice for lemon and use 50g extra flour and omit the cocoa powder, if you prefer a non chocolate experience, the sour cream can be easily substituted for yoghurt if you're dieting (while baking....?). You know my modus operandi, experiment with flavours, not measurements!

Chocolate Orange Melt-In-The-Middle Muffins

125g plain flour
50g cocoa  powder
25g porridge oats , plus extra for sprinkling
175g caster  sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
zest and juice 1 orange
1 tbsp sunflower oil
150g sour cream
1 large egg
9 tsp chunky marmalade

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and line a muffin tin with 9 paper cases. Combine the flour, cocoa oats, sugar, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl. Whisk the orange zest and juice, oil, sour cream and egg together with a fork, then lightly stir the 2 mixtures together until just combined.

Spoon 1 tbsp of the mixture into each muffin case, top with 1 tsp of marmalade, then cover with the remaining muffin mix and a sprinkling of oats. Bake for 15-20 mins until cooked through and golden, then leave to cool slightly.

LIME MARMALADE DRIZZLE TYPE-CAKE

I'm Washing Up This Evening.....

From the chaos of unpacked bags and boxes I’m starting my food blogging.

The first thing i did after moving my stuff into mine and Squirrelface’s new Peckham flat was sort out the kitchen. Chaos isn’t chaos when the kitchen is in order.

I like baking with fruits and vegetables – they give a naughty treat a slightly healthy hue – and this evening I’m making a lime marmalade drizzle type cake.

I’m not much of a recipe follower when it come to savoury things, I like to let my instincts kick in  but when it comes to baking I know it’s science as much as it is art. When I adapt, I tweak flavours, not measurements. I’ve had enough cakeccidents being gung-ho and have learned my lesson.

This cake can, I imagine, be made with any other kind of marmalade and citrus fruit combo you like, mix and match etc. I’m not prescriptive, I would encourage you not to be either. Lime marmalade is evocative of my maternal grandparents and triggers happy culinary memories, the heady citrus tang of the fruit itself is possibly my favourite flavour, savoury or sweet. The Chinese don’t have the monopoly on sweet and sour.

I particularly love a thick shred marmalade, which adds an emerald glisten to the top of the cake, not unlike candied peel.

LIME MARMALADE DRIZZLE-TYPE CAKE

• 125g full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
• 50ml vegetable oil
• zest of 3 limes
• 3 free-range eggs
• 125g caster sugar
• 200g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

DRIZZLE

• 75g lime marmalade
• juice of 3 limes
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat oven 180C/Gas 4. Grease and line a loaf tin.

Beat together the yoghurt, vegetable oil, lime zest, caster sugar and eggs until well combined and glossy.. Sift the flour and baking powder in and mix until no lumps are visible..

With the help of a spatula, pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for about 45 minutes. Do the skewer test to check it comes out clean.

Whilst the cake is baking warm the marmalade, lime juice and icing sugar until the marmalade melts.

Take out of the oven, use the skewer to poke holes in the top of the cake and leave in the tin. Drizzle the marmalade mixture over the cake and set aside to cool completely.

Remove the cake from the tin and eat with friends (or in my case, Squirrelface).