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Devil's Valentine Muffins.

These Valentine muffins use a devil's food cake recipe. They are moist and chocolatey. If you add a teaspoon of black cherry jam to the centre, it will give them a black forest flavour. Perfect for a Valentine day treat!   Makes 7-8

Ingredients

50g/1 3/4 oz, soft margarine
115g/4oz soft dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
115g/4oz plain flour
half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
 25g/1oz cocoa powder
125ml/4 fl oz soured cream
Good quality black cherry jam (for centre, optional)

Icing

125g/4 1/2 oz plain chocolate
2 tbsp caster sugar
150ml/5 fl oz soured cream

Decoration

120g/4 oz white chocolate
spectral red paste colour
chocolate hearts mould

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4. Put eight muffin cases into a muffin tin.
  2. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda, together into a large bowl. Add the margarine, brown sugar and eggs, then using an electric hand whisk, beat all together until smooth. Then using either your hand or a metal spoon, fold in the soured cream. Divide the mixture equally between the muffin cases, using a teaspoon. 
  3. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until well risen and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  4. While the muffins are cooling, make the chocolate hearts - melt the white chocolate, either in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiled water, removed from the heat. Once melted, take a couple of spoonfuls out and spread thinly over a sheet of silicone paper or a clean smooth surface. Leave to set. (Once set, but not rock hard, make chocolate flakes or small curls, by pushing a knife or paint scraper away from you across the chocolate).
  5. To the rest of the white chocolate, add red food paste and mix in until the chocolate turns red, (The food colour must be a paste, not a liquid so that the consistency of the chocolate doesn't change too much). Buff clean the hearts on the mould using a clean cloth, then using a teaspoon, spoon into the hearts, tapping the mould gently against the work surface to allow the chocolate to spread out and to burst any air bubbles. Place in a fridge to allow the chocolate hearts to set.
  6. To make the icing - break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and heat until melted, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly then whisk in the caster sugar and soured cream until combined.
  7. If adding the black cherry jam to the centre, remove the centre of each cake using a cupcake corer and add a teaspoon of the jam to each one, then put cores back in. Smother each muffin in the icing and decorate with the red chocolate hearts and white chocolate flake curls. 
  8. If feeling adventurous, add some arrows to your hearts by piping melted dark chocolate onto an arrow template drawn onto silicone paper, then leave to dry before adding to your muffins.   




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