Thursday, November 05, 2009

Chocolate and Raspberry Muffin Recipe - Bourke Street Bakery Book

Admittedly, most of the time I suck at baking. But when I suck at something, I'm always determined to better myself. That is where the Bourke Street Bakery book comes in. All the times I've been to Sydney, I'd never heard of BSB until the book was released and all of my Sydney based 'tweeps' were raving about the book. So, I made my way down to the books shop and checked out the book. Turns out it's the exact Baking cook book I've been looking for, for years!
The book is loaded with great recipes on how to make PROPER bread from scratch, with detailed instructions on how to make your own white and rye starters. This is artisan baking at it's best. So many times I've tried to make bread and it has never ever, not once, turned out well. I've never been happy with a single loaf. So, at the moment I'm day 4 (out of 4 weeks) of making my own bread starter. But that's another post for later.
Along with all the amazing breads in this book, there are also lots of great pastries and cakes to make. Since I had a kilo of delicious Yarra Valley Raspberries in my Freezer, I thought it would be great to try out this recipe. Who doesn't like Raspberries and Chocolate! The recipe is really easy and the only tip you need is to just be careful not to overmix the batter. Overmixing can make the finished product toughen up and become chewy. Not what you want.
These muffins turned out perfectly. So, it looks like I'm on the way to being a star baker!!

Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins
Makes 12

• 400g (2 2/3 cups) plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 300g caster sugar
• 310g unsalted butter
• 480ml buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 225g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 225g raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 55g raw sugar
• Icing sugar, for dusting


1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin and line with paper cases.
2. Sift the flour and baking paper into a bowl and add the sugar, mixing well to combine.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, then remove from the heat and stir in the buttermilk. Using a whisk stir in the eggs to combine. Pour over the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Use a large spoon to gently fold through the chocolate and raspberries.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops with raw sugar. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 20-25 minutes. It may be necessary to drop the temperature about 10 minutes before the end of baking time if the muffins are starting to brown on top.
5. To test if the muffins are done, push the top gently to feel that it is firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before eating. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

10 comments:

Iron Chef Shellie said...

I've been debating if I should get this book or not, but this post has just sold me!... perhaps I'll hit for Santa to get it for me for xmas ;P

Karine said...

You seem to have done a pretty good job with these muffins. Great combo of flavors!

Muse in the Kitchen said...

These look so delicious! I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry in a scone - I can just taste it in a muffin! ~ Belle

Anonymous said...

I suck at baking too, I must buy this book!

penny aka jeroxie said...

How beautiful! This reminds me of summer that is round the corner. Means XMAS! Great idea.... love it.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, the recipes in this book are not very well written. I have tried a few and I am a very experienced baker and a things have not turned out well. The croissant recipe is not written well, and in the chocolate sour cherry cookie recipe, the method does not say when to add the chocolate! The batter in the friand recipe is too runny...I would recommend this book for the ideas and the photos...but save your money and spend it at the bakery itself!

Adski said...

Yeh, i'm a big fan of this book, but I have heard a few people say like Anonymous here, that the recipes are hard to follow and it's poorly written.
To be honest I'm having a little trouble following the Bread Starter recipe myself, at the moment. Considering that half the recipes in the book are based on this recipe, I'd hoped that it would be a little clearer.
Still love the book though!

Rambling Tart said...

I'm on a muffin kick at the moment and these look and sound divine! :-) SO beautiful :-)

Darren the baking dad said...

I just made these yummy muffins aswell, and yes like you I bought the book, and presto, they were yum.
I quickly googled and found your creations, and they look verry very good. well done.

Darren the baking dad said...

Admittaly i thought the recipes were hard to follow. But i persisted. and yes my choc chip berry muffins came out yum.
you need to use your imagination and some magic touch.