Raspberry Dark Chocolate Muffins

I've used up every single inch of my freezer with frozen strawberries and raspberries. I need to buy another freezer, but until I get around to doing that, we have to try and come up with new ways to eat raspberries. I've been making huge batches of raspberry/cherry smoothies every day and giving them to the kids and the guys who are working here. We're getting huge buckets everyday now. I had some extra buttermilk from a recipe I made last week so I did some searching to find a muffin recipe that would incorporate the buttermilk. The recipe below uses raspberries and a bit of dark chocolate (how come I never thought of that?!) They are not overly sweet and I was able to use whole wheat pastry flour in place of white. I sprinkled them with raw sugar on top and they were just divine. The first batch I forgot to add the butter and they tasted fine. With butter, they were a wee bit more moist, but there was not much difference in the taste. These muffins felt like an indulgence, but they were pretty wholesome considering there was yogurt, raspberries, whole wheat, and minimal sugar.




















Muffins à la Framboise, Eclats de Fève de Cacao

- 4 Tbsp (75 g) butter
- 2 C (230 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C (100 g) sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 C (125 ml) plain yogurt
- 1/2 C (125 ml) buttermilk / fermented milk / kefir
- 1 C raspberries
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate pieces

Yield : 12 muffins

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease (or line with paper cups or leave alone if they are silicon) a set of muffin tins.

Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan, and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, combine the cacao nibs and brown sugar. Set aside.

In a medium mixing-bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and stir to mix. In another medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (butter, egg, yogurt and buttermilk). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, and stir with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. The mixture will be lumpy, that's okay. Fold in the berries and dark chocolate bits.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins and into the oven to bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until risen and golden. Turn out on a rack to cool, and wait for 10-15 minutes before removing from the tins. Serve warm or completely cooled.