Dark Chocolate Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

I made these muffins for my mother´s B-day and we all loved them. They were moist and very chocolatey. The frosting was really good to and it paired perfectly with the muffin.


The cake recipe came from FoodMayhem and the frosting from eHow:

Cake: (makes about 12 normal sized muffins)

1/2 cup cutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper cups. Dissolve cocoa in water. Let stand until cool.
In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add into creamed mixture alternating with sour cream. Beat in cocoa mixture.
Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

* I wasn´t in the mood to take out my mixer so I did all the mixing by hand and they came out just fine.
* I bought some silicone muffin cups a while ago. They are wonderful because you don´t need muffin tins (you just put them in the oven on a baking sheet so they don´t tip over) or greasing. They also peel off perfectly and are very easy to clean.

Frosting: (I made half of this recipe for the 12 muffins)

1 8oz. package of cream cheese (cold - it helps with the consistency)
5 tablespoons softened butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sifted powdered sugar (add more or less depending on desired sweetness and consistency)

Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until combined.
Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until desired consistency is reached.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I´ve always loved the banana - chocolate combination and I love it even more in the form of anything baked, especially muffins. The good thing about these is that you can decide to make them "light" by changing the sugar for Splenda and the regular yoghourt or sour cream for their low-fat versions. I´ve made them both ways and they came out delicious both times. They are really easy to make and they turn out really moist.
















I borrowed the recipe from recipezaar:

• 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1-1/2 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt or low-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together bananas, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla until well mixed. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda; stir flour mixture into banana mixture. Divide among prepared muffin cups. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake in centre of oven for 15 minutes or until a tester inserted in centre of muffins comes out clean.