I’ve been making muffins a lot lately, because they’re a really easy way to fill the kids up when they’re hungry thirty-seven million times.a.day. They are pretty quick to make while I’m making breakfast, and then they can snack for the rest of the morning. Of course these have too much sugar for that to be a sustainable idea, but we’re calling it a Christmas treat.
These are really only egg-free because I ran out, but the banana binds it together. If you want to use egg, substitute the banana for two eggs.
These have dried cranberries in, but you can substitute that as you wish – raisins or choc chips, both work well.
With the banana in these do have a little bit of a banana taste, but chocolate and banana work well anyway.
Chocolate Cranberry Muffins (Egg-Free)
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Breakfast, Snacks
Author: Luschka
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
280g self-raising flour
30g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g brown sugar
70g olive oil
1 banana
200g milk
handful of dried cranberries – more or less depending on taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C
Add all the ingredients to the Thermomix bowl, except the cranberries
Mix speed 4/ 60 seconds
Add the cranberries
Scoop out into 12 large or 36 small muffin cases and bake for 10 – 20 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins.
Find the largest muffin and stick a knife into it. If it comes out clean, it’s ready.
It’s almost Easter again, and while we aren’t really a free-from anything family, when there’s so much focus on chocolate – between Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day, and Easter, I like to have alternatives available, so that even if I don’t manage to curb my sweet tooth, I’m at least not filling up myself or the children with cheap, often actually not very good – chocolate.
This recipe is very easy. The children can help you make it, or you can whip it up quickly. It’s quite dark, we like dark chocolate. If you don’t like it as dark, adjust the cocoa down. You could add other things, like marshmallows, nuts, or cherries, but just remember to adjust the quantity of rice crispies down then. The main thing to remember is this isn’t held together by chocolate, which is strong, but by coconut oil, which needs to be kept cool, otherwise you’ll end up with what looks like a (very tasty) bowl of chocolate cereal.
Add the coconut oil and honey to the Thermomix bowl. If you’re using runny honey, 30 seconds/37 degrees/speed 2 should melt it all, but if the honey is crystalised or set, about 1 minute/50 degrees/speed 2. It must be mixed and melted before you go to step 2.
Add the vanilla and cocoa powder, and a small pinch of sea salt. 15 seconds/speed 3
Add the rice crispies and use the spatula to stir it in so that all the rice crispies are covered with the chocolate mix.
Transfer to a brownie pan (this one is fantastic!) and squash it all in nicely. Put in the fridge for an hour or two to set, then cut into squares.
Tip: Remember this is kept together with coconut oil, so keep it cool otherwise it might fall apart a bit.
Regular Instructions
Create a double boiler by boiling a pot of water on the stove, and put coconut oil and honey in a glass bowl over it. Once they’re melted, mix together and add the vanilla extract (be careful – both the glass bowl and the mixture will be very hot).
Add the cocoa powder and sea salt, and then add the rice crispies.
Mix together till all the rice crispies are covered in the chocolate mixture and transfer into your brownie pan.
Place in the fridge till it’s cooled and set, then cut into squares.
