Chocolate Ganache Muffins
A chocolate muffin studded with chocolate chips, filled with a dreamy ganache and topped with a chocolate buttercream. You choose what the final outcome will be!
Servings 15 medium muffins or 24 small sized
Ingredients
Chocolate Muffins - Ngā Mawhene Tiakarete
- ⅔ C (165 ml) miraka (milk)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) wai rēmana (lemon juice) or winika (vingar)
- ⅔ C (65 g) kōkō (cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon paura kawhe (instant coffee, optional but this helps amp up the chocolate flavour)
- ½ teaspoon tote (salt, fine)
- ½ C (125 ml) wai wera (hot water, boiled)
- 1 C (220 g) huka one (caster sugar)
- 2 hēki iti (small eggs, size 6)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) iho hūperei (vanilla essence)
- ⅔ C (165 ml) noni (oil, neutral oil, I use rice bran)
- 1 ⅓ C (190 g) puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- ⅔ C (70 g) peru oneone (ground almonds)
- 1 teaspoon pēkana paura (baking powder)
- ¼ teaspoon pēkana houra (baking soda)
- ¾ C (170 g) titipi tiakarete (chocolate chips, you can add less of these if you want or omit them completely)
Chocolate Ganache - Te Kīrimi Tiakarete
- 150 g tiakarete (I used 60% dark chocolate but use what you prefer)
- ¼ C miraka (milk)
- 50 g pata (butter)
Chocolate Buttercream - Pani Reka Tiakarete (Optional)
- 100 g tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate)
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) miraka (milk)
- 125 g pata kūteretere (softened butter)
- ⅓ C (55 g) puehu huka (icing sugar)
- 3 tablespoon (20 g) kōkō (cocoa)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) wanira (vanilla)
Instructions
Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 150 °C bake setting or 140 °C fan bake setting.
- Prepare a muffin tin with 15 - 18 liners, depending on what size you want.
- If you are using the small cupcake cases like I did, add 24 cases to a flat tray with a little bit of space between each one.
Make Homemade Buttermilk:
- Add the miraka (milk) and wai rēmana (lemon juice) or winika (vinegar) in to a large cup. Stir and leave it aside so it turns in to buttermilk.
Mix the Cocoa and Sugar:
- Add the kōkō (cocoa), paura kawhe (coffee powder), tote (salt) and wai wera (hot water) in to medium bowl. Koheritia kia māene (whisk it until smooth).
- Add the huka one (caster sugar) and whisk again. The will start to cool down and loosen in this process.
Whip in the Eggs and the Oil:
- Add a hēki (egg) at a time and whisk well after each addition.
- Drizzle in the noni (oil), the homemade miraka pata (buttermilk) and iho hūperei (vanilla essence) as you whisk continuously.Leave the bowl to the side.
Prepare the Dry Ingredients:
- To a large bowl, sift in the puehu parāoa (flour), peru oneone (almond meal), pēkana paura (baking powder) and pēkana houra (baking soda).
Add the Chocolate Mixture and Chocolate Chips:
- Make a well in the middle of the sifted ingredients with a wooden spoon.
- Pour in all of the chocolate mixture and whisk it for 30 seconds until it is smooth.
- Fold through the titipi tiakarete (chocolate chips).
Divide the Mixture in to the Cases:
- Add the batter to each cupcake case until they are ¾ full.
- Once the cases are ready, tap the muffin tray on the bench 3 times to release any air bubbles and then place them in the oven.
Bake the Chocolate Ganache Muffins:
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the mawhene (muffins) spring back when pressed in the centre.
Serve the Chocolate Ganache Muffins:
- The mawhene (muffins) can be eaten just like this, warm from the oven with a little butter. If this is where you end this recipe, store the cooled muffins in a sealed container like this for up to five day in a cool cupboard.
- If you want to add the ganache, go to the next step.
Make the Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- Pour around 4 cm of water in to the bottom of a medium pot. Bring it to a simmer over a low heat, you don't want a wild boil here, just a smooth simmer.
- Add the tiakarete (chocolate), miraka (milk) and pata (butter) in to a heatproof bowl.
- Place the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water.
- Melt all of the ingredients together, stirring occasionally until smooth. Then remove it from the heat and set aside.
Cut the Centre of the Muffins:
- Using a small, pointed knife, cut out the middle of each cupcake. I like to cut it like a cone shape and cut off the tips which happen to make a delicious snack. 🤤 Keep the lids next to the cupcake it belongs to.
Pour the Ganache in to the Muffins:
- Add a tablespoon or so of ganache in to each hole. Place the lids gently on top of each of the muffins.
Serve the Chocolate Ganache Muffins:
- The cupcakes can be eaten gooey at this very moment!If this is where you end this recipe, store the cooled muffins in a sealed container like this for up to five day in a cool cupboard.
- If you want to add the buttercream, go to the next step.
Melt the Chocolate for the Buttercream:
- Melt the tiakarete (chocolate) and miraka (milk) over a pot of barely simmering water as you did before. You can also do it in 10 second bursts in the microwave, stirring after each burst. Once melted and smooth, leave it to cool for 5 minutes.
Whip the Buttercream:
- Add the pata kūteretere (softened butter), puehu huka (icing sugar), kōkō (cocoa) and wanira (vanilla) in to a medium size bowl.
- Whip on high for 4 - 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add the cooled chocolate mixture a tablespoon at a time in to the butter as you continue to whip on medium speed.
Decorate the Chocolate Ganache Muffins:
- Pipe or spread the pani reka tiakarete (chocolate buttercream) on to the cooled cupcakes.
- Then top each one with some crushed cacao nibs and sliced coconut wafers for height and fun!
Serve the Muffinns:
- They are now ready to serve.
- The decorated muffins will store in a sealed container for 3 -4 days in a cooled cupboard. In the hotter months they can be kept in the fridge but bring them back to room temperature before serving them.