Chocolate, raspberry and rose muffins with chocolate tofu cream

This recipe is for my gluten-free friends. I often hear it’s difficult to find a good gluten-free muffin recipe that has a soft and tender crumb. Problem solved! I don’t bake very often, especially not in the summer heat. It’s just not what we do at home. However, about a month ago I really felt like a muffin. I didn’t have a lot to work with in the pantry and this recipe was the result — sort of …

Back in October I posted a blueberry and mulberry buckwheat muffin on Instagram and promised a recipe to follow. Well, here it is, recipe-tested and ready to go. Usually I throw muffins together (most things, really), but I needed to recipe-test this one so I could share the recipe with you. It’s the same base; I’ve simply added some melted chocolate and rose water, and replaced the blueberries with raspberries.

When I do make sweets, I often give them to neighbours and friends, which is where these beauties ended up — in the happy hands of the Tommerup family at their Gourmet in Gumboots Christmas get-together. Being for a festive occasion, I frocked-up these humble muffins with chocolate tofu cream, fresh raspberries and dried rose petals.

That’s the thing: if you have a good base recipe for muffins, then you can add your choice of ingredients from what’s seasonal and to your taste.

These are best eaten fresh. You could freeze the cooked muffins for up to three months — freeze after they’ve cooled and add the chocolate cream when they have thawed.

I hope you enjoy this muffin recipe. Feel welcome to leave a comment. Brenda x

Chocolate, raspberry and rose muffins with chocolate tofu cream

gluten-free | wheat-free | dairy-free option

Makes 6 large or 12 small muffins

Chocolate, raspberry and rose muffins

100 g dark chocolate 70% (use dairy-free chocolate if you need to)
60 g unsalted butter or coconut oil
3 eggs
½ cup milk (animal or nut)
½ cup yoghurt (animal or coconut)
10 ml rose water (optional)
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 scant teaspoon baking powder
½ scant teaspoon bi-carb
1 cup buckwheat puffs (rice or amaranth okay)
1 cup natural almond meal
2 tablespoons rapadura sugar or raw okay
1 cup frozen raspberries (optional)

Chocolate tofu cream

100 g dark chocolate 70% (as above)
150 g silken tofu
1 heaped teaspoon raw honey (to taste)

1 punnet fresh raspberries
handful dried rose petals

Preheat oven to 180° fan-forced (200° conventional). Grease the holes of a muffin tray. Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Break the chocolate into pieces and add the chocolate and butter to a glass or stainless steel bowl. Place one cup of water in a medium saucepan and place over a medium heat. Rest the bowl on the saucepan and melt the chocolate and butter — make sure the base of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Cool the mixture for a few minutes. Place the eggs, milk, yoghurt and rose water in a mixing bowl, and whisk thoroughly. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat well.

Sift the buckwheat flour, baking powder and bi-carb into a large mixing bowl. Add the puffs, almond meal and sugar, and mix together thoroughly. Scrape the wet mixture into the dry mix and use a spatula to cut the ingredients together. Don’t over-mix; some dry floury pockets are fine. Evenly scoop the batter into the muffin holes and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Cool slightly and then remove from the muffin tray onto a wire rack. Cool completely.

To make the chocolate tofu cream, melt the chocolate as above and cool for 4 or 5 minutes. Add the tofu and honey to a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the chocolate and pulse again. You may need to scrape the sides of the processor with a spatula to incorporate all the mixture. Scrape the cream into a small bowl, then cover and refrigerate until required. If you leave the chocolate cream in the fridge too long, it will set like chocolate mousse.

To serve, spread some chocolate cream on top of the muffin, then top with fresh raspberries and rose petals. Enjoy!