"…it pleases us"

My colleague (and friend) C recently came into my office and handed me some rhubarb from her friend’s veggie patch.

I’ve always loved rhubarb, but I wanted to make something different from the standard stewed rhubarb or rhubarb crumble.

I thought a rhubarb muffin could be nice for a change, and whipped up a batch, using the Bourke Street Bakery Cookbook’s recipe for choc-raspberry muffins as a guide. I decided to bake the rhubarb rather than stew it, hoping that the baked rhubarb pieces would provide some textural interest. The muffins were good, but I thought they could be improved.

After spying Di’s Rhubarb at the farmers market, I decided to whip up another batch of the rhubarb muffins. This time, I stewed the rhubarb and added in some cocoa nibs for texture.

So how were they? Light and airy, with a good hit of rhubarb. Not too sweet, thanks to the slight tartness of the rhubarb and the cocoa nibs. I’ll be making these again!

Choc-rhubarb muffins

Makes about 20.

White chocolate would be great in these too, if you prefer it. In that case, I would add in some slivered almonds for crunch.

500g uncooked rhubarb

1 tbs orange juice

360g caster sugar

400g plain flour (or 480 if you are using spelt flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

310g unsalted butter

480ml buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs (at room temperature)

300g dark chocolate

20g cocoa nibs

Icing sugar, for dusting

• Place chopped rhubarb into a saucepan. Sprinkle 60g sugar on to rhubarb and add orange juice. Cook the rhubarb slowly until it is almost completely broken down. Set aside to cool.

• Sift together the flour and baking powder, then add in the remaining 300g of caster sugar and stir to combine.
• Chop the chocolate into pieces and set aside.
• Melt the butter, allow it to cool slightly then stir in the buttermilk and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together, then whisk the egg mixture into the buttermilk mixture.
• Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and whisk to combine (don’t over mix!). Fold in the chocolate, cocoa nibs and cooked rhubarb in.

• Spoon the mixture into the muffin pans. I filled mine about two thirds full, but I think you should fill them a little more.

• Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until they spring back in the centre, and the tops are lightly browned.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before eating. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!

Tags: choc-rhubarb, choc-rhubarb muffin, chocolate, cocoa nibs, muffin, rhubarb, spelt, wheat-free