Rhubarb, Stem Ginger and White Chocolate Muffins

Rhubarb is commonly regarded to be this piercing fluorescent stick that we implant into crumbles and pies. Wrong, nay, it can be utilized in an array of dishes. Its sharp sour tang is what unites it so agreeably with rich, fatty meats and fishes, in particular pork and mackerel.

Nevertheless, possessing a sweet tooth I decided it was only fitting to create something for the sugar department, but entailing a bit more excitement than your customary rhubarb desserts. Rhubarb is also a loving partner to stem ginger and white chocolate, and so this how these muffins came about. Feel free to add more stem ginger if you love its intensity or even use ground ginger instead if you are budgeting, and to turn into a dessert serve with custard.

Makes 12

300g rhubarb, roughly chopped into 3cm pieces

150g white chocolate, roughly chopped

100g stem ginger, chopped

2 tbsp. of syrup, from the stem ginger jar

100g plus 3 tbsp., golden caster sugar

300g self-raising flour

1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs, beaten

200ml milk

100g butter, melted

Demerara sugar, to decorate

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas Mark 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.

2. Mix the rhubarb with the 3 tbsp. of golden caster sugar in a small baking tin and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until just tender but not mushy. Leave to cool.

3. Sieve the self-raising flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the milk, eggs, butter, stem ginger syrup, chopped stem ginger, white chocolate and remaining sugar. Then gently fold in the rhubarb including its juices.1.

4. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Sprinkle the tops with the demerara sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin and then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool.

Dark Chocolate Muffins with Peanut Butter Filling and White Chocolate Chips

For many, peanut butter symbolises America. But having such a unique taste, how else can one even describe it? It’s nutty, sweet but not sweet. It comes in crunchy and smooth varieties. Like Marmite really, you either love it or hate it. Nevertheless, my friends on the other side of the pond tell me that you only get cupcakes, not muffins, using this ingredient. So being a chocoholic I came up with this recipe. I justify to myself the high calories in this recipe by the nutritional value in peanut butter - it wards off heart disease says Harvard Medical School (Daily Mail 2009).

Makes 20 large muffins

For the muffin batter:

200g white chocolate, chopped

200g dark chocolate

250ml milk

100g butter

450g self-raising flour

1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

2 eggs, whisked

250g light muscovado sugar

300ml yoghurt

For the peanut butter filling:

125g smooth peanut butter

1 1/2 tbsp butter, softened

65g icing sugar

1. Heat the oven to 180^oC/350^oF/Gas Mark 4. Line 20 muffin cups of a muffin baking tray with 20 muffin paper cases.

2. To make the peanut butter filling, beat the butter with the peanut butter in a bowl until smooth. Sift the icing sugar into the mixture and beat until light and fluffy.

3. For the muffin batter, melt the dark chocolate in a small pan with the butter and milk. Whilst leaving to cool, sieve the flour and bicarbonate soda into a bowl. Stir in the rest of the muffin batter ingredients including the melted chocolate mixture.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin paper cases, filling them about one third full. Spoon in the middle of the third filled muffins a large heaped teaspoon of peanut butter. Top the peanut butter with the remaining batter.

5. Bake the muffins in the oven for 15-20 minutes until just firm to touch. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.