Banana Muffins with Dark Chocolate and Pecans

Hello again, sorry for the nearly two week absence but life got busy somehow, funny how that happens. 

As we enter March, with January's high-maintenance birthday cakes behind us, it's time for easy comfort food to match the cold and drizzly days we've had, serving as a reminder we aren't quite over winter yet.

Sounds like the perfect time for moist banana muffins, speckled with dark chocolate chips and pecan pieces, warm and delicious fresh from the oven. 

It doesn't hurt that bananas, unlike many other fruits at the moment, are easy to find and priced just right. 

This isn't the first time I've used this recipe for Banana-Walnut Loaf from Martha Stewart, it's my go-to recipe for using up browning bananas. It also isn't the first time I'm sharing it with all of you (remember this ancient post?). It is however the first time I opted for muffins instead of the traditional loaf. My reasoning? It's easier to give away six or eight muffins than half a loaf of banana bread (or at least it looks better to your recipient).  However in the end, the muffins disappeared before they could leave the house.

Besides using muffin tins, the only other changes I made to the recipe were:

1) Cutting the sugar by 1/4 cup - and I probably could have cut it down more. One cup of sugar was more than enough, with the sweetness from the overly ripe bananas and chocolate chips, and I think next time I'll try just 3/4 cups.

2) Adding dark chocolate chips and pecans in place of walnuts. I didn't have walnuts on hand, but I had pecans, so the nut-swap was the result of convenience more than anything else. As for the dark chocolate, it's a personal preference. I've used milk chocolate chips before, with and without nuts, and they are delicious but this time I wanted something darker.

3) Reducing the overall baking time. This was a necessity to accommodate my muffins as they cook much faster than loaves. In the end, thirty minutes was perfect, give or take a minute or two. To be sure, I poked the heck out of those muffins with a couple of toothpicks. 

Recipe Synopsis: 

Taste: Extremely moist due to the three cups of mashed banana. These muffins have a great flavour with a sweet chocolaty kick and a little crunch courtesy of the pecans.

Texture: Good crumb without being overly messy (I'm not a very neat eater) and quite dense making them a filling snack. 

Wow Factor: Muffins may not be a show stealer but tuck one or two into a lunch box and try not to be excited come noon. Using a loaf pan makes a more dramatic end result to gift away. 

Difficulty: Super easy and fast to make. Seriously if you can make cookies these will be no problem. 

Serve With: A glass of cold milk or as a snack time treat. 

FYI - converting to a muffin tin, the recipe produced 16 decent sized muffins meaning... you can still gift a full dozen and have four mouth-watering muffins left over for your eating pleasure! 

Rich and Fudgy Chocolate Truffle Pie

Before the icing on my mom's Lemon-Strawberry layer cake had a chance to firm up, I was asked to whip up another cake, this time for my uncle's birthday at the end of January. 

As the light, lemony cake had turned out so well, I was tempted to use similar flavours, however knowing my dad's family and their love of chocolate I knew I needed something rich and fudgy to win them over. 

After scouring the internet for inspiration I found myself salivating over a beautiful French Silk Pie; it's lovely layers and mouse-like consistency the perfect departure from the traditional chocolate layer cake with Smarties I make three times a year for my dad's birthday, brother's birthday, and father's day (as well as for my Dad's wedding a couple years ago). 

My Inspiration...

Stunning French Silk Tarts (via)

Classic French Silk Pie (via)

Unfortunately, most French Silk Pie recipes contain raw egg and I wasn't overly comfortable bringing something to dinner with a warning label attached, therefore I needed another option that still offered light, chocolatey layers without the risk of salmonella. As luck would have it, I stumbled onto a delicious looking Chocolate Truffle Pie and my concerns of sick dinner guests were no more.

Recipe Synopsis: 

Taste: Rich is the best way to describe this pie, however the use of semi-sweet chocolate was good and not overly sugary like milk-chocolate can often be. The graham cracker crumb crust offered a crunchy contrast to the multiple layers of chocolate mouse.

Texture: This pie is very light, almost mouse like. I would have liked the whipped cream layer to be a bit lighter tasting (perhaps by omitting the confectioners sugar as the chocolate is already sweet). The crust offers a nice bit of crunch.

Wow Factor: My pie wasn't as tall as I would have liked, perhaps a smaller pie plate would have created a more "mounded" result. As a whole, the pie is quite simple looking, however once sliced the layers are very pretty.

Difficulty: This dessert is very easy to make, however it is also quite time consuming as each layer needs to chill before the next can be made, one layer is chilled overnight. With that being said, it's a great option to make ahead of time.

Serve With: Any chocolate fans will love this dessert and as it's a chilled pie it would be quite refreshing on a hot summer day.

Unfortunately after seeing almost a full Litre (33 ounces) of heavy cream find its way into this pie I really didn't want to eat any of it however in the end I opted for a very small piece. Luckily the guests were oblivious and had nothing but positive feedback to offer. Although I wouldn't make this pie again for myself, my tastes sway more towards light lemony chiffon cake, I am sure I'll receive requests from the chocolate lovers in my life. 


I'm sharing this recipe today, for everyone with a sweet tooth over at...
Jam Hands, Say Not Sweet Anne, and Skip to my Lou