With the abundance of strawberries at the moment I wanted to make a healthy combination of strawberries and chocolate. This is a mixture of my recent strawberry muffins and the last post, chocolate olive oil cake. Macerating the strawberries first in balsamic vinegar really adds depth to the flavour.
2 c strawberries
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
50g cocoa
125ml boiling water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 c rice malt syrup
100ml olive oil
1 1/2 c flour (I used a mix of wholemeal and white spelt)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c bran
1 Tbs honey, melted
Wash, hull and chop the strawberries and put in a bowl. Sprinkle over caster sugar and balsamic, toss around, cover with cling film and leave to macerate for at least an hour. Toss occasionally. When ready to bake, drain the strawberries but keep the liquid for another purpose (such as in a smoothie, on top of muesli, yoghurt).
Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 12-muffin tin with paper cases.
Mix cocoa and boiling water well until it becomes a paste. Add in vanilla and leave to cool.
In a large bowl whisk eggs, rice malt syrup and olive oil until thick and creamy. Slowly whisk in cocoa mixture. Sift in flour and baking powder and mix in bran. Gently fold in strawberries, saving 12 pieces for the top.
Spoon 1/4 c of mixture into each muffin tin. Top with a strawberry piece. Bake for 15 min or until cooked through.
Remove from oven and brush melted honey on top of each muffin. Leave in the tin for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
You can add more sweetener if you wish but I found the honey glaze adds just the right amount.