White Chocolate Muffins -- Muffins au chocolat blanc
On dit muffins (mu- like in déjà vu) pour "muffins" (We Say Muffins for Muffins)
I do not know if I remember the first time I ate a muffin. But there is one thing I remember: the first time Genevière, my sister-in-law, pronounced the word "muffin".
Geneviève : Béa, tu aimes les muuuuuffins ?
Moi : Les quoi ?
G : Mais tu sais bien. Les gâteaux américains, les muuuffins !
M. : Ah tu veux dire muffins !
G.: Béa, do you like muffins ?
Me: Do I like what?
G: You know, muffins, the American cakes!
M.: Ah, you mean muffins!
She was using the right word, I acknowledge, but with such a different pronunciation! For a muffin in French is un muffin. However, with Geneviève, the Frenchie who cannot be more French, the English "u" sound had disappeared to become the regular French "u" sound, so much so that I clearly had no clue what she was talking about. I guess I was expecting a French word, and not an English word with a French pronunciation. As much as I have the knowledge -- I think -- of the two languages, I was lost and did not know what she meant.
And I like muffins!
I think I really started to get hooked on muffins when I lived in New Zealand. Although the most commonly known are sweet muffins, I discovered savory flavors that I absolutely adored. No matter what ingredients they included, from spinach, feta, sun-dried tomatos, smoked salmon, to cheese, they were all irresistibly delicious. At some point, I stopped counting the many lunches I had made of a soup, salad, and a savory muffin. I find muffins lovely as snacks, savory or sweet. Why I do not make them often is a different question. No particular reason beside that I just do not think about making them. Perhaps it is in the genes, you know. I would think about making crêpes, a lot and often sans problème (no problem), toujours (always), but not about baking muffins. It is just an odd thing.
So why not change that, I thought? Since I like them, I can make them too!
In one of my recent posts, Jeff commented on my chocolate cupackes, suggesting that I should try to make a white chocolate icing. Which is where my inspiration to make muffins started.
I had decided that with the muffins, I was going to make icing. Which one though, I wondered? A complex one as suggested by some of you? With butter? Buttercream? Cream cheese? I can admit it, I am intrigued about icing, even if I know little about it, finding it too sweet most of the time. In fact, to me, dessert should rather be light on the sweetness as I particularly dislike desserts that are overwhelmingly rich and really sweet. After putting some thought into the how to make a white chocolate icing, and still shy to try richer and more buttery types of icing, I went for simplicity. My white chocolate icing would just be plain white chocolate flavored with vanilla: melt the chocolate, add a vanilla pod to add flavor, spread it over the muffins and see what happens. Would it work? Would it ice? As easy as it looks to many, I had all those questions and was keen to see the result, because I had no idea.
White chocolate muffins with White Chocolate Icing and pistachios.
And it worked. I know that the skills involved into the making of this icing are truly minimal, but no matter what, it made my day. The muffins were easy to make, tested and approved. Twelve of them though. The question as to what I was going to do with them arose. P. and I would simply not be able to eat twelve muffins between the two of us, even if taken over the course of a few days.
Then I remembered. Didn't my lovely Canadian friend Ivonne talk about a party where food was needed? Did I hear about an outdoor fiesta to celebrate the end of summer? I imagined that Ivonne and Lis would not mind that I bring some of my white chocolate muffins, would they?
Et que la fête commence ! (Let the feast start!)
White Chocolate Muffins
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 3.5 oz sugar (1/2 cup)
- 3.5 oz butter, melted
- 3.5 oz white chocolate, grated (I use Valrhona)
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 6 oz flour (1 cup + 1 Tbsp)
- 3.5 oz white chocolate (I use Valrhona)
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- Unsalted pistachios, chopped
- Preheat your oven at 350 F.
- Sift the flour and baking powder.
- Add the sugar and grated white chocolate. Mix well.
- Melt the butter. Beat the eggs with it and add the yogurt. Mix well, then add to the dry preparation.
- Place paper cups in a muffin pan (or use silicone molds) and divide the preparation between the molds.
- Cook in the oven for about 25 min or so.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, before unmolding on a cooling rack (If using silicone molds)
- Chop the chocolate in small pieces.
- Slice the vanilla pod in two halves and scrap the seeds out.
- Melt the chocolate with the vanilla seeds using the bain-marie technique (in a bowl placed over a pot of simmering water).
- Use a spatula to spread over the muffins.
- When a little cooler, add the chopped pistachios and some shaved chocolate.
- Place in the fridge to help the icing set.
Le coin français
Muffins au chocolat blanc
- 2 oeufs
- 1,5 càc de levure chimique
- 100 g sucre fin
- 100 g beurre, fondu
- 100 g chocolat blanc, râpé (J'utilise la marque Valrhona)
- 50 ml yaourt nature
- 160 g farine
- 100 g chocolat blanc (J'utilise la marque Valrhona)
- 1/2 gousse de vanille
- Pistaches vertes non salées, concassées
- Préchauffez votre four à 180 C.
- Tamisez la farine et la levure chimique.
- Ajoutez le sucre et le chocolat râpé. Mélangez bien.
- Faites fondre le beurre dans une casserole. Battez les oeufs et ajoutez-les au beurre, avec le yaourt. Mélangez bien et ajoutez à la preparation sèche.
- Placez des moules en papier dans un moule à muffins (ou utilisez des petits moules en silicone) et répartissez votre pâte entre les moules.
- Cuisez au four pendant 25 mns environ.
- Sortez du four et laissez refroidir avant de les démouler sur une grille (si vous utilisez des moules en silicone).
- Cassez le chocolat en morceaux.
- Fendez la gousse de vanille en deux et raclez-en l'intérieur.
- Faites fondre le chocolat avec la vanille au bain-marie.
- Utilisez une spatule à gâteau pour glacer les muffins avec le chocolat fondu.
- Une fois que le glaçage a refroidi, ajoutez des pistaches concassées et quelques copeaux de chocolat blanc supplémentaires.
- Placez-les au frais pour que le glaçage prenne mieux.
44 Comments
J Jeff ·
T Tanna ·
I Ivonne ·
K Kat ·
J Jacelyn ·
A Adèle ·
J jenjen ·
L La Fée Maison ·
I iamchanelle ·
E Ellie ·
V Virginie ·
M mercotte ·
C Choupette ·
H hélène ·
M mamina ·
A Alhya ·
F Fabienne ·
M Melissa ·
B bonheursdesophie ·
D Dianka ·
A Anita ·
S sher ·
T texmex ·
F fanny ·
G Gracianne ·
L Lis ·
O ooishigal ·
E Ellie ·
P Pille ·
C corinne ·
K Karina ·
B Béa ·
Tanna, aha you are in line!
Ivonne, mon c'est mon plaisir ma chère. Happy to see you will sit next to them to keep an eye on them!
Kat, well you know, white chocolate is not my fav either but in these, it is subtle.
Jacelyn, they are moist indeed.
Adèle, ah mais que oui, les muuuffins! ;-)
La Fée maison, merci!
Iamchanelle, oh, I want to see yours!
Ellie, mais oui, tu as raison. Ils sont cousins ;-)
Virginie, merci.
Mercotte, ici, c'est toujours la saison ;-)
Choupette, ;-)
Hélène, merci à toi.
Mamina, ah oui moi aussi je préfère ce genre de caissettes.
ALhya, je suis impatiente de savoir ce que tu en penses.
Fabienne, thank you!
Melissa, ah yes you are right. It just hit me and then I thought: "but why not make them?"
Sophie, merci. On en a plein!
Dianka, ahahh, really?
Anita, thank you!
Sher, you would not, would you? ;-)
Texmex, pas de vrai diff, sauf pour les puristes, j'imagine ! Pas moi en tout cas. ;-)
Fanny, ahah you are funny!
Gracianne, ah ben voilà qui est fait !
Lis, you are a fighter!
Ooishigal, ahah merci.
Ellie, ah yes, I wish this party was real as well. We can all fly to Toronto.
Pille, did you try online?
Thanks Corinne. I had a look. Funny!
Karina, so you do not mind if we butcher the name? ;-) Oh good then, you can have more!
P peabody ·
M Mary ·
G gattina ·
S Saffron ·
M marie ·
B Béa ·
S Shannon ·
W Wills ·
C clémence ·
J Javiera ·
D Dee ·
L Lavinie ·