Apricot and Dark Chocolate FruChoc Muffins

If, tragically, you don’t reside in the humble state of South Australia, you may never have had the joy of chomping your way through a bag of FruChocs. These little jewels are a delicious testimony to the good people of SA, and have hallmarked many a study session/lecture/movie/birthday/car drive/Wednesday night. They are simply a soft, sweet little morsel of dried apricot nestled in a blanket of smooth dark chocolate, and they definitely deserve a muffin recipe in their honour.

I went all mad scientist in my kitchen this week, and tried 3 different muffins bases to find the perfect one. The first recipe was far too dense, and I apologise to my very polite friends who made their way through that batch! The photographs below are actually from that first recipe, so don’t fear if yours look a little different. The second round of muffins was good, but a little lacking in substance. The third and winning recipe uses sour cream and vegetable oil. The batter is very thick, but the muffins are seriously crunchy on top while retaining a moist, crumbly texture inside. Packed with dried apricots and dark chocolate, you can give these seriously good-looking monsters a whirl even if FruChocs aren’t on your supermarket shelf! A word to the wise; try and find some high-sided muffin cases so that you can fill your tins to greater capacity. This will give your muffins that billowing, cafe-style quality 🙂

Apricot and Dark Chocolate FruChoc Muffins

Servings: 12 large muffins
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Adapted from this basic Donna Hay muffin recipe.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

450 g plain flour
225 g caster sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
360 g sour cream
120 mL vegetable/rice bran oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150 g soft dried apricots (‘Mediterranean Apricots’)
150 g dark chocolate
extra 250 g dark chocolate
100 g FruChocs (or additional 100 g soft dried apricots), halved

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F fan-forced. Line a standard 12 piece muffin try with high sided muffin cases.
Finely chop the apricots and the 200 g of dark chocolate.
Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, until just combined.
Gently fold the apricots and chocolate into the batter. The batter should be thick and paste-like. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cases, so that each case is about 2/3 full.
Bake the muffins on the oven’s central rack for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a metal skewer comes out clean but moist. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
While the muffins are baking, melt the additional 250 g of dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, or in the microwave. Stir frequently and once just melted, set aside to cool slightly. Once the muffins have cooled for 10 minutes, top with a spoonful of warm melted chocolate, and a few chopped FruChocs or dried apricots!

Store the muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze without the toppings for up to 1 month.