Baking is another thing that I've already had a fair bit of practice with. My abilities have gradually improved by many hours spent in the kitchen making batch after batch of assorted goods, largely for my banana-bread loving host family in Germany. And whenever I bake now, I'm always reminded of a brief conversation I shared with the father there, who said that, despite being one of my biggest muffin fans, he preferred cooking over baking, because cooking was less precise and formulaic... he didn't like following recipes.
I think that's a little unfair. I am, as you may already know or will come to know shortly, not at all precise, and my measurements, if I measure at all, are best described as vague. I think both cooking and baking require some form of instruction at the beginner level. I know I can't cook much without a recipe, so I definitely need a helping hand, if only to get the feel for where to start. Granted, you can boil, broil, fry or barbeque a potato, and you can pretty well only bake a muffin, but once you've got those proportions down, the opportunities for freestyling your recipe are endless, easy, and unlike cooking, nearly always foolproof.
So today, I took my favourite cakey-muffin proportions and decided I needed to do something with the nearly-too-ripe huckleberries in the fridge. I love huckleberries, and this is the first year in a long time that the plant seems to have thrived in my area. I slaved away in the forest for hours picking the tiny buggers, so it would be a terrible shame to waste them.
For those of you that don't know what huckleberries are, they come from a small(ish), oval-leafed plant that grows along the west coast of North America, particularly on dead cedar trees. I'm told there are multiple varieties, but the red ones are the ones I like; small, sour, and succulent! Lingonberries would probably be a good substitute, but if they're too tart (as in, totally unpleasant to eat fresh), you might need to boil them in sugar-water for a couple of minutes. I'm sure halved raspberries would be fine, too.
Anyways, huckleberries are always tangy, and sometimes very tart, so I wanted to have a muffin with a stronger flavour to balance the bite of the berry. Thus, I decided cocoa powder would be a nice addition. And being a huge chocolate fan, I didn't think a few tiny chocolate chunks would hurt. A little chili powder for some kick, and my recipe was born. So here it is in writing, and remember: The measurements are very approximate! In Germany, I used a teacup and a dinner spoon to bake, so like I said, as long as you have everything roughly in proportion, it's not a big deal.
Chuckleberry Chili Cakes
Makes 10 muffins
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil (1/2 cup if you don't use banana)
Optional: 1 old mashed banana
Water/milk
1/2 to 3/4 cup huckleberries
1/4 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate bits
So, first things first, heat up the oven to 350 degrees Celsius. If you've got an old banana that needs using, mash it up in a little bowl and set it aside. Then get out a bigger bowl and combine the dry ingredients. Mix them all together and you should have a light brown, chocolatey-chili scented powder. Please note: I don't actually have any idea how much chili powder ended up in my muffins because my container had a salt-shaker type lid, but I'd imagine not much more than 1 teaspoon. Use your best judgement.
Then dump your almost-liquified banana in, followed by the egg, the vegetable oil, and maybe a half cup of milk. Again, note: I used canola oil because I had it on hand, but it just occurred to me that chili oil might have been brilliant... could have even replaced the powder. I'll try that next time. Anyways, then just take a spoon (you really don't need an electric mixer) and mix it all together until it's a thick paste. It'll probably still be a bit dry at that point so add milk or water until it's just right. If it's still looking just a little dry, put the berries and chocolate in first. Sometimes the water on the berries (from washing them) is just enough to get it where you want it. The mixture shouldn't really hold its shape, but it shouldn't just pour out either, so be careful not to get it too runny. But if mistakes happen and you do over-water it, bake it anyways. It's likely that it will still taste good, the only problem might be the berries and chocolate sinking to the bottom and burning.
So, then you take your greased muffin pan and start emptying the mixture into the compartments. I usually start with a heaping spoonful in each of the ten and then spread around and even out whatever is left at that point.
Then just pop them in the oven... 12-15 minutes later they should be done! I usually check every 2-3 minutes after the ten minute mark to see how it's going. To make sure your muffins are done, you need one of these little metal prods (or a toothpick, if it's long enough), and when you can insert it all the way into the center muffin, and it comes out dry, your muffins can come out and start to cool! After you've taken them out, leave them in the pan for at least five minutes before putting them on a cooling rack. This keeps them moist. After another ten minutes or so, you can either put 'em away or chow down!
Mine were quite delectable, if I do say so myself. If you find them dry, try slopping in a bit more oil next time. Any problems or successes, let me know!
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