Under the Blue Gum tree

There are many fantastic food bloggers out there on the net but every so often I stumble across a fellow blogger whose recipes really do chime with the sort of stuff I love to eat.

This happened recently when I discovered freelance writer and father of three Keith’s blog, the Reluctant Housedad. A passionate cook, I am seriously jealous of Keith’s wife and kids because they seem to eat like kings every night. I have made several of Keith’s recipes and they have all been a roaring success. A particular mention must go to his lamb neck tikka with pistachio cream sauce and coriander chutney which is one of the cleverest and tastiest recipes I have made in recent weeks.

Another of my latest blog discoveries is Anne from Uni Homemaker. Anne’s only been blogging for a couple of months but she has already amassed a rather tempting collection of recipes on her site. Lots of Anne’s blog posts are devoted to baking but she also posts easy after-work supper type dishes, many with an Asian influence. If that’s your bag, then you’ll love Anne’s blog.

I spent a happy hour last Sunday bookmarking many of Anne’s recipes to try including this suitably festive one for eggnog and dark chocolate muffins. I really wanted to make these but it is impossible to fine eggnog here in Johannesburg so I had to get a bit creative with the recipe.

I substituted the eggnog with a mixture of milk and whipping cream and to boost the flavour, I added a little rum and a pinch of ground cloves. I also made a glaze for my muffins with some Advocaat and icing sugar. These muffins are delicious and would be perfect for Christmas. Below is my take on Anne’s recipe (I halved the quantities to make 8 muffins) but head on over to Uni Homemaker for the original version.

*I am entering these muffins into December’s festive-themed Baking With Spirit challenge hosted by the lovely Janine from Cake of the Week.

Eggnog and Dark Chocolate Muffins (adapted from Uni Homemaker)

Makes 8 muffins

• 250g plain flour
• 60g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1 egg
• 60ml canola oil
• 175ml whipping or single cream
• 60ml milk
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 3 tbsp dark rum
• 50g dark chocolate, cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp Advocaat
• 50g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp honey
• freshly grated nutmeg to decorate

1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.  Line a muffin tin with paper cases.

2.  Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, oil, cream, milk, vanilla and rum.

3.  Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined then fold through the dark chocolate. Distribute the mixture between the paper cases and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until risen and springy and just starting to brown at the edges. Leave to cool.

4.  For the glaze, mix the Advocaat with the icing sugar and honey and spoon a little of the mixture over each muffin. Top with a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg if you wish.