Sunday Mornings with Alice

Besides my Chocoholic Fridays, I have decided to start my own Sunday morning tradition-Sunday mornings with Alice.  I love the whole Baking with Julia, Tuesdays with Dorie thing that goes on among food bloggers so I have decided to start my own.  You are welcome to join me-one rule-BUY THE BOOK, no regulations- the only thing I require is your passion-you have to love to bake !!  I'm going to start with her Pure Dessert book and work my way through that one first before I move on to Bittersweet. First of all , let's start with a little about my heroine. Alice Medrich has been referred to as the First Lady of Chocolate.  Her  cookbook honors include 3 named as Cookbooks of the Year.  She also founded the Cocolat chain of chocolate stores, and has taught at the Tante Marie Cooking School. But what is really important for you to know is summed up in one sentence from the book.   She says "I want the soul satisfaction and the sensual pleasure of real flavors."  Me too Alice ! Let the desserts begin !

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins will be my first dessert this Sunday morning.

These were incredibly easy to make and so good.  Bittersweet chocolate with fresh raspberries..mmm perfection.  Pay attention to the batter-don't over mix it or you will end up with tough little muffins and nobody likes tough little muffins!  And the next time I bake these I will definitely make my chocolate chunks chunkier !

Sundays have always been my favorite day of the week.  Lying in bed with a good cup of steaming coffee, a fresh chocolate raspberry muffin and the Sunday paper-what could be more perfect ?   I love nibbling a little, reading a little, napping a little and waking up and starting all over again.  Sunday mornings ...all is well with the world ,or at least my little world.  I hope all is well with yours too.

Raspberry and Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Adapted from "Pure Dessert" by Alice Medrich (Artisan Books, 2007)

Makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (use Nancy Silverton's trick if you don't have whole wheat flour- use unbleached white flour and added a generous dose of wheat germ)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg -I used a full teaspoon because I love the smell and flavor !
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup whole or 1 percent milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
5 to 6 ounces individually frozen fresh raspberries
4 oz of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped into little chunks or 2/3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Cook's notes: If using fresh raspberries then freeze raspberries  on a cookie sheet with edges. Frozen berries keep a bit of shape and are crucial to the recipe. You'll need paper cupcake liners if you don't have a silicone muffin tray.

Directions:

-In a medium bowl , mix the flours, baking powder, salt and nutmeg-set aside
-In another bowl whisk eggs with sugar, whisk in the milk and butter
-Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture
-Fold gently until the dry ingredients are moistened but the batter is still lumpy-don't over mix !
-Fold in berries and chips just until they are distributed throughout the batter.
- Divide batter between muffin cups and bake in 400-degree preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of batter.
-Cool and eat-be careful if you can't wait for them to cool off,melted chocolate is incredible but watch out for hot raspberries !

These are incredible the day after too !