Very berry chocolate brownie muffins

I have always been fascinated by berries, berries of all and any types. I think it all started back when I was young and read Enid Blyton’s books. The characters in her books were always out picking and eating strawberries, blackberries or raspberries, while all I had in Malaysia were rambutans, lychees, longans and mangosteens. Ok, I admit, it wasn’t so tough having the Malaysian versions!

Anyway, one variety that I have always wanted to try (but never got around to it) is the groseille (red current). For about 4 years, I actually didn’t know what it was called in English…until yesterday when I went on a mad hunt trying to find the English name for it.

I love the bright red colour and the little succulent-looking berries. Seeing some at the local fruit and veg shop the other day, I decided to buy a (big) punnet! I rushed home and eagerly dived into the punnet to try my newly acquired treasure.

And urggghhhh…..they were really really REALLY sour!

Someone could have warned me!

So I’ve had this big punnet of sour red currents for a week and now I only have 1 day left to use them up before my extra long weekend in La Rochelle (yay!)!

What do you do with sour red currents? Sour fruit salad? Sour jam? Sour compote? Sour fruit pie? Chocolate brownie muffins?

Yep – you read correctly, chocolate brownie muffins...with sour red currents.

Ingredients and Recipe (adapted from The Joy of Baking)
150g chocolate chopped or broken into bits
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of red currents
(Makes 12 muffins)

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. (I was lazy and just melted the 2 ingredients directly in the saucepan).

Mix the chocolate and butter well, and when melted, let the mixture cool for a couple of minutes then add in the sugar. Mix well. Add the vanilla and the eggs one by one, mix well.

Finally, add in the flour and salt and oh, mix well! Then add in the red currents and gently stir until the currents are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Be careful not to squash the currents like I did!

Pour batter into the muffin cups or tray. Bake at 325F (170C) for roughly 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin has moist crumbs sticking to it.

The muffins were absolutely delightful and moist. They weren’t as compact and heavy as brownies, and the tartness of the groseille balanced out the sweetness of the chocolate so it wasn’t sickly sweet (especially important after I’d eaten about 3 in a row!).

Anyway, on that note, have a great weekend everyone. I’m off to the parents in-laws for an extended long weekend in sunny La Rochelle.