Chocolate has a calling like a ultrasonic dog whistle. Only audible to females, of course. Ignoring these soundwave emissions is, in my experience, damaging. The longer the ear-splitting sonar pulse, the sharper the fangs.
That’s why I came up with this vegan muffin recipe. They are criminally healthy, and taste lordly.
Check out these ingredients for superhero points: chickpeas, brown rice, almond milk, psyllium seed husks, extra virgin olive oil, anti-inflammatory chai spices and resveratrol-rich dark choc. Healthy food should never feel penitential. It can and should be delivered with ingredients that taste sensational.
Think of it as alchemy. I’d never eat dark chocolate with a handful of chickpeas and almonds. These muffins exploit each ingredient for their best qualities and textures, then puts them through a time machine. (Eh, the oven). Result? The ingredients are locked into a symbiotic samba.
And because these muffins are vegan, you can swagger into the office on Monday morning and let your colleagues rub your halo.
Chickepa flour and brown rice flour will stuff your battery with much needed B vitamins to spark your ignition and your dimples without damaging blood sugar levels. Something a Yorkie can’t boast. Both flours contain vertiginous amounts of fibre to service your pipes too. Nice one.
Oh and there’s no shame in wanting to straddle a tray of these chocolate chip chai muffins. You’ll soon see why.
You can order both flours, as well any other arcane ingredients on your wish list, online from a range of sources who deliver to Ireland. I like health-hunter.ie, downtoearth.ie and organicsupermarket.ie . Order today straight from your armchair, to your doorstep. Groovy, huh?
Chocolate Chip Chai Muffins
Makes 12 vegans very happy
125ml (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
375ml (1 & 1/2 cups) plant milk
2 tablespoons psyllium husks
130g (3/4 cup) brown rice flour
120g (1 cup) chick pea / gram flour
3 caffeine-free, chai tea bags (we used Pukka)
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
40g dark chocolate chunks
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ cup coconut sugar or muscavado sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F. Line a 12-mould cupcake tin with paper cases.
Let your plant milk, olive oil and psyllium party. Leave aside.
In a large bowl, let the remaining ingredients socialise.
Then combine both bowls and beat. Avoid tasting the batter – wet chickpea flour tastes and smells like cat’s pee. The cooked result is peerless though, so keep going!
Divide the batter between the 12 cupcake cases and bake for 28 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn the muffins out of the tray and let them cool on a wire rack. Prostrate.
These are best within 2 days, but I doubt that’s going to be a burden.
