Ridiculously easy to bake, these delicious muffins that are great eaten alone or served with vanilla ice-cream.  Serve them fresh-baked to stun and amaze your friends.  They’re a firm favourite with the ladies of The Chocolate Lovers’ Club.

The lowdown:
Getting it together:                     20 minutes
Cooking it:                                20 minutes
Oven set to:                              190c/375f/Gas 5
Makes:                                     12 muffins
Gear needed:                            Paper baking cases
                                                Muffin or patty tin with 2.5 cm deep wells

What you need:
125g    Unsalted butter
90g      Granulated sugar
30g      Dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp    Vanilla extract
200g    Self-raising flour
15g      Cocoa powder
¼ tsp   Salt
150ml  Milk
60g     Dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Here we go:

• Cream the butter, then beat in both types of sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• Lightly mix the eggs and vanilla together.  Then beat them into the creamed ingredients.
• Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.  Fold the into the butter mix a spoon at a time, alternating with the milk.
• Put the paper cases in the muffin tin.  Half-fill with the mixture.
• Sprinkle a few pieces of the chopped dark chocolate on top.  Then put another spoonful of the mixture over it.
• Bake for twenty minutes, until muffins are beautifully risen and feel springy to touch. 
• Cool on a wire rack for as long as you can bear to wait!