THE muffins are single-portion sweets soft and really greedy, coming from English cuisine. The first muffins were in fact prepared in England in 1703 and were called initially moofin: this word probably came from the French mouflet which means “soft as bread”, or from German muffins which indicates the “small cakes”. In Queen Victoria’s England muffins were particularly loved for their extraordinary flavor and were used as accompaniment to five o’clock tea. Nowadays they are spread all over the world and prepared with many different ingredients: simple, with yoghurt with and without the Thermomix, with lemon, without eggs for a vegan version… there is something for all tastes! But the favorites are, without a doubt, the chocolate muffins: delicious and soft, with an extraordinary aroma of cocoa. Today we explain how to prepare i chocolate muffins and how to cook them in the air fryer: an easy, quick and foolproof recipe that will make the whole family happy!

Preparation

1

Start preparing your chocolate muffins by pouring the whole eggs and sugar into a bowl. Beat the mixture well with a hand whisk or with electric whisks at low speed until it is well blended and has become quite clear. At that point add the dose of cow’s milk ricotta.

2

Mix with the whisk and then add the sunflower oil. Mix again and add the grated zest of half an organic lemon.

3

Pour the powders into a second bowl: combine the flour, a pinch of baking soda and the sieved baking powder. Mix everything with a spoon.

4

Add the sifted cocoa powder, mix to incorporate it well into the flour and then add the liquid mixture.

5

With a hand whisk, mix the whole mixture well until you have obtained a dense, full-bodied and airy, slightly grainy mixture. At that point, prepare the paper or silicone cups suitable for cooking the muffins and, with a spoon or an ice cream dispenser, pour the mixture into each cup. You will have to fill the cup only halfway, otherwise your muffins will overflow from the molds during cooking. Start decorating your muffins.

6

You can decorate with whatever you like. We used chocolate chips, granulated sugar, blueberries and dark chocolate. Preheat the air fryer to 160°C for about 5 minutes. Cook at the same temperature for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool before serving.

Advice and tips

It is important that the air fryer is preheated before baking the muffins. Not letting it preheat would compromise the leavening of your cakes. This speech is valid for every type of dessert, but also for savory dishes.

Always check the characteristics of your air fryer, which may have one different power compared to the one used for our recipe. Eventually adjust the degrees so that your muffins cook perfectly. You can go up to 170°C without any problem.

For an even softer and more delicious touch, you can insert a teaspoon of Nutella or another chocolate spread. Pour a spoonful of the mixture into the cups, add a teaspoon of very cold Nutella in the center (even better if frozen), cover with another spoonful of the mixture and cook at the indicated temperature.

storage

Chocolate muffins cooked in an air fryer can be kept for 3 days under a glass bell jar.

They can be frozen wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 2 months. We then advise you to let them thaw at room temperature and warm them up for 5 minutes before consuming them.