Muffin-mania

Tomorrow is Hubby's birthday and everyone deserves some kind of birthday cake or cakes, don't they? Christopher's vote went to chocolate muffins, which is great as he practically makes those by himself anyway. Simple muffins like these are, to my mind, a great first 'proper' recipe for children as they really can do most of the work themselves - no sharp knives, no sieving or creaming. The batter seems to work fine even if it's a bit lumpy, so even the most inept of stirrers can make a decent batch of muffins. Just as long as you can cope with the mess on the worktop, the floor and all over your beloved (hair, eyebrows, sleeves, you name it). A set of cup measures makes baking a lot easier for little ones, especially those who are still pre-school.

Christopher's Chocolate Muffins

Dry ingredients:

1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together in a large bowl.

Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1 large egg

Beat together in a jug, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir to roughly combine. Don't worry about lumps. Put paper cases into a 12-hole muffin tray and divide the mixture as evenly as possible between them. Bake at 180°c for 15 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool. This last bit is the only 'grown-up' bit of the whole procedure, but Christopher's usually lost interest by this point...

After all, there a bowl to be licked, isn't there? Don't you wish you were a child again?