LIGHT. FLUFFY. DELICIOUS.

These muffins have got breakfast written all over them. For me, the chai tea gives it the edge. If you’re not a chai fan, you could substitute with rooibos; I reckon that would sing with dark chocolate, and maybe omit the spices and up the vanilla? Or, you could use Earl Grey tea and play around with some lemon and blueberry flavours? Whichever way, I can’t think of a better way to kickstart the day!

RECIPE: Chai Tea and Chocolate Chip Muffins

MAKES: 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 teabags CHAI TEA
• 135g BUTTER, soft
• 120g WHITE SUGAR
• 120g BROWN SUGAR
• 360g PLAIN FLOUR
• 2 tsp BAKING POWDER
• 2 tsp GROUND CINNAMON
• 2 tsp GROUND GINGER
• 1 tsp GROUND NUTMEG
• _^1/2 tsp GROUND CLOVES
• _^1/2 tsp SALT
• 1 tsp. VANILLA PASTE
• 2 EGGS
• 90g MILK
• 40g CHOCOLATE CHIPS.
• 12 squares DARK CHOCOLATE

METHOD:

1. Pour 200ml of almost-boiled water into a jug. Add the 2 teabags of CHAI TEA and leave to steep.
2. Preheat oven to 180c and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
3. In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients (PLAIN FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, GROUND CINNAMON, GROUND GINGER, GROUND NUTMEG, GROUND CLOVES, and SALT). Give it a good stir so that all the spices are evenly distributed.
4. In a separate bowl, add the BUTTER, WHITE SUGAR, and BROWN SUGAR and cream together with an electric whisk. With the whisk running, add in the EGGS, MILK, and VANILLA PASTE. Squeeze out the TEABAGS and discard, and add the STEEPED TEA.
5. Now fold the dry ingredients into the wet. And fold in the CHOCOLATE CHIPS.
6. Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin holes. The mixture will come up high. Then, press 1 square of DARK CHOCOLATE into the centre of each muffin.
7. Bake for 20 minutes @ 180c.
8. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before digging in!