Chocolate Bacon Muffins

Fabio and guest Niecy Nash celebrate Mother's Day with a sure-fire dessert muffin destined to please your whole family. His amazing 'chef's cupcake' blends two favorites, chocolate and bacon perfectly together and is super easy to bake.Tips:Chocolate 101

  • o Buy unsweetened chocolate before you buy bittersweet or semi-sweet: while unsweetened can always get sweeter, you can never take the sugar out of the others.

  • o Cocoa powder quickly becomes chocolate with the quick addition of butter and sugar.

  • o Never substitute milk chocolate for melting recipes calling for something else: the milk solids will affect the recipe.

  • o When melting chocolate, always chop it up first so that it melts evenly. Also, when melting chocolate over direct heat, be sure to use a LOW temperature.

  • · Sweet and Salty: So Happy Together! A hint of salt makes sweet treats taste better: salt awakens our taste buds, making them that much more receptive to sweetness. The proper balance makes two favorites, bacon and chocolate, taste even better than they would on their own.

· How to make a perfectly textured muffin: temper the chocolate slowly so it's incorporated into the butter evenly. Whisk the sugar into the eggs aggressively, to make sure it's incorporated evenly. That way when you combine the two, you'll have a perfect texture.




Rich Bacon Chocolate Muffins

Recipe by Fabio Viviani

Yields: 20-24 muffins

Ingredients:

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

12 oz. unsalted butter

2 cups white sugar

6 large eggs

½ lb. bacon, baked or fried crisp

½ lb. all-purpose flour

Method:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan.

Place both chocolates and butter in a glass or metal bowl, and place the bowl over the saucepan of boiling water.

Mix until butter and chocolate are melted and smooth.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.

Chop bacon into small pieces.

Add the melted butter and chocolate to the eggs and sugar, and whisk till blended.

Add bacon, and then fold in flour.

Using a medium sized ice-cream scoop, scoop batter into lined muffin tins and fill about ¾ full.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until muffins rise slightly, and the tops crack.

Remove from pan and cool for 10-15 minutes.

MANGIA!!