I have a confession to make, up until a few months ago I thought I didn’t like avocado. It’s kind of mushy and I thought it was bland and I was like no thank you, ma’am. Then I had some guacamole and I was like “hey this is super yummy!” and my love affair with avocado started there. And for a while now I’ve wanted to bake with it, it’s also been a long time since I’ve made muffins so these chocolate avocado muffins happened this week! I added lime to the mix because I love to slather my avocado with lots of lime.

These muffins are packed full of chocolate and have avocado instead of butter, I love the texture that gives them. They’re super moist and have lots of chocolate chips to keep you satisfied. They’re also filled with home made lime curd, giving them an extra tangy zest and really make them stand out from your regular chocolate muffins

I’ve always had trouble getting good muffin tops, they always come out pretty flat. And while they taste good they don’t have that great muffin look and the chewy muffin top! After trying a few different techniques I finally got myself some good muffin tops! They’re puffy, spilling over and just the right amount of chewiness! To finally achieve my muffin milestone, I filled the cups to the top and then baked them at a higher temperature for the first 10 minutes, then lowered it for the remaining baking time and voila, perfect muffins!

I love these muffins a lot, so I am bringing them along to Fiesta Friday 19 – Hope everybody enjoys them. Along with Angie, this week’s FF is being co-hosted by Sue and Prudy. So break out your party hats, it’s gonna be a fun one!

[recipe title=”Chocolate Avocado Muffins with Lime” servings=”12″]
Ingredients

For the Lime Curd

• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 egg, beaten

For the Muffins

• 2 3/4 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large, ripe avocado
• 1 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup plain natural yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tbsp lime zest

Method

• For the lime curd, put the sugar, butter, lime juice and lime zest in the top of a double boiler on a high heat until the butter is melted. Mix a tbsp of the lime mix into the egg and whisk. Reduce the heat until the water is lightly simmering, add the egg mixture to the lime mixture and whisk. Cook over the low heat until curd is thickened – about 20 minutes. Leave to cool while you make the muffins.
• Preheat the oven to 220C/425F and line a muffin tray with paper cups
• Whisk together the flour, oats, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl and set aside.
• Using a blender, process the avocado, milk and yogurt until smooth. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the eggs.
• Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, making sure it is all fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and lime zest.
• Fill the muffin cups half way with muffin batter, then add a tsp of lime zest and top up with more muffin batter. Fill the muffin liners up full.
• Bake in the oven at 220C/424F for 10 minutes. The reduce the heat to 190C/375F and bake for 10 more minutes, until skewer comes out clean
• Cool on a wire rack

Notes

• Store in an airtight container for 3 days
• Great served warm!
• Don’t tell weirdos who think avocado in muffins is gross, they won’t notice!

[/recipe]