Recipe for monster muffins

Ingredients

• 200 g flour
• 50 g ground almonds
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 100 g sugar
• 80 ml oil
• 300 g yogurt (buttermilk or sour cream also work)
• 150 g chocolate couverture (I used the one from Manner, but you can of course just melt regular chocolate)

Decoration

• Sugar pearls, shredded coconut and blue food coloring, sugar eyes, small butter cookies (e.g. from Leibnitz)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F) top and bottom heat.

2. Line the muffin tin with paper cases or grease it with oil, then place it in the refrigerator.

3. Mix flour, almonds, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl.

4. Whisk eggs, sugar, oil and yogurt in another bowl.

5. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter.

6. Bake in the oven at 180°C for about 15–20 minutes.

7. Then let rest in the tin for 5 minutes and only then remove them from the tin.

8. If you want to use the shredded coconut, take a bowl (preferably ceramic, not plastic) and mix some food coloring into the coconut.

9. Add one to three drops of food coloring depending on the desired intensity.

10. If you use the sugar pearls, put them in a bowl that's large enough for the muffin to fit into.

11. Now spread the muffins with chocolate couverture or dip them.

12. Dip the muffins that are still freshly coated with chocolate (you have to work quickly here, because once the chocolate has dried the rest of the decoration won't stick!) into a bowl of sugar pearls or colored shredded coconut.

13. Also stick on the eyes with a little chocolate.

14. For the mouth, make a small cut with a knife and insert the cookie.

15. Place them upright to dry.