Berry muffins and chocolate muffins

Well, today was the coldest June day that Brisbane has recorded in yonks. Filling up the fuel tank, I was like a human icypole. Frozen solid from the westerlies screaming through the city and turning everything to ice. Even when I pulled open the 'winter' drawer and found my 'emergencies only' bright yellow jumper with the Instant Scratch-It logo on the front (possibly a newsagent promo jumper) that I found at Vinnie's a few years ago, the jumper itself was freezing cold. Lucky it was nicely fleeced on the inside and so I didn't take long to warm up.
Later, in the kitchen, wearing track pants, yellow jumper, slippers and thick dressing gown, I could actually see my breath. That's it, I thought: time to turn on the oven and do some emergency winter baking. If ever there was a time to steam up the kitchen windows and potter over a hot stove with a mug of tea nearby, this was it.

Muffins it was. Quick, easy, painless, satisfying. I decided to do two batches: one of mixed berry muffins (for me) and one of chocolate muffins (for Lord Chocolateface, the lover of super-sweet and chocolatey confections. He wouldn't be caught dead with a berry muffin- the sugars are far too natural!)
I used a 500g pack of frozen berries from the supermarket, which I folded still-frozen into the muffin batter. This was a mistake. I should have drained them and defrosted them first, because they ended up releasing all their juice and not combining properly in the mixture. The end result was tasty, but creepy-looking and somewhat lopsided. Oh well , I wasn't to know. It was my first time using frozen berries. Next time. The good thing was that the berries I chose were AWESOME: they were a mix of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and cherries. YUM. They will be a delicious breakfast treat.

The chocolate ones: I used a 250g block of Cadbury Old Gold. 100g went into the mix, and the remaining chocolate I melted with a little butter and some icing mixture to make a fairly solid and fudgy icing for their little tops. Lord Chocolateface thought he had died and gone to heaven!
The two muffin flavours were a good combination to make at the same time, because most ingredients are the same and you can make the second lot while the first lot is in the oven.

Berry Muffins
400-500g fresh or frozen berries (any type- make sure the frozen ones are DEFROSTED and DRAINED first! Rinse and dry the fresh ones)
Half a cup (125g) unsalted butter, softened or just melted
Three-quarters of a cup (140g) soft brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence (or hopefully extract)
Two-thirds of a cup light sour cream
2 and three-quarters cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Icing sugar to dust over (optional)

Grease and flour your muffin pans, or line with patty cases. Preheat oven to 180C. Sift flour and baking powder into a big bowl. In another bowl, mix together the butter, eggs, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Stir the liquid ingredients into the flour until just combined ( don't overstir). Gently fold in the berries. Fill the pans about two-thirds full, bake for approx. 20 mins. Turn them out onto a wire rack. Dust with sugar to serve, if you like. Makes 24.

Chocolate Muffins
100g dark chocolate (bitter is best)
Half a cup (125g) unsalted butter
Two-thirds cup (150g) caster sugar
2 eggs
Three-quarters cup light sour cream
Quarter cup brandy ( I used tokay: use port otherwise)
Quarter tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch ground cardamom
1 and two-thirds cup (210g) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Line muffin pans with patty cases. Preheat oven to 180C. Melt the chocolate and butter together over hot water, leave to cool. When cool, stir in the sugar, eggs, spices, sour cream and brandy.
Sift remaning ingredients into a big bowl. Add liquid mixture and stir till just combined (don't overstir). Fill pans about two-thirds full: bake for 20-25 mins, cool on wire rack. Makes 12-15.