Strawberry and Velvety Chocolate Chip Muffin

I took a short break last week, didn't bake till Sunday. Some friends from out of town visited, while others are leaving for new adventures soon. It was a week of much laughter, at the same time a period of reflection. 

A part of my reflection consisted of lusting after this - 

I was promised this as a gift if I should still be at this project in a year's time. I am 2 months into The Good Cake, 10 more to go. I am so excited!

So, back to what I had baked on Sunday! I had recently purchased Paul Hollywood's How to Bake and am really pleased that I did. He talks much about baking basics like how the characteristics of each flour can affect the outcome of each baked good, and it had saved me a great deal of confusion, being such a noob. 

I had used his Cherry Chocolate Muffins recipe, replaced it with strawberries. I should probably try cherries the next time, they are in abundance now that summer is full-blown here in Hong Kong. 

Here they are, they were really delicious, though my grandpa said that they are a tad oily - I have told him that there'd be NONE FOR HIM in future! Though I will still attempt to reduce the amount of butter the next time I bake them but I suspect that they will be less fragrant?

The strawberries were not too ripe, hence were slightly sour in the muffins, but it gave a the sweetness a good contrast. And because Paul Hollywood had said to chop the chocolate up, instead of using cocoa powder, there were bits of melted chocolate all over the muffins, much like a comforting warm blanket on a cold day. 

I like them, very much!