Chilli hot chocolate muffins with whipped chocolate coconut cream frosting

I'm still feeling a little under the weather and decided to try spicing up some chocolate chip muffins with a kick of chilli powder, ginger and cinnamon. We'd run out of milk so instead I experimented by using the liquid from a chilled tin of coconut milk - then I whipped the solidified cream with melted chocolate to make an amazing chocolate fudge frosting!

Ingredients

1 chilled tin coconut milk (strained liquid only)

2 eggs

½ cup (4 fl. oz) sunflower oil

8 oz self-raising flour

5 oz caster sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ground ginger

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

5 heaped tbsp hot chocolate powder

2 oz dark chocolate chips

2 oz white chocolate chips

For the whipped chocolate coconut cream

1 tin chilled coconut milk (solidified cream only)

200g dark chocolate, chopped

To decorate

A few chunks of dark, milk and white chocolate, finely grated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and place 12 muffin cases in tins.
2. Open the chilled tin of coconut milk upside down and pour out the liquid into a large mixing bowl.  Reserve the solidified cream in the tin to make the icing later.
3. Add the eggs and oil and beat with a hand whisk until well combined.
4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, chilli powder, ginger, cinnamon and hot chocolate powder, add the sugar and fold the ingredients together with a hand whisk.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Carefully spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, make the icing: place the reserved cream from the tinned coconut milk in a pan with the chocolate and heat very gently, stirring continuously until dissolved and well combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before transferring to a bowl. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour.
8. When you’re ready to ice the muffins, remove the bowl from the fridge and beat with an electric whisk until it forms a fluffy whipped cream consistency. Pipe or spoon the icing onto the muffins. Decorate with finely grated shavings of dark, milk and white chocolate.