Chocolate Ricotta Muffins

Yeah, I know it's summer.
Yeah, I know it's bathing suit season.
And your point is?

It's one muffin, not an ice cream sundae, don't scold me.
I can't help myself.
I had leftover ricotta cheese from crostini and to throw away food would be a sin (so my mother told me my whole life).

These are pretty damn great, I'm just warning you.

The original recipe calls for orange flower water, which I finally purchased on amazon.
What is it, you ask?

It has no orange taste whatsoever, it is from the oil of orange blossoms and is more of a perfume, used in Middle Eastern (Moroccan, Lebanese) cooking.

I have seen it in so many recipes over the years, I finally bit the bullet and bought a bottle from France, which lasts forever in the fridge.

But.....if you don't have the orange flower water, don't panic, these muffins were great without it.
But if you have it, use it.

The original recipe from Molly uses canola oil. I hate canola oil, and not sure why, it smells weird to me, though it's supposed to be a neutral oil. I used it, and it was fine, but if you want to use vegetable oil instead, I say go ahead.

Only make these if you are having a party or else you might eat too many of them. Just fair warning.

Chocolate Ricotta Muffins (adpated from Orangette): makes 12 lovely muffins

For the ricotta mixture:

1 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg white
1 tbsp good-quality bourbon
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1/2 cup good-quality semisweet chocolate chips
a pinch of salt

For the cupcake batter:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk (any fat content is fine)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp orange-flower water (you can buy it here on amazon)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin w/ paper liners.

Mix the ricotta mixture in one bowl and put in the fridge until ready to use.

Mix up the cupcake batter in another large bowl.

Using a rounded tablespoon measure, plop one full tablespoon of the chocolate batter into each muffin tin.

Top with a tablespoon of the ricotta mixture. I used all of the mixture, filling each cup until it was gone.

Now top with the rest of the chocolate batter.

With a pairing knife facing straight down, swirl the ricotta and chocolate batters together.

Bake 30-35 minutes until puffed. Remove to a cooling rack and enjoy!!!

yum yum.