Pear, oat and chocolate gingerbread muffins

Last night we had dinner at our friend Debbie's house and I made my flourless chocolate amaretto pear cake. I had a couple of pears left over so this morning decided to include them in another chocolatey recipe - this time adding some cocoa to a basic gingerbread muffin recipe, and replacing half the flour for oats.

Ingredients

5 oz self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

4 oz caster sugar

5 oz porridge oats

2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped

2 eggs

6 fl oz milk

6 tbsp sunflower oil

4 tbsp golden syrup

2 tbsp porridge oats, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and grease a 12-hole muffin tin.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cocoa and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. Stir in the sugar and oats.
4. Add the chopped pears and stir until coated.
5. In a mixing jug, lightly beat the eggs and then beat in the milk, oil and golden syrup.
6. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.
7. Spoon the mixture evenly into the greased tin and sprinkle over the remaining two spoonfuls of porridge oats.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and a cake tester comes out clean.
9. Cool in the tin for 5 mins before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.