Chocolate muffins that truly taste of chocolate and stay fresh for days are a rarity!
Chocolate Muffins
Chocolate muffins are not all created equal.
Heres my laundry list of things a great chocolate muffin needs to have.
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In fact, in my whole cooking life, I have never come across a keeper.
After (many!)
Im VERY happy with the end result and thrilled to share it!
Chocolate muffins are notorious for being dry because of the cocoa powder.
The simple baking tricks for the BEST Chocolate Muffins ever!
Heres the complete list of the simple tricks that make all the difference in this recipe.
An explanation of thewhybehind each of these is in the ingredients section below.
Ingredients in Chocolate Muffins
Heres what you gotta make these Chocolate Muffins.
If youre wondering coffee?
Did she make mistake?Read on below for why!!
Any instant coffee powder or granules works fine here, no need to use an expensive one!
It is slightly more expensive but yields a better result.
Ordinary cocoa powder (unsweetened) will work just fine too.
Just 1 egg Eggs are required to bind the crumb of cakes.
But the problem is the whites tend to also dry baked goods out!
So we use just 1 egg here.
Compared to using 2 eggs, the extra moistness in the crumb is remarkable.
Oil This is the fat used in the chocolate muffins instead of the usual butter.
My side by side tests confirmed this also for this muffin recipe.
So, oil it is!
It also adds a lovely caramel flavour to the crumb which compliments the chocolate flavour.
As for making the dome crisp?
I wasnt willing to give that up!
Now we get the best of both worlds!
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Vanilla Just a touch, for flavour!
Vanilla extract is fine to use here and is preferable to artificial vanilla flavouring.
Sour cream Another baking trick!
Yogurt can also be used in place of sour cream.
Flour Just plain / all-purpose flour.
(Id still use self raising flour if thats all I had, though.)
Just be sure to use baking chocolate (from the baking aisle), not eating chocolate.
The latter is not made for cooking in the oven and funky things happen when you do!
Salt Just a touch, it brings out the flavour in baked goods.
How to make Chocolate Muffins
Mix Dry , mix Wet, mix Dry into Wet.
Do you really need me to give you any more detail?
Sift Dry ingredients Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
Using the same sifter for the cocoa without cleaning the flour off is fine.
Sift cocoa powderinto a separate bowl.
Bloom cocoa Add the coffee powder and hot milk to the cocoa and give it a good whisk.
Its an age-old baking trick, one I use for things likeChocolate Cakeand myFudge Cake.
Then pour this mixture into the flour and whisk.
Initially, after the flour is incorporated, the batter will look a bit split (ie.
itll have fine oil streaks).
Whisk until its smooth and glossy, but stop once it is.
Dont keep mixing on blindly!
This will overwork the gluten in the flour and make your muffins tough rather than pillowy soft!
That said, this batter is thinner than most muffins batters so its more failsafe in this regard.
Stir inmost of the chocolate chips reserved about 1/4 cup for topping.
Note:This batter is THINNER than typical muffin batters.
Use an ice cream scoop with a lever if you have one.
This is a super-handy tool for muffins, cupcakes, fritters, even meatballs!
Do not overfill!Fill the muffin cases up to 0.5cm / 0.2 from rim of paper liner.
Dont fill any higher as the muffin will overflow when baked since this batter is quite thin.
(see Note 5)
Topwith reserved chocolate chips.
Just pile them in the middle, they will spread out as the muffin rises.
Bake at HIGH temp 5 minutes Bake for 5 minutes at 210C / 410F (190C fan).
So, 25 minutes in total.
This is longer than most muffins and its because the batter is thinner (contains more liquid).
Notes on oven temperature:I know these oven temperatures are a bit unusual compared to the typical 180C/350F.
The muffins have a nice rise, crisp dome, moist crumb inside, without overcooked edges.
When a toothpick inserted into the middle muffins comes out clean, theyre done.
Dont confuse melted chocolate with raw batter!
Probe in multiple places if you are unsure.
Coolfor a few minutes in the muffin tin until it’s possible for you to handle them.
Transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before attacking them!
Most muffins begin to turn stale within hours of being made.
By the next day they usually need to be warmed up to resurrect them.
Sounds all too good to be true right??
Well, I think youll just have to make these and see for yourself!
Id love to hear how long you kept yours good for.
Or, if they even made it beyond Day 1 before they disappeared entirely!
!
