Say hello to your new favourite muffin. These gorgeous bakery-style Double Chocolate Muffins boast a beautiful domed top, soft and fluffy chocolate centre and LOADS of chocolate chips. Ready to eat in 40 minutes!
Meet my easy, bakery-style Double Chocolate Muffins ❤️ These beautiful, domed muffins boast a soft cakey centre, that’s absolutely PACKED with chocolate chips.
Boasting a rich chocolate flavour thanks to oodles of cocoa powder and buttermilk for tenderness, they’re never dry – and always hit the spot.
If you need a chocolate fix or want a portable treat for the lunchbox, these Double Chocolate Muffins are your answer.
Why you will love this recipe
- Quick and easy: This easy recipe takes mere minutes to make – NO electric mixer needed.
- Soft and tender: Chocolate muffins have the tendency to be dry but NOT these. You can expect soft, fluffy, cakey muffins.
- Chocolatey: Made with plenty of cocoa powder and chocolate chips, they’re bursting with rich chocolate flavour.
- Make-ahead: Muffins are best eaten on the day they are made, but these Double Chocolate Muffins freeze so well. Keep a stash in the freezer for morning or afternoon tea or late-night snacks.
This is the best muffin recipe I have EVER tried. Comes out perfect each time, moist and full of chocolate goodness!
– Jonathan
Recipe testing
The BEST Double Chocolate Muffins are HERE. Big, beautiful muffins that are bursting with chocolate flavour. Think domed muffins with a soft, tender interior and a crisp, crunchy muffin top.
Just like my Moist Chocolate Cake, these muffins use buttermilk to provide their light, springy texture. I’ve included notes below if you need to use a buttermilk substitute.
As we discovered with my favourite Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe and my Chocolate Cupcakes, melted butter gives small baked goods plenty of flavour. But you can use a flavourless oil if you prefer.
All in all, these mini chocolate cakes are perfect for the lunchbox, morning or afternoon tea or a night-time treat. The best part? You don’t need an electric mixer or any special equipment.
Honestly, we can’t stop making these! I have a freezer full of Double Chocolate Muffins to prove it. They go right alongside my Easy Toddler Muffins.
Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients you’ll need to make a batch of my moist Double Chocolate Muffins, including any substitutions you can make.
- Cocoa powder: You can use either natural unsweetened cocoa powder OR Dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe. Personally I love to use Dutch processed cocoa powder which as a darker colour and a richer flavour. Just don’t use drinking chocolate or any sweetened cocoa powder.
- Brown sugar AND caster sugar: Using both sugars gives you the best of both worlds. Brown sugar adds moisture and flavour, while caster sugar offers sweetness. If you don’t have access to caster sugar, use granulated sugar instead. And for the brown sugar, choose regular or light brown sugar.
- Butter: I love to use melted butter in this recipe, however if you prefer working with oil, you definitely can. Choose a flavourless oil or neutral-tasting oil like grapeseed oil or vegetable oil. Even a mild-tasting olive oil would work.
- Buttermilk: Full fat storebought butter does wonders for making a super moist muffin. I highly recommend getting your hands on it if you can. If you can’t you can use a DIY buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to 240 ml (1 cup) of full fat or whole milk. Leave it to curdle for 5 minutes and then use as per recipe. OR you can use half Greek yogurt or natural yogurt and half regular whole or full fat milk. Or you can even use 3/4 cup of full fat or whole milk and 1/4 cup of sour cream.
- Chocolate chips: I love to throw in a good measure of chocolate chips. You can use any chocolate chips you like, milk, dark or even white chocolate chips – or chop up a block of your favourite chocolate into chunks.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Double Chocolate Muffins
One of the easiest bakes, these Double Chocolate Chip Muffins come together quickly. There’s a no need for a stand or hand mixer – just a bowl and a spatula will do!
Here’s a quick overview of how to make them. The full instructions are included in the recipe card below.
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Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, brown sugar and caster sugar. Give it a stir.
Step 2: In a small mixing bowl, add melted butter (cooled), vanilla, eggs and buttermilk. Whisk with a fork just to break up the egg yolks.
Step 3: Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and start to gently mix with a spatula.
Step 4: Add hot water and chocolate chips. Mix by hand until just combined – do not over-mix.
Step 5: Divide batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each hole right to the top.
Step 6: Bake chocolate muffins for approximately 18-20 minutes.
Jess’s recipe tips
Here are my top tips to ensure your Double Chocolate Muffins turn out perfectly moist – nobody likes a dry muffin!
- Get out your baking scale: It’s easy to over-measure your flour and cocoa when using cup measurements. A baking scale will ensure you use just the right amount of flour and cocoa every time.
- Don’t over-mix your muffin batter: Muffins require a delicate hand. Gently fold the mixture using a spatula or wooden spoon until it just comes together. Over-mixing will give you tough, dry muffins = no thank you.
- Fill muffin cups to the top: Unlike cupcakes which are usually only filled two-thirds full, you need to fill the holes into your muffin pan right to the very top. This will ensure your muffins rise up nice and tall.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely! This recipe will make 28-30 mini muffins. Bake them for approximately 12-14 minutes.
A few common reasons why your muffins might be dry include adding too much flour and cocoa. Be sure to measure these ingredients using a baking scale to avoid over-measuring. Also, tough or dry muffins are often a result of over-mixing. Be sure to mix gently with a light hand and stop as soon as it’s combined.
Absolutely not! I like to use them sometimes so I don’t have to wash my muffin pan. But you can easily grease your muffin pan with spray oil or softened butter and pop the muffin mixture straight in. If you do want to use liners like I have, just be sure to track down muffin liners, rather than cupcake liners which muffin tend to stick to.
The hot temperature helps the muffins to quickly rise and create that lovely domed top.
More muffin recipes
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Let’s Bake
Double Chocolate Muffins
Bakery-style chocolate muffins loaded with chocolate pieces.
Ingredients
- 280 grams (2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 60 grams (3/4 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
- 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 115 grams (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) hot water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
- 150 grams (1 cup) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F) standard / 180 C (350 F) fan-forced. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan well with butter or line with paper muffin liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, brown sugar and caster sugar and gently stir.
- Using the microwave, heat butter until just melted, stirring every 15 seconds. Remove the butter and set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile turn the kettle on and pour out 1/4 cup of boiling water and set aside.
- Next, add vanilla, eggs and buttermilk to your cooled butter and whisk gently until combined. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and begin to fold. Add chocolate chips.
- Gently mix using a spatula or wooden spoon and then pour in the hot water. Fold until the mixture is just combined – be careful not to over mix. Spoon batter into your muffin pan – the holes will be quite full.
- Bake for 5 minutes before turning the heat down to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Bake for a further 13-15 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Gently remove muffins from pan and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Cocoa powder: You can use either natural unsweetened cocoa powder OR Dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe. I prefer to use Dutch processed cocoa powder as it has a darker colour and a richer flavour. Don’t use drinking chocolate or any sweetened cocoa powder.
Butter: I love to use melted butter in this recipe, however if you prefer working with oil, you definitely can. Choose a flavourless oil or neutral-tasting oil like grapeseed oil.
Buttermilk: Full fat storebought butter does wonders for making a super moist muffin. If you don’t have access to it, you can use a DIY buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to 240 ml (1 cup) of full fat or whole milk. Leave it to curdle for 5 minutes and then use as per recipe. OR you can use half Greek yogurt or natural yogurt and half regular whole or full fat milk. Or you can even use 3/4 cup of full fat or whole milk and 1/4 cup of sour cream.
Storage: Muffins are best eaten on the day they are made. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. To maintain freshness, consider freezing any leftover muffins. Wrap in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. To enjoy, simple thaw at room temperature or warm in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Nutrition Information
Our favourite
Melissa says
Delicious! Just curious, what is the purpose of the hot water in the recipe and not more milk? I made it as is and gave a couple to our reno builders as soon as they came out of the oven and they loved them too! 😊 I didn’t have Dutch cocoa powder and I’ll use that next time as I do prefer the slightly richer chocolate flavour it gives!
Thanks for all your recipes, I love them!!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Melissa, so glad you enjoyed these! And great questions. Hot water or sometimes hot coffee is often using in chocolate cakes as it typically reacts with the cocoa powder causing it to ‘bloom’, resulting in a richer darker chocolate flavour. So I figured this would also happen with muffins too! And I found it did!
Jazz says
These muffins came out incredibly well. So chocolatey and delicious and they look like proper muffins!! I love this recipe, thank you for sharing!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you had success Jazz!
Ali says
My daughter had free choice of cook in her class at school so I found and gave her your chocolate muffin recipe to make. I think it’s safe to say they went down a treat. Nine of them had already been devoured by her friends and I was really impressed when she brought the remaining few home. They looked fantastic and tasted even better.
Jessica Holmes says
That makes me so happy Ali! Sounds like your daughter did a wonderful job baking these!
Grace says
So good! My boyfriend and I ate all 12 of them in 3 days, I might have to make the small batch recipe next time (for portion control)
Jessica Holmes says
Haha I hear you Grace! I also freeze some of mine to help with portion control 🙂
Mal says
Hi Jess, can I use hot coffee instead of boiling water?
TIA
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely!
Max says
Hi. Love this recipe but was wondering if I could half it? Would it still be okay?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you like this one! Yes you can! However, I already did the hard work for you – check out my Small Batch Chocolate Muffin recipe.
Sarah says
These are incredible! I made them gluten free by simply substituting the flour for a GF flour blend (add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum if your flour blend doesn’t have it in). They are the best tasting most bakery-like muffins I’ve ever made (& I’ve made A LOT)! Great recipe Jess!
Jessica Holmes says
Ah I love hearing that Sarah! Thank you for your lovely feedback!
Tina says
Would it be okay to use Kerrygold butter in this recipe? And will it be okay that it is salted butter?
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely!