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.
