Chocolate muffins that truly taste of chocolate and stay fresh for days are a rarity! This recipe delivers, thanks to some tidy tricks including hot milk to bloom the cocoa, and a little coffee to enhance the chocolate flavour (you won’t taste the coffee). Using brown sugar, oil, sour cream and less egg meanwhile is the secret to keeping the crumb ultra-moist and tender!
Chocolate Muffins
Chocolate muffins are not all created equal. I’m fussy about mine and make no apologies about it – there are a lot of calories in a muffin, so every one of them better be worth it! 😂 Here’s my laundry list of things a great chocolate muffin needs to have. It must:
Have a lovely crisp dome
Be tender and moist inside
Truly taste of chocolate
Be quick and easy to make (as muffins should be!)
Not include obscure or just plain weird ingredients
Stay fresh for 3 days
Be still good for even another 2 days after that!
While this list of chocolate muffin characteristics might sound obvious to you, finding a recipe that ticks all these boxes is much harder than you think! In fact, in my whole cooking life, I have never come across a keeper.
After (many!) years of attempts, I finally buckled down and committed myself to pursuing the ultimate chocolate muffin recipe, even if it killed me. In the end, it was a plethora of simple baking tricks that came together in creating what is my idea of the perfect chocolate muffin. I’m VERY happy with the end result and thrilled to share it!
Chocolate muffins are notorious for being dry because of the cocoa powder. But not these!
The simple baking tricks for the BEST Chocolate Muffins ever!
Here’s the complete list of the simple tricks that make all the difference in this recipe. An explanation of the why behind each of these is in the ingredients section below.
1 egg rather than the usual 2 eggs;
Brown sugar instead of white sugar;
Oil instead of butter;
Sour cream instead of milk;
Coffee to enhance chocolate flavour (optional);
Dutch-process cocoa powder for more intense chocolate flavour (optional);
Blooming the cocoa powder with hot milk;
Thinner batter than the usual muffin batters; and
Briefly bake on a high temperature then lower temperature to finish!
Ingredients in Chocolate Muffins
Here’s what you need to make these Chocolate Muffins. If you’re wondering – coffee? Did she make mistake? Read on below for why!!
Instant coffee powder or granules – This is an age-old baking trick used to enhance chocolate flavours because chocolate and coffee share similar taste characteristics. You can taste the coffee in the raw batter but once baked, you cannot taste it. Any instant coffee powder or granules works fine here, no need to use an expensive one!
Dutch process cocoa powder – This is a darker cocoa with a more intense chocolate flavour and colour than ordinary cocoa powder. It is slightly more expensive but yields a better result.
Ordinary cocoa powder (unsweetened) will work just fine too. The colour of the muffins however will not be quite as deep and also it will taste slightly less chocolatey.
HOT milk – A trick used in my Chocolate Cake and Fudge Cake, hot liquid (usually water) mixed with cocoa powder makes it bloom! This brings out the flavour and makes the muffins taste more chocolatey.
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. While I love the flavour butter brings to baked goods, it actually has a drying effect on the crumb compared to oil. My side by side tests confirmed this also for this muffin recipe. So, oil it is!
Brown sugar – While white sugar will make a slightly crisper dome, brown sugar retains moisture better which means the crumb is more moist (notice a trend we’re aiming for here??). It also adds a lovely caramel flavour to the crumb which compliments the chocolate flavour.
As for making the dome crisp? I wasn’t willing to give that up! So I just blast the muffins at a slightly higher temperature for the first 5 minutes which helps give it a nice crispy dome. Now we get the best of both worlds!
Baking soda (bi-carb) – This makes the muffins rise slightly better than using baking powder, while preserving the intense dark chocolate colour of the crumb. Baking powder does also work perfectly fine (use 4 teaspoons) but the muffins rise slightly less and give a slightly paler crumb colour.
Vanilla – Just a touch, for flavour! Vanilla extract is fine to use here and is preferable to artificial vanilla flavouring. While real vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste has its place, I wouldn’t bother wasting them for this recipe.
Sour cream – Another baking trick! This lets us introduce wetness in the batter but keeps the batter a thicker consistency than using, say, more milk. We need a thicker batter for chocolate muffins than for, say, cupcakes, in order to achieve that lovely dome.
Yogurt can also be used in place of sour cream.
Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. Self raising flour does work in place of using plain flour + baking soda as done here, but the muffins don’t rise quite as well. (I’d still use self raising flour if that’s all I had, though.)
Chocolate chips – I use dark chocolate chips (called semi-sweet chips in the US) but any type of chocolate chips will work just fine here. Or chopped chocolate! 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. Standard practice!
How to make Chocolate Muffins
Mix Dry , mix Wet, mix Dry into Wet. Bake. Do you really need me to give you any more detail? 😂
The nice thing about these muffins is that you don’t need to be as careful about not over-mixing the batter (which causes a dry muffin) because this batter is not as thick as most muffin batters.
Sift Dry ingredients – Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. I don’t typically bother sifting flour for muffins, but seeing as we’re sifting cocoa anyway, I figure we may as well. Using the same sifter for the cocoa without cleaning the flour off is fine.
Sift cocoa powder into a separate bowl.
Bloom cocoa – Add the coffee powder and hot milk to the cocoa and give it a good whisk. This step of adding a hot liquid (usually boiling water) to cocoa powder makes the cocoa “bloom”, bringing out its flavour. It’s an age-old baking trick, one I use for things like Chocolate Cake and my Fudge Cake.
Finish batter – Whisk in remaining wet ingredients (oil, sour cream, vanilla, egg, sugar – yes, sugar is classified as a “wet” ingredient in baking!) with the cocoa.
Then pour this mixture into the flour and whisk. Initially, after the flour is incorporated, the batter will look a bit split (ie. it’ll have fine oil streaks). Whisk until it’s smooth and glossy, but stop once it is. Don’t 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 it’s more failsafe in this regard.
Stir in most of the chocolate chips – reserved about 1/4 cup for topping.
Note: This batter is THINNER than typical muffin batters. This is one reason why these cupcakes have a much more tender and moist crumb than the usual chocolate muffins.
Fill muffin cases. 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. Don’t fill any higher as the muffin will overflow when baked since this batter is quite thin. (see Note 5)
Top with 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 210°C / 410°F (190°C fan). Starting off at a slightly higher temperature gives the muffins a kick start on the rise (required for this thinner batter) and gives the muffins a crunchier top.
Bake at LOW temp 20 minutes – Turn oven DOWN to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan) then bake further 20 minutes. So, 25 minutes in total. This is longer than most muffins and it’s 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 180°C/350°F. I tried baking these at all sorts of temperatures and I honestly think the temperatures I’ve landed on yield the best result. The muffins have a nice rise, crisp dome, moist crumb inside, without overcooked edges.
How to tell the muffins are baked: Start checking the muffins at the 15 min mark on the low temp bake. When a toothpick inserted into the middle muffins comes out clean, they’re done. Don’t confuse melted chocolate with raw batter! Probe in multiple places if you are unsure. (PS. The slightest faint smear of batter on the toothpick is ok because residual heat will take care of any remaining rawness).
Cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin until you can handle them. The muffins are quite fragile straight out of the oven because they are so tender inside, so handle with care.
Transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before attacking them!
How long these chocolate muffins stay fresh
These Chocolate Muffins will stay very fresh for 3 days which is a rare feat in the muffin world! 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.
These muffins do start to lose freshness on Day 4 but a quick 10 second zap in the microwave is all you need to revive them to near fresh-baked-perfection.
Sounds all too good to be true right?? Well, I think you’ll just have to make these and see for yourself! I’d love to hear how long you kept yours good for. Or, if they even made it beyond Day 1 before they disappeared entirely!! 😉 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups plain flour (all-purpose flour) (Note 1)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda / bi-carb (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder , sifted (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp instant coffee granules / powder , optional (Note 4)
- 3/4 cup milk , full fat, HOT
- 1/2 cup canola oil (or veg or other neutral flavoured oil)
- 1 cup brown sugar , packed (Note 5)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sour cream or thick plain yogurt (fridge-cold fine, Note 6)
- 1 large egg (55-60g / 2oz) (fridge-cold fine, Note 6)
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (US: semi-sweet chips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 210°C / 410°F (190°C fan). Place shelf in the top 1/3 of the oven. Line a 12-hole standard muffin tin with paper cases.
- Sift Dry ingredients: Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
- Bloom cocoa: In a separate bowl, sift the cocoa then add coffee and HOT milk. Whisk until lump-free.
- Add remaining Wet ingredients: To the cocoa mixture, add sugar, oil, egg, sour cream and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.
- Mix flour in: Pour Wet mix into the bowl holding the flour. Whisk until smooth and glossy. Stop once it's smooth, don't mix excessively. (Note 7)
- Add chocolate chips: Stir in most of the chocolate chips – reserve approx 1/4 cup for topping.
- Fill muffin tin: Divide the batter between the 12 holes, up to 0.5cm / 0.2" from rim of paper liner. (Note 8)
- Top with chocolate chips: Top muffins with reserved chocolate chips (just pile in middle, they spread when baked).
- Bake at high temp, 5 minutes: Bake for 5 minutes in preheated oven. The higher temp kick will start the rise.
- Lower oven, 20 minutes: Turn oven DOWN to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan). Bake a further 20 minutes, checking at 15 minutes. When toothpick comes out clean they're ready. Don't confuse melted chocolate with raw batter!
- EAT! Rest in muffin tin for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before devouring!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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Yvonne Washburn says
Nagios, I made these cupcakes and my grandson pronounced them “perfect” and wants his birthday cake made from this recipe. This is a high compliment to you because he is picky about his sweets. But will this batter hold up as a cake, do you think? Have you gone that route yet? If so, do you have advice on adapting this to cake form?
Agnes says
Hi Nagi, I’ve used a lot of your recipes and truly love them! I’m planning to make these chocolate muffins over the weekend and would like to ask if you think I can get away with half butter half oil and still retain the moistness. Cos I really love the taste of butter! Thanks for sharing what you think! 🙂
Nagi says
Hi Agnes! I tried that and it is as moist on the day but it won’t hold up as well the next day as using just oil 🙂 To be honest though, you can’t really taste butter in this because the chocolate flavour dominates! N x
Agnes says
Ah I see…In that case I will just on full on with the oil. Thanks so much for sharing Nagi 🙂
Jenn says
Wondering what you think of subbing say walnuts for the chocolate chips?
Nagi says
That would work great Jenn! N x
Shannen says
Hi would like to ask if I could reduce the brown sugar?
Joyce N says
My sister made these and reduced the brown sugar to 150grams. And subbed Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten free flour. They were still SO good, moist and light. Going to make another batch soon!
Nagi says
Not without affecting the texture sorry Shannen! N x
Ktyfan says
I don’t have sour cream. What can I sub it with?
Nagi says
Yogurt!
Rachael says
Hi Nagi,
I’m looking to buy Dutch processed cocoa in the uk but they list different %’s of cocoa butter – 10-12%, 20-24%, Dezaan brand lists rich terracotta, carbon black etc. Any ideas what I should be buying? Thanks
Heather Hancock says
Hi Rachael..I work with Nagi and did some testing on these muffins. The short answer is, any of the brands you are looking at should work but the chocolate flavour could vary – 10 percent would be closest to what we use here. In the UK they do not always differentiate between Dutch and natural cocoa powder but the Droste and Cadbury Bourneville brands are both Dutch processed which means they have been washed in Acidity Regulator (Potassium Carbonate) to mellow the flavour. This recipe calls for Dutch process but it does work with natural – I have tested it with Hershey’s which is natural and it was fine. As a rule of thumb, you can use natural in recipes that call for Dutch, but the reduced acidity means you should not use Dutch in recipes that call for natural if they contain baking soda as it can affect rise. With your query about the higher cocoa content percentage and colour descriptions, that will be a matter of which one you think tastes/looks best. The carbon black will make a very dark muffin while terracotta will be lighter. Hope that helps! Happy baking!
LHC says
Hi, I would like to try this recipe, but I’m a bit confused as I’m very new to baking. I often read that dutch processed cocoa powder should not be used with baking soda as they will not react to give a rise. But this recipe calls for baking soda and dutch cocoa powder. Can you please advise? Thank you.
Rachael says
Hi Heather and Nagi
Thank you both so much for your replies and also for such detail Heather 😁. I’ll get busy baking!
Nagi says
Hi Rachael, usually it’s about 10% here – so I’d stick with that one 🙂 N x
Abby says
I’ve never commented on a recipe before but that first bite of muffin was a glorious experience I just had to share! I can’t believe I was able to make these in my kitchen! These are sincerely the best chocolate muffins I have ever had! Thank you Nagi!
Rinu says
I so want to make this but I’m trying to take a break from dessert making. I watch and read this recipe to relax 😆
Please can you tell me which chocolate chips you use? They seem to be shaped different from Cadbury’s and Nestle brand.
Thanks 😊
Nagi says
Take a break another day Rinu – make muffins instead! I use Nestle & Cadbury 🙂 N x
Rinu says
I did it Nagi! Came out great but I think I put it too near the top. But love the texture, brownie-ish as you said and not too sweet either which is a pleasant surprise. Thanks for your research Nagi 🤗
Beverly Hong Tiy says
I made 3 dozen muffins this morning and this by far, is the best chocolate muffin recipe! My children have had 2 each already, thank you Nagi for this wonderful recipe.
Kat says
Daughter gave double thumbs up! I added some raspberries and it was really delicious!
Thanks Nagi!
Nagi says
Great idea Kat – I’ll be trying that! N x
Angela says
I made these this afternoon and they didn’t come out that great. The chocolate chips sunk into the batter during baking and the muffins turned out dry. I had to microwave them a bit to soften them up before eating this for dessert after dinner. Also, I had to make 18 muffins because there was too much batter for 12 cupcakes. Did you use a jumbo muffin tin perhaps? I’ll try again with a shorter bake time.
Nagi says
Hi Angela! Nope, I used a standard muffin tin. If you got 18 muffins instead of 12 AND the chocolate chips sank, it sounds to me like the batter was too thin and suggests you used too much of one of the wet ingredients. As you can see in the video, the batter is thick enough for the chocolate chips to remain on the surface before baking! Is there a chance you mis-measured an ingredient? 🙂 N x
Angela says
Hi Nagi, thanks for your reply. I noticed that the recipe said to use whole (full fat) milk. Since I didn’t have that at home yesterday, I used 1% milk that I had on hand. Maybe that what made the batter thin? I went to the market today to buy whole milk and tried the recipe again this afternoon. I got a dozen beautiful, moist, and decadent muffins! I think the milk made the difference! Thanks for another great recipe!
Jenn says
Very interesting about the whole milk vs fat reduced milk. I tend to have 2% on hand only… is there a change I can make to the recipe to make 2% work? Thanks Nagi!
Deena says
I made these the other day and I ended up with 11 when I was only intending to make 6! Realised I had also used reduced fat milk. My choc chips didn’t sink though. We didn’t mind having the extra cupcakes though and they were delicious!
Alan says
These muffins are amazing, they are beautifully moist, the flavour is like nothing I have ever had before, best recipe ever bar none
jenny mason says
Absolutely the best chocolate muffins I have ever made.
This is definitely going in my cook again file.
Nagi says
Thanks so much Jenny!!! N x
Liz says
I had given up on making muffins because they would always turn out dry and “tough” . These muffins are excellent moist and moreish. Thank you Nagi for sharing your excellent recipes
Nagi says
I’m so happy you enjoyed them Liz!! N x
Shadia says
Instead of coffee granules, can fresh coffee be used?
Nagi says
Hi Shadia, you’ll need to reduce the amount of milk to cater for the liquid using fresh coffee. N x
Jan Evans says
Love these muffins, I’m not a big sweet eater but these are so delicious. Suggestion for a new recipe …. Apricot chicken or duck a la orange could both do with your brilliant touch.
Anna says
Made these tonight to cheer up my kids who were really disappointed to miss out on a trip to see their grandparents (blooming Covid!)… delicious!!! Did the trick – even with my non chocolate loving child! Thanks x
Andrea says
Would you recommend using a hand whisk or an electric whisk for this muffin recipe?
Nagi says
Hand! I will always specify if using an electric whisk 🙂 N x
LadyGrace says
Hi! Would coco sugar work in this recipe? I’m diabetic and looking for little/no sugar alternatives. Could you suggest other sugar substitutes in this recipe?
Bianca says
My daughter and I made these together and it was hard not to eat the batter before we even got to baking! Easy and the best muffins we have made! Absolutely delicious. Your recipes are a house hold staple amongst our family and friends! Thank you for making life so much easier and so much yummier!
Nagi says
I know this problem all too well Bianca 😂 – I’m so glad you loved them!! N x