Double Chocolate Muffins

Headnote

These muffins are built for depth rather than sweetness alone: a cocoa-rich crumb, a tender interior, and pockets of melted chocolate throughout. Butter gives the batter roundness, while a little oil preserves moisture and keeps the texture supple for longer. The result should be tall, dark, and delicately domed, with a clean chocolate finish.

Recipe essentials

Dish category: Muffin

Cuisine or origin: American

Course type: Breakfast or tea-time bake

Yield: 6 muffins

Serving size: 1 muffin, approximately 115 g

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

6-cup muffin tin

Paper liners

Mixing bowl

Whisk

Rubber spatula

Small saucepan

Fine sieve

Digital scale

Ingredients

Dry mixture

Wheat flour, 140 g

Cocoa powder, 28 g

Sugar, 95 g

Baking powder, 8 g

Salt, 2 g

Wet mixture

Egg, 50 g, lightly beaten

Milk, 85 g

Water, 35 g

Butter, 55 g, melted and cooled slightly

Vegetable oil, 25 g

Chocolate

Chocolate, 90 g, finely chopped

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C. Line a 6-cup muffin tin with paper liners. The oven must be fully hot before the batter is mixed.

2. In a mixing bowl, sift together the wheat flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. The mixture should be uniform and free of visible lumps.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, water, melted butter, and vegetable oil until smooth and emulsified.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and fold gently with a spatula for 10 to 15 strokes, only until the flour is almost absorbed. A few streaks are correct at this stage.

5. Add the chopped chocolate and fold just until evenly distributed. The batter should remain thick, glossy, and slightly rough; do not overmix.

6. Divide the batter evenly among the 6 liners, filling each nearly to the top. Bake for 5 minutes at 200°C, then reduce the oven to 180°C and continue baking for 14 to 16 minutes.

7. The muffins are ready when the tops are domed and set, the centers spring back lightly to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the crumb emerges with only a few moist crumbs and melted chocolate, not raw batter.

8. Remove the tin from the oven and rest for 5 minutes. Lift the muffins out and cool them on a rack until warm, not steaming.

Plating and serving

Serve the muffins warm, with the domed tops facing upward and the chocolate visible in the crumb. The ideal muffin is tender at the center, finely aerated, and deeply chocolatey, with a dry, delicate crust and a soft, moist interior.

Professional notes

The brief initial high heat encourages lift and a pronounced dome.

Do not overmix after combining the wet and dry mixtures; the crumb depends on restraint.

The batter should be portioned immediately after mixing so the baking powder remains active.