Double Chocolate Muffins

Name: Double Chocolate Muffins
Prep time: 17 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 37 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled; ½ cup (45 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy; 2 tsp (9 g) baking powder; ½ tsp (3 g) baking soda; ¾ tsp (4 g) fine salt; 1 tsp (2 g) instant espresso powder, deepens the chocolate flavor; coffee taste is not noticeable (optional); ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar; ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, packed; 2 whole (100 g) large eggs, at room temperature; 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature; ½ cup (120 ml) neutral oil such as vegetable or canola; 2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract; 1¼ cups (210 g) semisweet chocolate chips, for folding into the batter; ¼ cup (45 g) semisweet chocolate chips, for sprinkling on top

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Tall, domed bakery-style muffins with a moist cocoa crumb and pockets of melted chocolate chips. Buttermilk keeps them tender, and a short blast of high heat gives them their big tops.

Prep: 17 min
Cook: 20 min
Wait: 25 min
Total: 1 hr 2 min
Makes: 12 standard muffins

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Ingredients

12 servings

2¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
½ cup (45 g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
2 tsp (9 g) baking powder
½ tsp (3 g) baking soda
¾ tsp (4 g) fine salt
1 tsp (2 g) instant espresso powder, deepens the chocolate flavor; coffee taste is not noticeable (optional)
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, packed
2 whole (100 g) large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
½ cup (120 ml) neutral oil such as vegetable or canola
2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
1¼ cups (210 g) semisweet chocolate chips, for folding into the batter
¼ cup (45 g) semisweet chocolate chips, for sprinkling on top

Equipment (10)

12-cup standard muffin tin (each cup about ½ cup / 120 ml)
12 paper or silicone muffin liners
Large mixing bowl
Medium mixing bowl
Whisk
Rubber spatula
Measuring cups and spoons or kitchen scale
¼-cup (60 ml) scoop or large spoon
Wire cooling rack
Toothpick or thin skewer

Steps

Before you start

Take the eggs and buttermilk out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead so they mix smoothly and don't firm up the oil.
Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling it off, or use the gram weight. Packed flour makes dry, dense muffins.
Position an oven rack in the center. The oven needs to reach 425°F (220°C), then you will lower it, so preheat before you start.
Don't overmix. The batter should be thick and slightly lumpy.

1
Preheat and line panOven 425°F / 220°C
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C).
- Line all 12 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.
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Ready when: Oven reaches 425°F (220°C) by the time the batter is ready.
Tip: Skip greasing the liners' paper only if they are good quality; otherwise lightly spray them so the muffins release cleanly.
2
Whisk dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, espresso powder (if using), granulated sugar and brown sugar for about 30 seconds.
- Press any brown sugar lumps against the bowl with your fingers to break them up.
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Ready when: The mixture is a uniform dark brown with no streaks of flour or lumps of cocoa.
Tip: Sift the cocoa if it is clumpy. Lumps leave dry bitter pockets in the baked muffins.
3
Whisk wet ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until the yolks and whites are combined.
- Add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla and whisk for 30 seconds until smooth.
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Ready when: The mixture looks evenly blended, with no visible streaks of egg or separated oil.
Tip: Cold buttermilk can make the oil clump, so use room-temperature ingredients.
4
Combine and fold
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold with about 12 to 15 strokes, just until most of the dry flour disappears.
- Add 1¼ cups (210 g) of the chocolate chips and fold 3 or 4 more times.
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Ready when: The batter is thick, glossy and slightly lumpy, with a few small streaks of flour at most.
Tip: Stop mixing while it still looks a little lumpy. Overmixing develops gluten and makes tough, tunneled muffins.
5
Rest the batter
- Let the batter sit in the bowl, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- The flour hydrates and the batter thickens, which helps the muffins dome.
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Ready when: The batter looks noticeably thicker and holds a mound when scooped.
6
Fill the cups
- Scoop the batter with a ¼-cup (60 ml) scoop or large spoon, using about 1⅓ scoops (⅓ cup / 80 ml) per muffin, so each liner is filled to the very top.
- Sprinkle the reserved ¼ cup (45 g) chocolate chips evenly over the tops.
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Ready when: All 12 liners are filled level with the rim of the tin, with chips scattered on top.
Tip: Don't press the chips in. They sink slightly on their own and stay visible on the surface.
7
Bake at high heatOven 425°F / 220°C
- Place the tin in the center of the 425°F (220°C) oven and bake for 5 minutes.
- This initial blast of heat makes the batter spring upward and form tall domes.
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Ready when: The tops have started to puff and rise above the rim of the tin.
Tip: Do not open the oven door during this stage.
8
Lower heat and finishOven 350°F / 175°C
- Without opening the door for long, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 14 to 16 minutes more.
- Test one muffin by inserting a toothpick into the center, avoiding any melted chip.
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Ready when: The tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter.
Tip: Chocolate muffins are hard to judge by color. Rely on the toothpick and the spring-back test, and don't overbake or they will dry out.
9
Cool the muffins
- Let the muffins cool in the tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Then lift them out and set them directly on the rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes before eating.
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Ready when: Muffins are warm rather than hot and lift easily out of the tin.
Tip: Leaving the muffins in the hot tin longer than 5 minutes traps steam and makes the liners damp.

Good to know

Tips

Fill the liners to the top, not two-thirds. The thick batter needs the extra volume to form bakery-style domes.
The two-temperature bake is what gives the tall tops: 5 minutes at 425°F (220°C), then 350°F (175°C) to finish the centers.
Toss the chips in 1 tablespoon of the measured flour from the dry mixture if you want to keep them from sinking to the bottoms.
If your tin is darker-coated metal, start checking for doneness 2 minutes early, since dark pans brown faster.

Make ahead

"Mix the dry ingredients (without the chips) in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another, cover, and refrigerate the wet mixture for up to 12 hours. Let the wet mixture sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, then combine, fold in the chips and bake as directed. The baked muffins can also be made a day ahead."

Storage & reheating

"Room temperature: store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, with a paper towel on the bottom and between layers to absorb moisture. Refrigerator: up to 5 days in an airtight container; bring to room temperature or warm before serving. Freezer: wrap individually and freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature, or reheat a frozen muffin in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or microwave a thawed muffin for 15 to 20 seconds."

Substitutions

buttermilk → 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir together and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly curdled, then use at room temperature. Plain yogurt thinned with a little milk also works.
neutral oil such as vegetable or canola → ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled. Gives a richer buttery flavor and a slightly firmer crumb. Cool it so it doesn't scramble the eggs.
semisweet chocolate chips → chopped bittersweet chocolate (60 to 70% cacao) or milk chocolate chips. Use the same weight. Chopped bars give bigger pools of melted chocolate; milk chocolate makes the muffins sweeter.
unsweetened natural cocoa powder → Dutch-process cocoa powder. Use the same amount for a darker color and milder flavor. The batter still has enough baking soda and buttermilk to rise well.