
The Best Chocolate Muffin Recipe is here…
It’s Sunday morning and that means freshly baked muffins.
The muffins I’ve baked today are the American-style, made from a batter which is leavened with a raising agent. The American style muffin differs from the English which is basically a flattish roll, leavened with yeast. These are split and toasted, buttered and often served with jam or filled with bacon and egg.
Who doesn’t love an American-style muffin? They give us the excuse to eat what is basically cake for breakfast. How good is that? Baking a batch of muffins is deeply satisfying but the pleasure of eating a still warm, freshly baked muffin, no words can adequately describe. They are at once warm and comforting and utterly delicious.
These muffins are simple to make. The combination of flours and the buttermilk combine to produce a muffin with a light, tender crumb. For the best flavour, I recommend a good quality Dutch processed cocoa. I use Plaistowe, it’s available in tins from the supermarket.
For those who follow a gluten-free diet, you will be delighted by these muffins.
Gluten-free muffins often rise beautifully in the oven only to deflate when they’ve been out of the oven a few minutes, causing my spirit to also deflate, but not so with these. They hold their shape beautifully and nobody will know they are gluten-free.
There’s an added bonus, the comforting smell of the freshly baked muffin. The delicious, sweet aroma of fresh baking fills the kitchen; it is comforting and enticing. They are lovely as is but I have two variations, as shown below in the Notes.
These muffins are perfect for breakfast, mid-morning, the school lunch box or an afternoon snack. In fact, you could serve these for a quick, easy dessert. Just warm in the microwave or oven and serve with berries and whipped cream on the side.
Please try these muffins, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
xx Alex and Faye
I have adapted this recipe from a book called “Sharing Sweet Secrets” by Pamela Moriarty.
P.S. Want some other great breakfast ideas? Check out my recipes for:
Overnight Oats with Apple and Sultanas, Peach, Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins or Healthy Oat Yoghurt Pancakes
The Best Chocolate Muffins
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup gluten free self-raising flour (I use Orgran)
- ¼ cup white rice flour
- ½ cup maize cornflour
- ½ cup Dutch style cocoa
- 1 tspn baking powder (gluten free)
- ½ tspn bicarbonate of soda
- 125 gm butter cubed, at room temperature
- ¾ cup caster/superfine sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tspn vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk approximately
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200oC/390oF.(3)
- Sift together flours, cocoa, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or with hand held beaters cream together butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Occasionally scrape own the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add vanilla and then buttermilk. The mixture may appear curdled but don’t worry, it will be fine.
- Using a low speed, gently fold in the dry ingredients, and again, scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Do not overmix as this will result in tough muffins.
- Spoon evenly into a well-greased 12 hole muffin tin or into a tin lined with paper cases. (4) Bake for 5 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 180oC/350oF. Bake a further 10-15 minutes.
- Test with a skewer which will come out clean when cooked. Cool the muffins slightly (if you can bear to) before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- If you wish, dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar to serve.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Rebecca
These were so deliciousy chocolatey! Big hit in our family and I was impressed with how light they were. Not dense like some muffins can be.
Alexandra
Fabulous to hear! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Alanna
I made these with my little one and they were an absolute hit. I think next time we will try them with the cream cheese filling for extra indulgence.
Alexandra
Definitely love the cream cheese filling, I must say! 🙂 So glad you and your little one had such fun making them!