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Chocolate Muffins – plated and served
Cakes & PastriesDessertsVegetarianInternational

Chocolate Muffins

Dark, moist muffins with a domed top and melted chocolate chunks.

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Preparation
15 min
Cook/bake time
22 min
Total
37 min
Difficulty
Easy
Calories
334 kcal
Servings
12
Prep
15 min
Cooking & baking
22 min

Dark, moist muffins with a domed top and melted chocolate chunks. The cocoa is steeped in hot water, a process called blooming, which fully releases its aroma and makes the muffins significantly more chocolatey. The high initial temperature ensures the typical dome.

Why this works

Cocoa powder consists largely of solids whose aromas are trapped in the cell structure. Hot liquid causes these particles to swell and releases the flavor compounds. This process is called blooming, and it significantly elevates the chocolate flavor without needing more cocoa. The high initial temperature simultaneously ensures that the leavening agent suddenly develops gas while the batter is still liquid. It shoots upward and forms the dome before the crust holds it in place.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Steep the cocoa

    Put the baking cocoa in a bowl and pour the hot water over it. Stir everything into a smooth, thick paste and let it stand for five minutes. This technique is called blooming and dissolves the flavor compounds in the cocoa that remain bound in cold liquid. The difference in chocolate flavor is clear.

  2. Mix the dry ingredients

    Thoroughly mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Using baking soda and baking powder together is intentional. The baking soda reacts with the acid from the yogurt and cocoa, and the baking powder provides additional lift for the high dome.

  3. Wet ingredients

    Whisk the eggs, yogurt, oil and vanilla extract and stir in the cooled cocoa paste. Oil instead of butter is deliberately chosen here because it remains liquid even in the cold muffin and thereby keeps it moist the next day.

  4. Combine the batter

    Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones all at once and stir only ten to twelve times with the spatula until just no dry flour is visible. The batter can quietly look lumpy. Overmixing is the main reason for tough, tunneled crumb in muffins. Fold in the chocolate.

  5. Bake hot initially

    Distribute the batter among twelve paper liners and fill them almost to the brim. Bake the muffins at 220 °C for five minutes, then reduce to 180 °C without opening the door and bake them for another seventeen minutes. The heat shock at the beginning makes them rise quickly and creates the typical domed top.

Our best tips

  • Always steep cocoa with hot liquid. This is the biggest lever for intense chocolate flavor.
  • Stir at most twelve times. With muffins, a lumpy batter is the goal, not a smooth one.
  • The heat shock at the beginning creates the dome. Leave the oven door closed during this.

Tasty variations

With a core

Before baking, press a teaspoon of hazelnut nougat spread into the center of each muffin.

Vegan

Replace the eggs with 2 tablespoons of applesauce and use soy yogurt, otherwise identical.

Nutrition facts

Per serving (1 portion)
Calories334 kcal
Protein5 g
Carbohydrates38 g
– of which sugar23 g
Fat16 g
Fiber3 g

Where the 334 kcal come from

per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it

We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:

  • Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
  • Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
  • Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
  • Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.

A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.

How we calculate nutrition →

Frequently asked questions

Why do my muffins have no dome?

The liners were underfilled or the high initial temperature was missing. Fill almost to the brim and start at 220 °C.

Why are they tough inside?

The batter was stirred too long. Muffin batter tolerates hardly any working, and lumps are expressly desired.

How long do they keep?

Three days in a tin, and the oil keeps them moist. Freezing works well, just briefly reheat in the oven.

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