Chocolate muffins (with their little bits)
It’s a classic, and it’s not surprising. For a long time I wanted to add this recipe to my log book, although I was not sure neither how nor when. How, since I had to find the recipe that fit better to what I was looking for (easy, fast and tasty: there is no time to lose nowadays), and when, because it was not clear the moment when I was going to find it ;-). Today I can say that the day has arrived, here is a sweet delirium for those with a sweet tooth: an enjoyable bite that combines crunchy chocolate bits with a delicious spongy dough.
They are fantastic for breakfast or afternoon snack, with or without milk… My favourite moment for a gourmet experiencing is right after they come out from oven (there are things that definitely cannot wait!).
Ingredients (for 14 small muffins or 8 big ones)
340gr wheat flour
4 full tablespoons of cacao powder (Nesquik, Colacao or similar)
135gr brown sugar
80gr grinded chocolate (I use with milk)
180gr chocolate cut into medium-size pieces (I use 120gr with milk and 60gr dark)
180ml whole milk
120gr butter (room temperature)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use flower of salt)
Muffin papers (tulip or standard) + rigid mould to keep shape
Directions
Chop chocolate into medium-size pieces, like the ones in the photos (I use a very sharp knife that I have for these situations) and keep it.
Put water to boil in a pan, grinded chocolate in another bowl that fits into the pan, and put it inside to make bain-marie until chocolate is melted. Let it retrieve room temperature and mix it with butter.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cacao powder in a big bowl.
Whisk eggs, add sugar and mix it until you have an homogeneous whitish batter. Add milk, lemon juice and the mix of chocolate-butter and mix it until homogeneous.
Add this liquid mixture to the bowl with dry ingredients and mix well. Finally, add chocolate bits, keeping aside a tablespoon to spread it on top.
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Put muffin papers (tulip or standard) into rigid moulds and fill them in with the mixture, aprox. 2/3 of the capacity (leave space to that they grow :-).
Sprinkle the chocolate bits you kept and bake them at 180ºC for aprox. 30 min (small papers) or 40-45 min (big papers).
To be considered
The color of the final result of the baked muffins depends on the amount of cacao powder that you add. If you want them darker, you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons more. If you prefer a whiter result, do not add cacao powder. Everyone to his own taste… :-).