These decadent double chocolate muffins are naturally sweetened with just enough maple syrup to balance out the rich chocolate flavor from a mixture of cacao powder and dark chocolate chips. A sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top creates a slightly sweet & salty first bite that's a dark chocolate lover's dream.
These double chocolate muffins have been on my mind for nearly two months now. I wake up in the morning and before I've finished my first cup of bulletproof coffee, I'm dreaming of baking a batch. I walk down to the lake and an image of rich chocolate muffins pops into my head.
I've lost track of how many times I've brought up dark chocolate muffins to my sister on the phone. Clearly, the universe is sending me a message: Dear Elaina, hurry it up up, there's a chocolate lover out there who needs this recipe!
I'm happy to oblige, but it's still weird that a chocolate recipe of all things is my current obsession since I'm not a big sweets person anymore.
Sweets With Less Sweetener
But it's also NOT weird because I've started experimenting with classic baked goods & dessert recipes like banana bread and peanut butter cookies to see if I can make them with way less sweetener and often an unrefined sweetener instead of sugar. It's a worthy challenge, don't you think?
Maybe that's just me. If you're a magical unicorn that isn't affected by excessive amounts of sugar, then keep on keeping on.
Keeping These Double Dark Chocolate Muffins Moist
So back to these muffins.
I wanted an intense chocolate flavor without a ton of sweetness (many double chocolate chip muffins taste like cupcakes), so I used my peaches and cream muffins as a base.
Three batches later (thank you to the three gals who took those batches as I was recipe testing - especially the first two that were drier) I ended up increasing the amount of sour cream and switching to large eggs (instead of medium or small). This did the trick!
I mean, they'll still taste good but they won't be moist. I'm so used to using applesauce, banana mash, or pumpkin puree in my baked goods (like with pumpkin muffins), which makes them sooooo moist that a few extra minutes in the oven doesn't hurt a thing. Not the case with these!
So fair warning: DON'T forget about the muffins in the oven and DO check on them a few minutes early just in case your oven runs hot or your muffin tins aren't filled as high as mine.
Topping Muffins: Sea Salt Versus Sugar
Many jumbo-sized bakery style muffins are topped with coarse sugar. I rarely keep cane sugar on hand unless it's for DIY sugar scrubs or a very specific recipe that calls for it, so I opted to top these muffins with coarse sea salt instead.
Sea salt + caramel is a classic combo, so why not do it with dark chocolate? Plus, I added extra chocolate chips on top so you get a mix of soft muffin, rich bittersweet chocolate & sea salt in several bites.
Warning: Not For The Chocolate Faint of Heart
NOTE: This is a recipe for true dark chocolate lovers! I know that's a bold statement, but I'm not making it because the muffins have an insane amount of chocolate in them or anything like that.
Rather, because there is way less sugar (maple syrup in this case), the chocolate flavor is super strong. If you eat 70% or higher dark chocolate on the reg, you'll dig this. If you're more into white or milk chocolate (sigh...that's the case with my beau) you'll probably want to make some tweaks.
First things first, use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate chips. Then, increase the maple syrup by 1/4 cup. That should do the trick. If not, sprinkle extra coarse sugar on top of the batter instead of salt. Still not sweet enough? Uhh...follow it with a chaser of straight cane sugar?!? I'm all out of ideas.
yield: 12 muffins
Double Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins with Sea Salt
prep time: 10 MINScook time: 22 MINStotal time: 32 mins
These decadent double chocolate muffins are naturally sweetened with just enough maple syrup to balance out the rich chocolate flavor from a mixture of cacao powder and dark chocolate chips. A sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top creates a slightly sweet & salty first bite that's a dark chocolate lover's dream.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 2 cups of all-purpose einkorn wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 cup of cacao powder, natural unsweetened cocoa powder, or Dutch processed unsweetened baking cocoa*
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups of full-fat sour cream
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (get my homemade vanilla extract recipe)
- 3/4 cup of real maple syrup or honey
- 1 cup + 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips
- Coarse sea salt for topping muffins (optional)
- *Note: I've tried this with cacao powder & cocoa powder processed with alkali (Dutch) and both turned out great; however, brands have different levels of bitterness & smoothness to their cocoas/cacaos, so seek out a high-quality, unsweetened variety.
Recommended Equipment
- 12-count standard-sized muffin tin
- parchment paper muffin liners
- measuring cups (I love these magnetic ones)
- measuring spoons (I love these magnetic ones)
- mixing bowls
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-count muffin tin with parchment paper liners OR grease them with cooking fat. Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. As soon as it's liquid (this will only take a few minutes), set it aside to cool. Add all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, cacao powder) into a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract, then mix until smooth. Stir the maple syrup or honey into the coconut oil then pour both in with the rest of the wet ingredients.
- Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients while gently stirring the batter until everything is well incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick, but that's okay. Gently fold 1 cup of dark chocolate chips into the batter (reserving the rest for the top of the muffins).
- Fill each muffin tin at least 3/4 the way full or until all the batter is used up (mine are almost completely full), then sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips on top of the muffins, gently pressing down if need be so they stick. (Optional: sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a bit of coarse sea salt.)
- Bake for 20-23 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean/dry (it might have a bit of melted chocolate on it from the chips). It's easy to overcook them, so if you think your oven runs hot, check them at the 20-minute mark or a few minutes earlier. Let the muffins sit for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack or space on the counter to cool (we don't want them to keep cooking in the tins). As soon as they're cool, transfer to an airtight container to keep them moist and consume within a few days OR freeze for reheating later.
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- These muffins aren't super sweet, so if you want them sweeter, swap out the dark chocolate chips for semi-sweet chocolate chips and increase the maple syrup or honey to 1 cup.
- As I mentioned above, be careful not to overbake these or they'll dry out. Check on them at the 20-minute mark, or even a few minutes early if you think your oven runs hot, and then only leave them in the muffin tins for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack so they don't keep cooking.
I'd like to hear from YOU!
What's your favorite double chocolate recipe?
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