This is a great chocolate muffin recipe that like most, has evolved over time. Originally from a site called Diana’s Desserts the recipe called for unsweetened chocolate. Since I usually have cocoa powder rather than unsweetened chocolate, I converted it to Cocoa Powder Chocolate Muffins. New name, new muffin!
Best Type of Cocoa Powder
There are so many different brand of cocoa powder these days and most are a click away. You can still buy good old Hershey’s (it’s my favorite for a lot of things — their natural, not their Dutch), but I’ve also really come to like a brand called Navitas. Another thing about natural cocoa powder which you may already know is that it is acidic and in some recipes, helps the reaction between the leavening agents. In this recipe you have sour cream so you could probably get away with using Dutch, but I think the acid from the natural cocoa powder might help give the muffins a little more lift.
New Cocoa Powder Version
Updated Cocoa Powder Chocolate Muffins
Here’s a half batch version using cocoa powder in place of unsweetened chocolate. Because oil generally makes muffins moister than butter, I’ve used oil in place of butter and added extra fat in the form of sour cream. The natural cocoa powder and sour cream make the batter more acidic, so for the half batch version I took out the baking powder and just used baking soda.
Half Batch Cocoa Version
1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (20-24 grams)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar (100 grams)
1 egg
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream (84 grams)
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour ( 127 grams)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Additional semisweet chocolate chips or chunks for topping muffins
Directions for Half Batch Cocoa Powder Muffins
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and have ready 6 lined or silicone muffin cups. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and oil until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, egg, sour cream, milk and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together separately, then add to the chocolate mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks. Put muffins in cups and bake for about 25 minutes.
Recipe
Cocoa Powder Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (20-24 grams)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1/2 cup sugar (100 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream (84 grams)
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (127 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Additional semisweet chocolate chips or chunks for topping muffins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and have ready 6 lined or silicone muffin cups.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cocoa powder and oil until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, egg, sour cream, milk and vanilla.
- Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together separately, then add to the chocolate mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.
- Put muffins in cups and bake for about 25 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
Anna
T, I think I’ve changed my position. These muffins have all been fairly rich. The sour cream ones (Diana’s) are good enough for dessert. The lightest most “muffinish” ones of the bunch were Nigella’s.
I sent the chocolate muffins to work with Todd and he told me that the load of assorted chocolate muffins (I frozen them) went over very well. Maybe his co-workers liked finding actual breakfast food in the breakroom rather than cookies.
TG
i appreciate your prefacing all this with your mindset re: chocolate muffins before you started baking these/had them in london. i’m with you (well, the old you, the PRE-LONDON you) on feeling utterly befuddled by the purpose/usefulness of “chocolate muffins”. but i shall rethink my position. i can’t say i’ll make any right away but i will at least entertain the validity of “chocolate muffins”