We’ve shared lots of muffin recipes with you already, but this fresh strawberry and chocolate version is my favorite. Thanks to yogurt and cocoa powder, they are tender, bake nice and tall and are easy to make.
How to Make the Tastiest Chocolate Muffins
It’s easy to make the best chocolate muffins, especially if you know our tips! #1 Bloom your cocoa powder. Have you ever heard of that, sounds funny right? It’s actually really cool. If you combine cocoa powder with a hot liquid it helps to “bloom” the cocoa, which makes the cocoa powder taste even more rich and chocolaty than if you were to just add cocoa to the dry ingredients. It’s really common to see cocoa powder mixed with hot liquid in chocolate recipes. Take our outrageously fudgy brownies, for example. In that recipe, we melt butter with sugar and cocoa powder before mixing in any other ingredients. This makes the brownies taste rich and ultra chocolaty. In this muffin recipe, we do exactly the same — warm butter is whisked into the cocoa powder and sugar. #2 Don’t Over-mix the batter. If you’ve been following our recipes for a while, you’re probably tired of us telling you not to over mix when it comes to muffins (this also applies to waffles, pancakes and quick breads). When combining the wet and dry ingredients be gentle and fold the dry ingredients into the wet. All you need to do is stir gently until any streaks of flour disappear and the batter is smooth. There’s no need to beat the batter or use an electric mixer. Over mixing makes muffins heavy. #3 Add extra chocolate. Okay, this one seems obvious, but by drizzling a small amount of melted chocolate on top of the baked muffins, you bump up the chocolate level. The chocolate eventually firms and makes a nice top for the muffins. You could add chocolate chips to the batter, but personally, we love leaving the inside of the muffins for the strawberries. Speaking of the strawberries, we’ve got a trick for you. Unless you are lucky enough to go to a strawberry patch and pick a perfectly ripe berry, your strawberries might be slightly underripe (you can tell from the white tops). That’s okay, though. Just before making the batter, chop the strawberries small then toss with a teaspoon of sugar. The sugar acts the same way salt does with other foods. It helps to season the berries and brings out more flavor. 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter 1/3 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for tops and berries, see notes 1 large egg 1 cup (250 grams) plain yogurt, see notes 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/2 ounces chocolate for drizzling on top 2In a small bowl, mix the chopped strawberries with a teaspoon of sugar then set aside. 3In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and the salt together. 4In another large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and sugar together. Melt the butter then while it is still warm, whisk into the cocoa powder and sugar until blended and the mixture has cooled slightly. Add the egg, yogurt and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. 5Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, stirring gently until they disappear and the batter is smooth. Fold in the strawberries. 2Bake muffins 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are no longer wet and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with crumbs, not wet batter. Transfer to a cooling rack. 3When the muffins are mostly cool, melt the chocolate. Since it is such a small amount, using a microwave is best. Add chocolate to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds, stir then microwave for another 10 seconds. Repeat this process until the chocolate has melted. Drizzle the melted chocolate over muffins.
