Recipe- Super Delicious Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate muffins that truly taste of chocolate and stay fresh for days are a rarity! This recipe delivers, thanks to some tidy tricks including hot milk to bloom the cocoa, and a little coffee to enhance the chocolate flavour (you won’t taste the coffee). Using brown sugar, oil, sour cream and less egg meanwhile is the secret to keeping the crumb ultra-moist and tender!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups plain flour (all-purpose flour)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda / bi-carb
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder , sifted
1 tbsp instant coffee granules / powder , optional
3/4 cup milk , full fat, HOT
1/2 cup canola oil (or veg or other neutral flavoured oil)
1 cup brown sugar , packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream or thick plain yogurt (fridge-cold fine)
1 large egg (55-60g / 2oz)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (US: semi-sweet chips)

Method

- Preheat oven to 210°C / 410°F (190°C fan). Place shelf in the top 1/3 of the oven. Line a 12-hole standard muffin tin with paper cases.

- Sift Dry ingredients: Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

- Bloom cocoa: In a separate bowl, sift the cocoa then add coffee and HOT milk. Whisk until lump-free.

- Add remaining Wet ingredients: To the cocoa mixture, add sugar, oil, egg, sour cream and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

- Mix flour in: Pour Wet mix into the bowl holding the flour. Whisk until smooth and glossy. Stop once it's smooth, don't mix excessively.

- Add chocolate chips: Stir in most of the chocolate chips – reserve approx 1/4 cup for topping.

- Fill muffin tin: Divide the batter between the 12 holes, up to 0.5cm / 0.2" from rim of paper liner.

- Top with chocolate chips: Top muffins with reserved chocolate chips (just pile in middle, they spread when baked).

- Bake at high temp, 5 minutes: Bake for 5 minutes in preheated oven. The higher temp kick will start the rise.

- Lower oven, 20 minutes: Turn oven DOWN to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan). Bake a further 20 minutes, checking at 15 minutes. When toothpick comes out clean they're ready. Don't confuse melted chocolate with raw batter!

- EAT! Rest in muffin tin for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before devouring!