Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

  
Twice as nice. Two muffin recipes to indulge your chocolate chip cravings.

When all you need is an honest-to-goodness, hearty treat that is a little bit heftier than a regular chocolate chip cookie yet lighter than a full-size serving of chocolate cake, reach for a warm, chocolate chip muffin to fulfill any dessert (or breakfast!) craving.

Two recipes beckoned to me this week, both from Nigella Lawson’s website, Nigella.com. The first one I noted from an old episode of Nigella Feasts, while the second was a happy accident I stumbled upon while Googling the former.

But as much as I absolutely adore the fantastic British culinary queen, I find her recipes a bit tricky: Her Triple Chocolate Brownies were a success (check out my Polka Dot Brownie post here), while her Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake turned out to be bland (the frosting, however, is a must-try).

So to ensure perfectly tasty results, I went ahead and tried both recipes, carefully following instructions and measurements. Since I’d struggled with muffins in the past, here are some helpful tips culled from numerous attempts at achieving perfect domes of crumbly goodness. Follow them and I guarantee you’ll be whipping up batches for friends and family—or even just for yourself!

1. As stated above, when it comes to muffins, you absolutely must follow the recipe to the letter. If, like me, you enjoy jotting down notes from TV episodes or YouTube videos, try your very best to source the online written version to ensure you have the correct measurements of EVERYTHING, down to the last pinch of salt.

2. While some breakfast muffins are more fun to eat without paper liners, in terms of ease of cleanup, go with the liners. Nothing bursts one’s warm-muffin happy bubble and excitement more than the prospect of cleaning every crevice of the pan. Paper cupcake liners are relatively cheap and easily found in supermarkets, usually where the plastic utensils and paper plates are.

3. If your oven doesn’t have a digital thermostat, invest in a basic oven thermometer. There is no getting around this because the right temperature plays a crucial role in the whole baking process.

4. If it’s your first time making muffins, only fill up the paper cases halfway across. This way, in case your recipe falls flat, you’ll still be left with edible results perfectly contained in cups, and not sticking to the tops of the muffin pan, or worse, dripping (and then burning) at the bottom of the oven.

Always buy good-quality chocolate for baking.

With those helpful hints out in the open, these two recipes should be a cinch to follow. Both are sweet and chocolatey in their own delicious way, and keep well in plastic zip-top bags or air-tight containers. The choice is yours. Personally, I prefer the second recipe, only because it is unbelievably easy to follow (I suggest going for that one if you’ve never made muffins before) and I simply like the vanilla-cake and chocolate chip contrast, as with chewy chocolate chip cookies.

The first recipe, however, provides a more robust chocolate experience, thanks to the cocoa powder called for in the batter. And if you’re health-conscious, it’s easy to slip in more nutritious additions like whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and bran, without sacrificing much in terms of flavor and even improving overall texture and heft.

But if you can’t decide between the two, do what I did and make both! Enjoy!

 Recipe 1

 
(Source: http://www.nigella.com and http://www.foodnetwork.com)

Yield 12 medium-sized muffins Prep Time 15 minutes Baking Time 15 to 20 minutes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons best quality cocoa powder
3/4 cup superfine sugar (175g)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (150g), plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 cup milk (250ml)
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (90ml)
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


1 Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F and fill a 12-cup muffin tray with paper cases.
2 Weigh out the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug.
3 Mix both, dry and liquid ingredients together—it will be a runny batter—then spoon into waiting muffin cases.
4 Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top then cook for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen and springy.