Welcome to the ultimate recipe for the most delightful double chocolate muffins you’ll ever bake! Forget about complex instructions or needing an electric mixer; these muffins are incredibly easy to make by hand and can be ready to enjoy in less than an hour. Each bite offers a moist, tender crumb, an intense chocolate flavor, and a generous dose of chocolate chips for that irresistible double chocolate hit. This isn’t just a recipe; it’s your new go-to for bakery-quality muffins right from your kitchen.
What makes these muffins truly stand out is the secret ingredient: sour cream. This simple addition works wonders, guaranteeing an ultra-moist and tender texture that lasts for days. Say goodbye to dry, crumbly muffins and prepare for a luscious treat that remains incredibly fresh, making these truly the best double chocolate muffins you’ll ever bake!
Whether you’re looking for a delightful afternoon snack to brighten your day, a satisfying treat after dinner, or a little something extra to elevate your morning coffee, these luscious chocolate chip chocolate muffins are guaranteed to satisfy your sweet cravings. Their rich flavor and comforting texture make them perfect for any time of the day, any season of the year. They’re simple enough for a quick weeknight dessert but special enough for a weekend brunch.
This perfected recipe for chocolate muffins is a carefully adapted version of my popular Chocolate Fudge Muffins recipe, benefiting from several tweaks and improvements. This enhanced iteration is generously loaded with an abundance of chocolate chips, ensuring a rich, intense chocolate flavor and a delightful textural contrast in every single bite. The increased chocolate content truly amplifies the experience, delivering maximum decadence.
If you consider yourself a true chocolate enthusiast, these easy-to-make muffins are an absolute must-try. However, if your chocolate cravings lead you down a different path, perhaps you’d prefer to explore some of my other popular chocolate recipes. For instance, my highly-rated Chocolate Brownie Cookies offer a fudgy, chewy experience, or maybe my decadent Chocolate Cherry Brownies, with their delightful fruit and chocolate pairing, will be more to your liking. There’s a chocolate treat for every preference!
Essential Ingredients for Perfect Double Chocolate Muffins
You’ll be delighted to find that the ingredient list for these irresistible double chocolate chip muffins is quite short and straightforward. There’s a very good chance that most, if not all, of these staples are already waiting in your kitchen cupboard. I’ve detailed each ingredient below, along with useful insights and potential substitutes to ensure your baking success.
- All-Purpose Flour: This is the structural backbone of our moist double chocolate muffins, providing the perfect tender crumb and ensuring they hold their shape beautifully. For convenience, you can also use self-raising flour; just remember to omit the baking powder from the ingredients if you go this route.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: The quality of your cocoa powder truly makes a significant difference in both the depth of flavor and the rich, dark appearance of your muffins. I highly recommend a good quality, fine dark cocoa powder, such as Dr. Oetker, for its intense flavor and beautiful dark color. Brands like Hershey’s Special Dark or high-quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder are also excellent choices. Dutch-processed cocoa powder, being less acidic, contributes to a better rise in baked goods.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar or fine caster sugar are ideal choices for this recipe, providing the perfect sweetness and contributing to a tender texture. For a slightly deeper, more complex flavor, you can also opt for light brown sugar, or even a balanced mixture of both.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: These two leavening agents work in harmony to give our double choc chip muffins their signature fluffy, airy texture and a beautiful rise. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients (like sour cream and cocoa powder), while baking powder provides an additional lift, ensuring a light crumb.
- Dark Chocolate Chips: To achieve truly outstanding double chocolate muffins, investing in good quality dark (semi-sweet) chocolate chips is paramount. Brands like Menier, Guittard, or Ghirardelli offer superior flavor and melt beautifully. Just like quality cocoa powder, premium chocolate chips will elevate the overall flavor profile and texture of your muffins immensely. You can also experiment with different chocolate percentages for varying intensity.
- Sour Cream: This is our star ingredient for guaranteeing ultra-moist and tender chocolate muffins that stay fresh for days. The acidity of the sour cream also reacts with the baking soda to help with the rise. For a suitable alternative, full-fat Greek yogurt works wonderfully, providing similar moisture and a subtle tang. Ensure it’s at room temperature for optimal mixing.
- Milk: For the richest flavor and best texture, I recommend using whole (full-fat) milk. However, this recipe is quite forgiving, and you can successfully use any type of milk you have on hand, including lower-fat varieties or even dairy-free alternatives like almond or oat milk.
- Vegetable Oil: Using a mild-flavored vegetable oil (like canola or sunflower oil) is crucial in muffin recipes because it ensures a consistently moist crumb that doesn’t dry out. Unlike melted butter, which solidifies as muffins cool and can lead to a drier texture, oil remains liquid, keeping your muffins wonderfully soft. Always stick to vegetable oil or another mild, neutral-flavored oil for the best results.
- Large Eggs: Two large eggs provide essential structure, binding the ingredients together, adding richness, and contributing to the muffins’ overall moisture. It’s important to bring your eggs to room temperature before mixing, as this allows them to incorporate more easily and evenly into the batter, leading to a smoother consistency.
- Vanilla Extract: While optional, a touch of good quality vanilla extract enhances and complements the rich chocolate flavors, adding an extra layer of aromatic depth to your muffins.
For a complete list of quantities and detailed instructions, please scroll to the bottom of this post for the comprehensive recipe card.
Baking Instructions: Crafting Your Double Chocolate Muffins
One of the most appealing aspects of this double chocolate muffin recipe is its remarkable ease. You won’t need any fancy equipment; simply grab a couple of mixing bowls and a spatula, and you’re ready to create bakery-worthy treats in no time. This recipe is designed to yield exactly 12 perfectly sized muffins, though you might get a few extra or slightly fewer depending on the specific dimensions of your muffin baking tin and how generously you fill each cup.
Before you begin mixing, ensure your muffin tin is prepared. You can either line each cavity with paper muffin cases for easy removal and cleanup, or if you prefer baking directly in the tin, generously spray it with a non-stick baking spray or grease it thoroughly with butter to prevent sticking.
Begin by combining all the dry ingredients, including the flour, cocoa powder, sugars, leavening agents, and chocolate chips, in a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together thoroughly to ensure all components, especially the baking powder and soda, are evenly distributed. This step is crucial for an even rise and consistent flavor throughout your muffins.
In a separate bowl or a convenient measuring jug, whisk together all the wet ingredients: the eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Ensure these are thoroughly combined and smooth before adding them to the dry mixture. Bringing these ingredients to room temperature beforehand can help them integrate better.
ðŸ’Essential Tip: The golden rule for baking perfect muffins is to avoid overmixing the batter. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour excessively, which will ‘crush’ the delicate air bubbles created by your leavening agents. The result? Dense, tough, and dry muffins instead of the fluffy, tender ones we’re aiming for. Mix the ingredients only until they are just combined and no streaks of dry flour are visible—a few small lumps are perfectly fine and often desirable for a tender crumb.
Gently pour the wet ingredients mixture into the large bowl containing the cocoa and flour blend. Using a spatula or a wooden spoon, carefully fold the ingredients together. Continue folding until the dry and wet components are just combined, and you no longer see any pockets of dry flour. Remember to be gentle and resist the urge to overmix the batter; a slightly lumpy batter is ideal for tender muffins.
Evenly divide the luscious batter among your prepared muffin cases, filling each one generously all the way to the top. This full filling helps create those desirable, beautifully domed muffin tops. For an extra touch of indulgence and visual appeal, sprinkle a few additional chocolate chips on top of each muffin before baking (this step is optional but highly recommended for that classic bakery look). Bake for an initial 5 minutes at a higher temperature, then lower the oven temperature and continue baking for approximately 15 minutes.
ðŸ’Professional Baking Secret: To achieve those coveted tall, domed muffin tops, here’s a brilliant technique: begin by baking your muffins at a higher temperature, specifically 215°C (420°F), for the initial 5 minutes. After this crucial period, significantly drop the oven temperature to 175°C (350°F) for the remainder of the baking time. This initial burst of high heat causes the batter to experience a rapid rise, making the muffins shoot up quickly, creating beautifully tall and fluffy tops. It’s a simple trick that yields impressive results!
Exciting Variations for Your Chocolate Muffins
This versatile double chocolate muffin recipe provides a fantastic foundation for experimentation! Feel free to customize your muffins with these delicious variations:
- Mini or Jumbo Double Chocolate Muffins: This recipe is easily adaptable to create either miniature or jumbo-sized muffins. Simply use the appropriate muffin tin – you should expect to yield around 20 mini muffins or 6 large jumbo ones. Remember to adjust the baking times accordingly: mini muffins will require approximately 10-12 minutes, while jumbo chocolate muffins will need about 25-28 minutes. For more specific guidance on mini versions, you might also find this easy recipe for Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins helpful.
- Triple Chocolate Muffins: Elevate the chocolate experience even further by transforming these into triple chocolate muffins! Simply swap out 100 grams of the dark (semi-sweet) chocolate chips for an equal amount of milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or even a mix of both. This adds layers of chocolate flavor and visual appeal.
- Nutty Indulgence: For an added layer of texture and a delightful nutty flavor, consider incorporating a handful (around ½ cup or 60g) of finely chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts into the batter. Mix them in along with the dry ingredients to ensure even distribution throughout your chocolate muffins.
- Orange Zest Infusion: For a bright, citrusy counterpoint to the rich chocolate, add 1-2 teaspoons of fresh orange zest to your wet ingredients. Chocolate and orange are a classic pairing that truly shines in muffin form.
- Espresso Boost: To deepen the chocolate flavor without making the muffins taste like coffee, add 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder or fine coffee grounds to your dry ingredients. It beautifully enhances the cocoa notes.
- Spice It Up: A pinch of cinnamon (½ teaspoon) or even a very small amount of cayenne pepper (¼ teaspoon) can add a warm, subtle complexity to the chocolate, creating a surprisingly sophisticated flavor profile.
Storage and Freezing Tips for Maximum Freshness
To ensure your homemade double chocolate muffins remain as delicious as the day they were baked, proper storage is key. Once the muffins have cooled completely to room temperature, transfer them to an airtight container. At room temperature, they will maintain their freshness and moist texture for up to 2 days. If you wish to extend their shelf life, storing them in the fridge can keep them delightfully fresh for up to 6 days. For the best eating experience, always serve refrigerated muffins at room temperature.
These muffins are also excellent for meal prepping or simply having a delicious treat on hand whenever a craving strikes! You can easily freeze them for extended storage, where they will keep beautifully for up to 3 months. To thaw, simply transfer them to the fridge overnight. Once thawed, bring them back to room temperature before serving, or for a warm, comforting treat, pop them into the microwave for a short burst until just heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions About Double Chocolate Muffins
Absolutely, you can easily halve this recipe. Doing so will yield approximately 6-8 muffins, which is perfect for a smaller household or when you simply want a fresh batch without too many leftovers. Just divide all ingredient quantities by two.
While I haven’t personally tested this specific recipe with gluten-free flour, many readers have reported success using a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (one that contains xanthan gum). Gluten-free muffins often have a slightly different texture, but the moisture from the sour cream should help keep them tender. If you try a gluten-free version, I would be thrilled to hear about your results in the comments!
There are a few common culprits if your muffins turn out dry. First, your oven temperature might have been too high for too long; ensure you follow the instructions to start at a higher temperature and then drop it. Second, over-stirring the batter is a frequent cause of dry, dense muffins, as it overdevelops gluten. Always mix just until the dry ingredients are combined. Lastly, substituting vegetable oil for melted butter can lead to drier muffins, as butter solidifies when it cools, while oil keeps the crumb moist.
A lack of rise can often be attributed to improper mixing of ingredients or an incorrect oven temperature. Ensure your leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder) are fresh and thoroughly whisked into the dry ingredients. Also, properly mixing the wet and dry ingredients (without overmixing) is key. An oven thermometer is an invaluable tool to verify that your oven’s internal temperature matches its setting, as calibration issues are common and can significantly impact baking results.
While butter adds a lovely flavor, I highly recommend sticking to vegetable oil for this muffin recipe. Oil stays liquid at room temperature, which contributes to a much moister and more tender muffin crumb that lasts longer. Melted butter, on the other hand, solidifies as it cools, making the muffins denser and potentially drier over time. For best results and that signature moist texture, vegetable oil is the preferred fat.
Sour cream is a fantastic ingredient for muffins! Its high fat content adds incredible moisture and richness, resulting in a super tender crumb. The acidity in sour cream also reacts with the baking soda, which helps the muffins rise beautifully and contributes to their fluffy texture. It truly is the secret to keeping these double chocolate muffins moist for days.
Don’t forget to pin this incredible recipe to your favorites! You can use the convenient button on the recipe card below or hover over the photos above to save it for later baking inspiration.
If you give this recipe a try, or any other delicious recipe from Anna Banana, please take a moment to rate it and/or leave a comment below. Your feedback means the world to me, and it’s incredibly helpful for other readers who are considering baking this recipe!
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Double Chocolate Muffins
Equipment
- â–¢ 12-hole muffin tin
- â–¢ paper muffin cases
- â–¢ mixing bowls
- â–¢ spatula
Ingredients
- â–¢ 250 g plain flour or self-raising flour (see notes)
- â–¢ 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- â–¢ 200 g sugar granulated or caster
- â–¢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
- â–¢ 300 g dark chocolate chips
- â–¢ 2 large eggs room temperature
- â–¢ 190 g sour cream room temperature
- â–¢ 120 ml vegetable oil
- â–¢ 100 ml milk room temperature
- â–¢ 2 tsp vanilla extract optional
- â–¢ 50 g milk chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 215°C (420°F) and line the 12-hole muffin pan with muffin liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips (reserve a small handful of chocolate chips if you’d like, to use as a topping).250 g plain flour, 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder, 200 g sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 300 g dark chocolate chips
- In a separate bowl or a jug, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla.2 large eggs, 190 g sour cream, 120 ml vegetable oil, 100 ml milk, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and fold using spatula or spoon until just combined. Divide the batter between muffin cases, filling each case to the top (use a large ice cream or cookie scoop for the ease, if you have one). Top each muffin with few extra chocolate chips, or with milk chocolate chips.50 g milk chocolate chips
- Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 215°C (420°F), then reduce the temperature to 175°C (350°F), and bake for another 14-16 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy while still slightly warm, or cool completely.
Please note that all my recipes are developed and tested in metric grams. I recommend that you use digital scales for a more accurate results. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Notes
Sugar – The amount of sugar can be adjusted to your personal taste preference. For a richer, more nuanced flavor, you can certainly swap granulated or caster sugar for light brown sugar, or use a combination of both.
Sour Cream – For optimal results and smooth incorporation into the batter, ensure the sour cream is at room temperature before you begin mixing. If sour cream is unavailable, a suitable substitute is full-fat Greek yogurt, which provides similar moisture and tang.
Storage:
To store cooled muffins, place them in an airtight container at room temperature, where they will stay fresh and moist for up to 2 days. For longer freshness, store them in the fridge for up to 6 days. Always allow them to come to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
These double chocolate muffins are also suitable for freezing for up to 3 months. To enjoy, thaw them overnight in the fridge. Once thawed, bring them to room temperature or gently warm them in a microwave for a fresh-baked feel.
Nutrition
This recipe for delectable Double Chocolate Muffins was originally shared in July 2016. It has since been thoroughly updated in October 2023 with brand new, vibrant photos, a carefully revised recipe for even better results, and fresh baking tips to ensure your ultimate success in the kitchen.