These delicious Easy Triple Chocolate Muffins are perfect for chocolate lovers or anyone looking to satisfy their sweet tooth!! Moist, fudgy, and insanely rich, these muffins are loaded with three different types of chocolate: cocoa powder, melted chocolate, and chocolate chips. Tall, with perfectly rounded muffin tops, these muffins take less than 30 minutes to whip up, are easy to make, and taste like they came straight from the bakery!!
Craving chocolate for breakfast? I got you covered with the ultimate chocolate muffin. These triple chocolate muffins bake up nice and fluffy with perfectly round muffin tops and rich gooey centers. They practically melt in your mouth with each bite. Made with a dense but moist chocolate base filled with cocoa powder, melted chocolate, and studded with little bits of melted chocolate chips throughout.
They are the perfect excuse to eat dessert for breakfast and are the perfect crowd pleaser for your next brunch. With their deep chocolate flavor, soft tender crumb, and tall muffin tops they are bakery quality made right at home.
Easily pair them with your morning coffee, or with a tall glass of milk for your after dinner dessert, these fudgy muffins are perfect any time of the day.
Looking for more chocolate decadence? Try my Double Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake or Old Fashioned Coca Cola Cake Recipe!!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make - These easy chocolate muffins are simple to make and come together in under 30 minutes!! You'll only need two bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. No stand mixer required!!
- Triple chocolate decadence - This is the perfect chocolate muffin recipe for chocolate lovers!! They are packed with cocoa powder, melted chocolate, and chocolate chips for the ultimate chocolate indulgence.
- Bakery style muffins - These triple chocolate muffins bake up nice and tall by allowing the batter to rest 1 hour prior to baking.
- Extra moist and fluffy - The combination of buttermilk, sour cream, vegetable oil, and melted butter creates a thick batter and makes these muffins perfectly tender and soft.
- Taste like brownies!! - These muffins taste just like your favorite fudgy brownie except they have a light and fluffy texture.
Ingredient Notes
For the full ingredient list and quantities, check out the recipe card below. Here are a few notes on the ingredients used to make these decadent Triple Chocolate muffins:
- Cocoa powder - I recommend using Dutch process cocoa powder over natural cocoa powder for this recipe. Dutch process differs from natural cocoa powder as it has been treated using an alkalizing agent to reduce its acidity. This creates a smoother flavor and richer color.
- Melted chocolate - Melted chocolate makes these muffins super rich and fugdy. I used a Valrhona 56% chocolate bar. I do not recommend using chocolate chips for the melted chocolate as they do not melt as well and you will not get a smooth consistency.
- Chocolate chips - I recommend using semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips. I used mini chocolate chips here but feel free to use regular sized chocolate chips.
- Buttermilk - Using buttermilk creates a tender, moist crumb. Because it is acidic, it helps activate the baking soda creating a taller muffin.
- Vegetable oil - Vegetable oil helps keep these muffins super soft. Canola or grapeseed oil will also work.
- Melted butter - Melted unsalted butter adds moisture and flavor.
- Espresso powder - The use of espresso powder is totally optional. I love incorporating it into my chocolate desserts because it enhances the chocolate flavor.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you happen to try any from the list above or add your own spin with new ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!!
Substitutions and Variations
I love making muffins not only for their simplicity but how they let you to be creative in the kitchen by incorporating different flavor profiles. Although I love these chocolate muffins the way they are, there are many different ways you can customize them to make them your own. Here a few ideas to consider:
- Use different types of chocolate. Semisweet chocolate is used for this recipe but feel free to change it up by using dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate. Because each chocolate has a different sweetness level, you may also want to reduce the amount of sugar depending on which type of chocolate you use.
- Make double chocolate muffins. To make these double chocolate muffins, you can leave out the melted chocolate and just use the cocoa powder and chocolate chips.
- Go nuts!! - For an added crunch, mix in toasted walnuts or pecans.
- Make them gluten free. To make these muffins gluten free, I recommend swapping the cake flour cup for cup with a good quality gluten free flour. Because gluten free flour is heavier than cake flour, the muffins may not be as tender or rise as tall.
Step by Step Instructions
This chocolate muffin recipe comes together in no time and only requires two bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. Here is how to make and bake these Easy Triple Chocolate Muffins:
Step 1: In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour and cocoa powder. Then, whisk in baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, espresso powder, and the chocolate chips.
Step 2: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream until smooth. Then whisk in the melted butter, vegetable oil, melted chocolate, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold them together using a rubber spatula until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow batter to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Step 4: After 1 hour, preheat the oven to 425F and line a cupcake or muffin pan with 6 paper liners. Using a large cookie or ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the muffin liners. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of sugar and extra mini chocolate chips.
Step 5: Bake for 5 minutes a 425F then lower the oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer each muffin to the wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Baking Tips
- Properly measure your flour - For the best results, I recommend weighing your dry ingredients, especially the flour. If you do not have a scale, spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level it off using the back of a butterknife. By using a measuring cup to scoop the flour, more flour will be added to the recipe creating dry, dense muffins.
- Don't over-mix the batter - To avoid over-mixing the batter, mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula and only mix until just combined. Over-mixing can overwork the gluten in the batter and make the muffins dense and dry.
- For tall muffin tops - Achieving bakery style quality muffins requires the following techniques:
- Resting the batter - Resting the batter for 1 hour gives the leaveners more time to activate in the liquid (the buttermilk) allowing the batter to lift before going into the oven.
- Carefully scoop the batter - Gently scoop the batter into the muffin liners. Avoid mixing the batter around or adding a double scoop to the muffin liner. Doing so will disrupt the reaction of the baking powder and baking soda which can cause the batter to deflate.
- Overfill the muffin liners - Filling the muffin cups to the top with batter will help create tall muffin tops.
- Alternating muffin cups when baking - Although this is optional, it is highly recommended. The muffins are baked in two batches, baking only 6 muffins at a time, by filling every other muffin liner. This allows the heat to be evenly distributed resulting in taller muffin tops.
- Using an initial burst of high heat - Baking the muffins initially at 425F give the muffins a quick rise. However, the temperature is then reduced to avoid over baking.
Recipe FAQs
Melted chocolate: For the melted chocolate, I recommend using a high quality brand of baking chocolate such as Valrhona, Guittard, or Ghiradelli.
Cocoa powder: For this recipe, I used Valrhona Dutch process cocoa powder. I prefer using Dutch process cocoa for its richness and deep chocolate flavor.
Chocolate chips: I used semisweet mini chocolate chips in this recipe. They distribute well throughout the batter so you have small pockets of chocolate with each bite. Semisweet or dark chocolate chocolate chips would both work. You can also use regular size chocolate chips instead of mini chocolate chips.
I recommend sticking to Dutch processed cocoa powder for this recipe. Because natural cocoa powder is more acidic than Dutch processed, substituting it will change the texture, taste, and bake of these muffins.
Muffins are essentially quick breads that are moist and dense in texture and have thick batters. They require fewer steps to make and rely on leaveners (baking soda/baking powder) to rise. They usually contain less sugar and no frosting. Cupcakes are lighter and fluffier in texture and have thinner batters. They are made using the creaming method (mixing butter and sugar) which is also where they get their height. Cupcakes contain more sugar and are generally topped with frosting.
To make moist muffins, be sure to accurately measure your flour using a kitchen scale. To avoid over baking, I suggest investing in an oven thermometer to ensure you are baking at the correct temperature. These muffins are slightly fudgy in the center. Only bake them until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
Storage
These triple chocolate muffins are best enjoyed the day they are baked, but they can be stored at room temperature for 3 days.
Freezing
To freeze the muffins, wrap them in plastic wrap after they have cooled. Store wrapped muffins in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one month. To defost, thaw at room temperature.
More Breakfast Recipes
It brings me so much joy when you make one of my recipes!! If you try this recipe and love it much as I do, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below. And don't forget to tag me to share your creation with me!! You can find me on Instagram @vintage_confections.
📖 Recipe
Easy Triple Chocolate Muffins
Equipment
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Muffin pan
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring spoons
- Scale/measuring cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) Cake flour
- ½ cup (43g) Unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 cup (200g) Granulated sugar plus for to top the muffins
- 2 ½ teaspoons Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Espresso powder
- 1 ½ cups Mini semisweet chocolate chips plus for to top the muffins
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup (60g) Sour cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (57g) Unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup (56g) Vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240g) Buttermilk room temperature
- 4 oz Semisweet chocolate bar (56%) melted
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl sift together the cake flour and cocoa powder. Add the granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, and chocolate chips, and whisk to together until combined.2 cups (250g) Cake flour, ½ cup (43g) Unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder, 1 cup (200g) Granulated sugar, 2 ½ teaspoons Baking powder, ½ teaspoon Baking soda, ½ teaspoon Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon Espresso powder, 1 ½ cups Mini semisweet chocolate chips
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream until smooth. Then mix in the vanilla extract, melted butter, oil, buttermilk, and melted chocolate.2 large Eggs, ¼ cup (60g) Sour cream, 1 tablespoon Pure vanilla extract, ¼ cup (57g) Unsalted butter, ¼ cup (56g) Vegetable oil, 1 cup (240g) Buttermilk, 4 oz Semisweet chocolate bar (56%)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the batter until just combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
- After 1 hour, preheat the oven to 425F. Line a 12 cup cupcake tin with 6 paper liners, placing each liner in every other muffin cup. For this method, you will be baking the muffins in two batches. Be sure to cover the batter while the first batch bakes. Alternatively, you can bake all at one time but your muffins will not rise as tall.
- Using a large ice cream scoop, gently scoop the fluffy muffin batter into the paper liners, taking care not deflate the batter. Overfill each liner to the top. Top with chocolate chips and an extra sprinkle of sugar.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425F. Then (without opening the oven door), lower the oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Let the muffins rest in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer each muffin to a cooling rack to cool completely. Allow muffins to cool for an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy!!
- Note: If baking the muffins in two batches, be sure to increase the oven temperature back to 425F once the first batch of muffins are done baking. While the first batch of muffins are baking, cover the remaining batter with plastic wrap until you are ready to bake the second batch.
Comments
No Comments