A new found hobby that I have recently indulged in is baking. But, we all know what pregnancy does to our bodies. I am not as petite as I would like to be and hence have to be very cautious about what enters my mouth. These easy peasy chocolate chip muffins are derived from Nigella Lawsons amazing muffin recipe. I decided on making these simply because my daughter cannot have enough chocolate nowadays.
Another key reason to make muffins was the problem of her not ready to eat her carbs. She refused to eat her rice or rotis thanks to the evil teething issue. She is teething even now, but has decided to eat rice or porridge. But, during the times when she wasn’t the only way to put some whole wheat flour into her tummy was through these muffins.
The original recipe asks for a lot of sweetness, which I have cut down and also made it healthier by using 50% whole wheat flour instead of regular flour. You can replace the whole flour amount with whole wheat, but then you will land up with a really dense muffin that tastes like sweet rotis (Yikess!)
So lets get started.
- 1 cup plain flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used unsweetened Hershey's)
- ¾ cup chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
- ¾ cup castor sugar
- ⅓ cup unflavored vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
- 1 egg
- Line your muffin tin with muffin wrappers*. Preheat your oven to 200-220 Celsius. This is key since every oven differs. I did it at 210 in my oven.
- First we will sift the dry ingredients. Measure the flours, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, chocolate chunks* and castor sugar. Sift it to get rid of lumps. Mix it well to combine the soda and baking powder well.
- Next, we will mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Give it a good stir. Do not beat it like a crazy person. We just need our muffins to rise a little bit.
- Now, combine both the dry and wet ingredients. Use a big whisk to ensure no lumps are formed. Again, lightly mix it.
- Using two spoons or an icecream scoop, put spoonfuls in each muffin mold. Top the muffins with some chocolate chunks. Fill them to ¾ level so that there is space for them to rise. Otherwise, you will end up with a muffin with cookie on top :) That tastes awesome too!
- Bake for 20 mins in the preheated oven. Start checking after 18th min. Moist crumbs should be formed on the toothpick when inserted.
- Remove them from the oven and place on a wire rack*. After 10 mins, invert them or remove the muffins from the mold. This is important so that the muffins don't dry out.
* Recipe calls for chocolate chips. But, clumsy as I am, I missed checking the pantry. I had some semi sweet chocolate bars. So, I pounded some to make chocolate chunks and used them instead and they tasted heavenly. I guess I am sticking with chunks going forward.
* Now, if you do not have a spare wire rack, check how to make a substitute. I have a microwave oven too, so I end up using the wire stand that came with it.
This is such a versatile recipe that you can substitute chocolates for nuts or dried fruits and make another type of cupcakes. I am definitely baking this valentine goodie for my little one – afterall love is nothing without a huge dollop of sweetness!!
Let us know how this went for you! Do share the pics of your finished product
