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    Home » Breads and muffins

    Published: Jan 10, 2022 · Modified: May 31, 2022 by Cynthia · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Light, fluffy, and moist, these sky high Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins will beat any store bought muffin by a mile! Easy to make, and even easier to devour!

    Leveling up my Bakery Style Muffins

    One of my jobs at the bakery was to make muffins every morning. So many muffins. They were these big, oversized muffins, defying gravity with their high fluffy tops. The kind you see in a bakery case and think "I gotta get me one of these!"

    Unfortunately, unless we ran out of blueberries, I usually only made blueberry muffins. Don't get me wrong, I love a good blueberry muffin, but some days call for even more indulgence. Some days call for chocolate.

    Actually this day called for all the chocolate! I wanted every bite to be an "I'm having chocolate cake for breakfast" kind of bite. I used my Buttermilk Muffins recipe as a base and I incorporated a really good quality cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate chunks, and semisweet mini chocolate chips to really declare that my Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins are indeed the chocolate muffins you've been waiting for!

    These muffins are jumbo sized muffins, baked in a standard size muffin pan. Lining the pan with parchment muffin liners and filling them to the top with batter guarantees those oversized muffins you've been eyeing in the bakery case. Get ready for oversized flavor too!

    What you'll love about this recipe:


    • QUICK - From mixing to eating is less than 45 minutes. You'll be devouring these muffins in no time!
    • EASY TO MAKE - There are really only 3 steps to this recipe, mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, and bake. Anyone can do it!
    • DELICIOUS - Using three types of chocolate, each with its own unique flavor in these muffins, these are a truly delicious and decadent breakfast treat!

    Key ingredients in these Triple Chocolate Muffins

    Ingredients for Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins.

    Why use room temperature ingredients?

    Using room temperature ingredients in baking is very important. Cold ingredients don't mix together very well (imagine adding melted butter to cold water), and therefore, your batter won't be as smooth and your muffins could bake up dense or lumpy. Ingredients at similar temperatures mix together more completely, which in turn helps them to bond together better and trap air in the batter more efficiently. When your batter hits the hot air of the oven, that air expands, producing light, airy, and fluffy treats!

    • All-purpose flour Just standard all-purpose flour does the trick here, giving you a great base for the chips and chunks you'll be folding in.
    • Cocoa powder I get the most chocolate flavor by using a good quality cocoa powder, but any dutch process cocoa (Hershey's calls their version "Dark") from the grocery store will work too. If yours doesn't say "Dutch", it's probably a natural cocoa powder. King Arthur Baking has a great article on the differences between dutch process and regular cocoas, but I usually prefer the darker color I get from dutch process. Since I use both baking powder and baking soda in my muffins, you can use either natural or dutch process cocoa with good results.
    • Sugar White granulated sugar is what almost everyone has in the pantry, but light brown sugar can be used in a pinch.
    • Baking powder and baking soda For various technical reasons I use both leavening agents in this recipe. Without getting too technical, the baking soda reacts with the buttermilk and the baking powder reacts with the cocoa powder. These reactions are what makes these muffins rise to great heights!
    • Buttermilk The acidity of the buttermilk helps to balance the sweetness of the muffins, but it also helps to tenderize them by snipping some of the gluten strands to make the muffins softer. They'll not only be more fluffy, but they'll also have a more tender crumb.

    Note on Buttermilk: When it comes to the liquid I use in baking, I sometimes make adjustments based on what I have in the fridge at the moment. I don’t recommend making your own "buttermilk" by mixing lemon juice or vinegar with milk, as the acidity won’t be the same as real buttermilk. You can use plain yogurt or sour cream in place of the buttermilk, if that’s what you have on hand. If you want to substitute with milk – whole milk, skim milk, or almond milk for instance – remove the baking soda from the recipe and increase the baking powder to 3 teaspoons.

    • Vanilla Did you know that vanilla has been used as a flavor enhancer in chocolate dishes since at least the 15th century? It's true! So I am not arguing with over 700 years of culinary knowledge. I add vanilla paste, but extract is also good.
    • Hot espresso Some people don't think that coffee or espresso really make chocolate taste more chocolatey, but it's true for science reasons! Cocoa beans and coffee beans actually share some of the same flavor profiles and act on our flavor receptors in a similar manner. Therefore, adding just a bit of coffee or espresso will give the chocolate a richer and deeper chocolate flavor. This is the one ingredient that isn't added at room temperature.
    • Chocolate I like the way a chopped up bar of bittersweet chocolate really melts into these muffins, giving you waves of really chocolatey flavor in the midst of a chocolate ocean. The mini chocolate chips start out melty, and when cool they firm up, giving you a mixture of different chocolate textures. And more chips on top just wave hello, to let you know you're in for a real chocolatey ride!
    • Parchment muffin liners I'm including these as an ingredient because to be able to make these oversized muffins in a standard size muffin pan you need liners that stick up over the top of the muffin cups.

    Make your own parchment paper liners

    If you don't have/can't find parchment muffin liners, you can easily make your own! Just cut some parchment paper into 5 inch squares (you'll need 16 squares). Place 2 squares, offset from each other, centered over a muffin cup. Press a small jar or can (a tomato paste can fits perfectly!) into the muffin cup and press the liner around it. That's it!

    Making parchment muffin liners.
    Place papers over muffin cup
    Making parchment muffin liners.
    Press down with jar or can

    How to make Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins

    • Dry ingredients Using a large whisk, mix together all of the dry ingredients; flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt.
    • Wet ingredients In a medium bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk together the all of wet ingredients, except the espresso; eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
    Mixing dry ingredients for chocolate muffins.
    Adding butter to other wet ingredients for making muffins.
    • Combine Add the whisked wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and, using a large silicone spatula, fold together until almost completely combined. Stir in the warm espresso.
    Adding wet ingredients to dry ingredients for chocolate muffins.
    Adding espresso to chocolate muffin batter.
    • Chocolate Fold in the chopped chocolate and mini chocolate chips, leaving some chips to scatter on top of the muffins, if you like.
    • Bake Using a large scoop, or a couple of large spoons, portion the batter evenly into 8 parchment muffin liner lined muffin cups of a standard size muffin pan. Scatter more chips on top, if desired. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 5 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 350°F and bake for another 20-25 minutes. The initial high temperature will give the muffins a jump start on rising. Let cool a bit before diving in!
    Folding chocolate into muffin batter.
    Scooping muffin batter into muffin liners.

    Tips & Tricks to Better Triple Chocolate Muffins

    • Don't overmix your batter! Just fold everything together until just combined. If you mix too vigorously, you'll encourage the gluten strands in the batter to join together, giving you a dense, tough muffin.
    • Adding hot espresso helps to activate and bloom the cocoa powder. Adding it after all of the other ingredients, except the chocolates, have been mixed in, keeps the eggs in the batter from cooking.
    • Use a large scoop to portion out your batter. It's a no-mess way of filling your muffin liners and all of your muffins will be the same size, and will bake more evenly.
    • Leave room between your muffins for more even baking. If possible, leave every other muffin cup empty, or use only the outer cups for your muffins. This way, the heat of the oven has a better shot at surrounding each muffin and having them all bake at the same rate.

    Craving more chocolate?

    • One-Bowl Chocolate Bundt Cake
    • Rocky Road Chocolate Shortbread Bars
    • Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
    • My Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie
    A muffin pan filled with Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins in white parchment paper liners.
    Inside view of a Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffin sitting on a stack of white plates.

    Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins

    Light, fluffy, and moist, these extra chocolatey muffins will beat any store bought muffin by a mile! And they’re easy to make!
    5 from 2 votes
    Author: Cynthia
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Breakfast, Brunch
    Cuisine American
    Servings 8 muffins
    Calories 405 kcal

    Equipment

    • Large whisk
    • Large silicone spatula
    • Large scoop
    • Parchment muffin liners
    • Parchment paper
    • Standard size muffin pan

    Ingredients
     

    Dry Ingredients

    • 1 ½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour
    • ½ cup (44 g) cocoa powder
    • ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

    Wet Ingredients

    • 2 large eggs room temperature
    • 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk room temperature
    • ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temp
    • ¼ cup (60 g) vegetable oil
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
    • 3 tbs (15 g) espresso hot

    More chocolate

    • ½ cup (90 g) mini chocolate chips
    • 4 oz (114 g) dark chocolate chopped

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 425° Line 8 cups of a standard muffin pan with parchment muffin liners or handmade liners (see post above for instructions)
    • Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. 

Whisk together all of the wet ingredients, except the espresso, in another bowl. 

Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. Don't over mix. Just bring together until all the dry flour disappears. A few lumps are okay. Stir in the espresso.
    • Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips and the chopped chocolate, saving about ¼ cup of chips to sprinkle on top of the muffins if you like.
    • Using a large scoop, fill muffin cups to the top. Sprinkle top with more chips, if desired.
    • Bake at 425° for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes turn the oven down to 350°, without opening the oven door.
    • Bake for another 15-18 minutes, or until a clean toothpick inserted into the center muffin comes out with few or no crumbs attached.

    Notes

    Note on Buttermilk: When it comes to the liquid I use in muffins, I sometimes make adjustments based on what I have in the fridge at the moment. I don’t recommend making your own "buttermilk" by mixing lemon juice or vinegar with milk, as the acidity won’t be the same as true buttermilk. You can absolutely use Greek yogurt or sour cream in place of the buttermilk, if that’s what you have on hand.
    If you substitute with milk – whole milk, skim milk, or almond milk for instance – remove the baking soda from the recipe and increase the baking powder to 3 teaspoons.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 317IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 4mg

    The nutritional and caloric information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It does not assert or suggest that readers should or should not count calories, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s or doctor’s counseling.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @butfirst_webrunch or tag #butfirstwebrunch!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kendra says

      July 03, 2022 at 11:24 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is delicious…makes me feel like a professional baker! They are visually perfect and perfectly yummy😍

      Reply
      • Cynthia says

        July 04, 2022 at 6:05 am

        I’m so glad you like it!

        Reply
    2. Hiba says

      July 19, 2022 at 4:50 am

      Is this in Celsius or farneheit?

      Reply
      • Cynthia says

        July 19, 2022 at 6:23 am

        Wow I would hate for it to be in Celsius, because that would be like 800°C 😂 Thanks for pointing it out, I will try to make sure I put Fahrenheit from now on.

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Cynthia! In our house, we get up with the sun and most of us don't stop working until late in the night, so breakfast and brunch are our family meals. So join me at the kitchen counter, where I cook up delicious food for my busy family, starting first thing in the morning!

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