Strawberry Chocolate Muffins
These chocolate strawberry muffins combine two of our favorite things: fresh strawberries and chocolate! These outrageously delicious chocolate muffins are packed with strawberries and topped with a delicious chocolate drizzle. I’m torn between calling these muffins a snack or dessert! They are light and tender and taste like rich chocolate cake in muffin form. Inspired by chocolate covered strawberries, we add lots of fresh strawberries to the batter and drizzle melted chocolate on top. They are one of our most decadent muffin recipes, for sure! If you love these, you will also love our strawberry muffins or these strawberry yogurt muffins. I’m also partial to this chocolate chip muffin recipe! Key Ingredients Strawberries: Use sweet, flavorful, fresh strawberries for the best muffins. If you only have frozen strawberries, thaw and drain them first. Their texture will be softer, so they may break apart slightly when mixed into the batter. Cocoa Powder: I recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. Dutch-processed cocoa powder won’t react with the baking soda, essential for helping the muffins rise. My favorite brands include Ghirardelli, Hershey’s, or Guittard if you feel fancy! Flour: I use all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you can easily substitute whole wheat flour, spelt flour, or even an all-purpose gluten-free blend. Sugar: Granulated sugar keeps these muffins light and airy. Baking Powder and Baking Soda: The secret for light and airy chocolate muffins. Use recently purchased double-acting baking powder (it lasts about 3 months), and use aluminum-free if you are sensitive to the taste. Butter: I usually call for oil in my muffin recipes, but for these chocolate muffins, I prefer butter. Use unsalted or salted with a little less salt added to the batter. Egg and Yogurt: These add to our muffin’s structure, and the yogurt keeps them nice and moist. Plain yogurt is perfect. Vanilla and Salt: These make our muffins taste amazing and bring out the chocolate flavor of our cocoa. Chocolate: I melt some chocolate and drizzle it over the baked muffins. It’s optional, but so good! Strawberries: Use sweet, flavorful, fresh strawberries for the best muffins. If you only have frozen strawberries, thaw and drain them first. Their texture will be softer, so they may break apart slightly when mixed into the batter. Cocoa Powder: I recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. Dutch-processed cocoa powder won’t react with the baking soda, essential for helping the muffins rise. My favorite brands include Ghirardelli, Hershey’s, or Guittard if you feel fancy! Flour: I use all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you can easily substitute whole wheat flour, spelt flour, or even an all-purpose gluten-free blend. Sugar: Granulated sugar keeps these muffins light and airy. Baking Powder and Baking Soda: The secret for light and airy chocolate muffins. Use recently purchased double-acting baking powder (it lasts about 3 months), and use aluminum-free if you are sensitive to the taste. Butter: I usually call for oil in my muffin recipes, but for these chocolate muffins, I prefer butter. Use unsalted or salted with a little less salt added to the batter. Egg and Yogurt: These add to our muffin’s structure, and the yogurt keeps them nice and moist. Plain yogurt is perfect. Vanilla and Salt: These make our muffins taste amazing and bring out the chocolate flavor of our cocoa. Chocolate: I melt some chocolate and drizzle it over the baked muffins. It’s optional, but so good! How to Make Strawberry Chocolate Muffins These muffins are easy! The first step is blooming your cocoa powder. Have you ever heard of it? Sounds funny, right? It’s actually really cool. Combining cocoa powder with a hot liquid helps to “bloom” the cocoa, making the cocoa powder taste even more decadent and chocolaty than if you were adding cocoa to the dry ingredients. It’s really common to see cocoa powder mixed with hot liquid in chocolate recipes like we do for these fudgy brownies or this chocolate cake. In this muffin recipe, we mix warm butter into the cocoa powder and sugar. From there, you’ll mix the remaining ingredients until they are combined. If you’ve been following our recipes for a while, you’re probably tired of us telling you not to over-mix when it comes to muffins (this also applies to waffles, pancakes, and quick bread). When combining the wet and dry ingredients, be gentle and fold the dry ingredients into the wet. All you need to do is stir gently until any streaks of flour disappear and the batter is smooth. There’s no need to beat the batter or use an electric mixer. Over-mixing makes muffins heavy. The muffins bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then we take them out, let them cool, and drizzle a little melted chocolate on top. The chocolate eventually firms and makes a nice top for the muffins. You could add chocolate chips to the batter, but we love leaving the inside of the muffins for the strawberries. Strawberry Chocolate Muffins PREP 10 mins COOK 20 mins TOTAL 30 mins PREP 10 mins COOK 20 mins TOTAL 30 mins These strawberry chocolate muffins are packed with strawberries and topped with a delicious chocolate drizzle. It is important to chop the strawberries small; otherwise, they will fall to the bottom of the muffin. Tossing the chopped strawberries with a teaspoon of sugar also brings out some of their sweetness and makes them taste more like a strawberry. If you use perfectly ripe berries, tossing with the sugar is unnecessary. We drizzle the tops of each baked muffin with dark chocolate, but any chocolate will do. Use what you love (white chocolate would be amazing, too!). Makes 12 muffins You Will Need 6 ounces strawberries, chopped small (about 1 cup) 1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter 1/3 cup (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 cup (150g) sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for tops and berries, see tips 1 large egg 1 cup (250g) plain yogurt, see tips 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 1 ½ ounces chocolate for drizzling on top Directions 1Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 12 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners. 2Mix the chopped strawberries with a teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl, then set aside. 3Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. 4In another bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and sugar together. Melt the butter, and then while it is still warm, whisk it into the cocoa powder and sugar until blended, and the mixture has cooled slightly. 5Add the egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. 6Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, stirring gently until they disappear and the batter is smooth. 7Fold in the strawberries. 8Divide the batter between muffin cups (the batter will come close to the tops of the paper liners). Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each muffin. 9Bake muffins for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are no longer wet and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with crumbs, not wet batter. Transfer to a cooling rack. 10When the muffins are mostly cool, melt the chocolate. Since it is such a small amount, using a microwave is best. Add chocolate to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds, stir, then microwave for another 10 seconds. Repeat this process until the chocolate has melted. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the muffins. 1Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 12 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners. 2Mix the chopped strawberries with a teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl, then set aside. 3Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. 4In another bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and sugar together. Melt the butter, and then while it is still warm, whisk it into the cocoa powder and sugar until blended, and the mixture has cooled slightly. 5Add the egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. 6Switch to a large rubber spatula. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, stirring gently until they disappear and the batter is smooth. 7Fold in the strawberries. 8Divide the batter between muffin cups (the batter will come close to the tops of the paper liners). Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each muffin. 9Bake muffins for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are no longer wet and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with crumbs, not wet batter. Transfer to a cooling rack. 10When the muffins are mostly cool, melt the chocolate. Since it is such a small amount, using a microwave is best. Add chocolate to a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds, stir, then microwave for another 10 seconds. Repeat this process until the chocolate has melted. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the muffins. Adam and Joanne's Tips Adding/reducing the sugar: 3/4 cups of sugar is just right for us, for slightly sweeter muffins, use 1 cup of sugar in the batter. To reduce the sugar, choose yogurt with the lowest sugar content and consider reducing the sugar called for in the recipe by 3 to 4 tablespoons. What yogurt to use: For the most tender muffins use plain full-fat yogurt. Low-fat or 0% fat yogurt can be substituted, the muffins will just be a little less tender. If you use Greek yogurt, you may find that you need to add an extra splash of liquid since it is thicker than regular yogurt (milk or even water will do). Finally, keep an eye on the sugar content of the yogurt you use. Plain should have the lowest sugar content, while a vanilla flavored yogurt will have much more sugar (making the muffins more sweet). Storing: Place them in a plastic bag, seal, and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. To freeze, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil or place them in freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Adding/reducing the sugar: 3/4 cups of sugar is just right for us, for slightly sweeter muffins, use 1 cup of sugar in the batter. To reduce the sugar, choose yogurt with the lowest sugar content and consider reducing the sugar called for in the recipe by 3 to 4 tablespoons. What yogurt to use: For the most tender muffins use plain full-fat yogurt. Low-fat or 0% fat yogurt can be substituted, the muffins will just be a little less tender. If you use Greek yogurt, you may find that you need to add an extra splash of liquid since it is thicker than regular yogurt (milk or even water will do). Finally, keep an eye on the sugar content of the yogurt you use. Plain should have the lowest sugar content, while a vanilla flavored yogurt will have much more sugar (making the muffins more sweet). Storing: Place them in a plastic bag, seal, and store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. To freeze, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil or place them in freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1 muffin / Calories 221 / Protein 4 g / Carbohydrate 30 g / Dietary Fiber 2 g / Total Sugars 16 g / Total Fat 10 g / Saturated Fat 6 g / Cholesterol 39 mg / Sodium 160 mg AUTHOR: Joanne Gallagher We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? 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