Bodum Blog

12 serves

60 minutes

Medium

20
Feb '19

Recipes
Muffins Chocolate Dessert Coffee

Ingredients

Dark Chocolate Muffins

1 vanilla pod
9 oz/250 g caster sugar
3 large eggs
9 oz/250 g dark chocolate
5 oz/150 g unsalted butter
7 oz/200 ml milk
5 oz/150 g wheat flour
1 oz/30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. table salt

Coffee Buttercream Icing and Decorations

9 oz/250 g unsalted butter
18 oz/500 g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp. table salt
2 tbsp. boiling water
4 tsp. finely ground coffee
Dark chocolate curls, to garnish
6 fresh strawberries, halved; to garnish

Jump to Recipe

Our Dark Chocolate Muffins Are Perfect Coffee Break Companions

When you unite dark chocolate and coffee, you create a combination of full-bodied flavours that’s hard to beat. Both the tempting treat and delicious drink are made from roasted beans, and both possess a pleasing, mildly astringent taste that’s tempered with warm, spicy and sometimes sweet notes. It’s no wonder they’re frequently enjoyed together.

Why not make your mid-morning break special by enjoying a delightful dark chocolate muffin alongside a hot, satisfying cup of slow coffee? Whether you prefer to brew coffee using a French press, coffee dripper, pour over coffee maker or vacuum coffee maker, you’ll find that our muffins recipe is the perfect partner for this well-loved, reinvigorating beverage.

For best results, look for bars of fine dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70% or more. They’re a good source of cell-protecting antioxidants and don’t tend to be overly sugary. The buttercream topping will provide plenty of sweetness, after all.

What’s more, adding a little coffee to the buttercream (as the recipe suggests) will make each marvellous muffin even more memorable.

Step by Step

Instructions

Dark Chocolate Muffins

Split the vanilla pod in two lengthways with a sharp knife. Carefully scrape out the seeds and combine them with the sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs, and then whisk the mixture until light and airy. Set it aside for now.
Top tip: The powerful electric stand mixer from the stylish Bodum® Bistro collection features a whisk attachment to make whisking both simple and swift.
Finely chop 200 g of the chocolate, saving the rest for use later in the recipe. Melt the butter over a low heat (the premium-quality Bodum® Chef 51 oz/1.5 L saucepan is ideal for this task). Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the finely chopped chocolate, stirring until it has all melted.
Combine the two mixtures you’ve made by stirring the melted butter and chocolate into the whisked vanilla, sugar and eggs. Add the milk and stir again.
In a separate mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Chop the remaining chocolate into very small pieces then stir them into the mixture. Next, stir this mixture into the one from the previous step.
Now that all of the ingredients for the muffins have been combined, divide the mixture equally between 12 muffin cases.
Top tip: Placing the cases in a deep, 12-cup muffin baking tray will give them greater stability and therefore make it easier for you to fill them.
Bake the muffins in their baking tray in a pre-heated oven (175°C/347°F/Gas Mark 4), using the fan setting, for 15-20 minutes. Check them with a cake tester and adjust the cooking time if necessary. After ensuring they’re all fully cooked and piping hot throughout, remove the muffins from the oven and place them on a wire baking rack. Once they’re cool, peel off the cases.

Coffee Buttercream Icing and Decorations

Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until soft and light (our Bistro electric stand mixer is invaluable again here – simply use the beater attachment this time). Add half of the icing sugar and the salt, and then beat again until the mixture is smooth.
Now add the remaining icing sugar. Dissolve the ground coffee in the water and add that too. Beat the mixture thoroughly for about five to ten minutes to give it a creamy consistency. Now your buttercream is finished!
Spread buttercream over the top of each cooled muffin with an icing knife. Alternatively, for a neater finish, pipe the buttercream through a large, round nozzle. Garnish each muffin with a sprinkling of dark chocolate curls and half a strawberry.
Now you can reward yourself for your hard work in the kitchen by relaxing with a delicious cup of freshly brewed slow coffee and one of your equally delicious, freshly made muffins.