an easy crowd pleaser

I made these easy muffins for my younger child's school outing yesterday. He was supposed to bring sandwiches but we would need to be out the whole morning, I thought it was not a good idea to let sandwiches go without refrigeration for hours especially in hot weather. Upon checking with the organisers, he told me it would be ok to bring muffins instead.

I would love to bake a batch of our favourite blueberry muffins but I decided to opt for a guaranteed crowd pleaser...chocolate-chocolate chips muffins :)

Most chocolate flavoured muffin recipes which I have came across seem to use quite a substantial amount of sugar and fat. I believe they would yield really moist and rich chocolate crumbs, but I prefer something lighter and yet taste as moist and chocolatey. I played around with my usual 'go-to' muffin recipe, substituting a few tablespoons of the flour with cocoa powder and used an extra tablespoon of sugar so that the muffins wouldn't turn out too bitter-sweet.

The result was indeed very satisfactory. The muffins turn out moist and tender despite using less sugar and oil. I guess the yoghurt really works wonders as a great substitute for butter and oil in baking muffins and cakes. The sweetness was just right for us and I love the chocolatey flavour which was further enhanced by the chocolate chips. Just like any easy muffin recipes, these muffins took me no time to prepare. The most important thing was, I didn't have to worry about my boy returning home with a box of leftovers ;)



Double Chocolate Chips Muffins

Ingredients:
(makes 15 small muffins)

240g plain yoghurt (I used low fat yoghurt)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons canola or corn oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
230g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
120g* caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
50g~60g mini chocolate chips

*note: use extra 1~2 tablespoons more sugar if you prefer it to be sweeter


Method:

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, lightly beaten egg, oil, vanilla extract until just combined.
• Sieve flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into another mixing bowl. Add sugar, salt and whisk to combine.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do Not over mix. (Note: stop stirring once the flour incorporates into the batter, but do check that there is no pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl). 
• Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Do Not over mix the batter. The finished batter should appear thick and lumpy.
• Spoon batter into paper muffin cups, fill it to about 3/4 full.
• Bake in preheated oven at 190degC for about 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with a few crumbs or almost clean (do not over bake). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

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