Learn how to make the most delicious double chocolate zucchini muffins with this easy recipe. These muffins are made with whole wheat flour, grated zucchini with melted dark chocolate and pieces of milk chocolate in the batter, instead of cocoa powder, for a tender, fluffy muffin that has a great muffin top.
I'm celebrating back to school with double chocolate zucchini muffins combining both dark chocolate and milk chocolate, whole-wheat flour, and lots of cinnamon.
These muffins have a great muffin top with a lovely crunch to it, which is something I search for in a muffin. If you like a good muffin top, this recipe is for you!
This post was sponsored by Cacao Barry.
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This post is sponsored by Cacao Barry.
Ingredients to Make Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
This is a pretty standard muffin recipe that has the added bonus of melted dark chocolate in the batter and grated zucchini, which adds moisture.
- flour—I use a combination of whole wheat and bleached all-purpose flours but you can stick to just all-purpose
- leavening agents—use the chemical leavener baking powder, not to be confused with baking soda. Read about baking powder versus baking soda if you are unsure what the difference is.
- salt—use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, which is finer and less salty. If you are using regular table salt, halve the amount so your muffins aren't overly salty
- zucchini—shred it on a regular box grater or use your food processor fitted with the shredding disk
- butter—this recipe was developed with unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you may omit the extra salt
- chocolate—both milk and 70 % dark chocolate. We are using melted dark chocolate in the muffin batter instead of cocoa powder!
- sugar, specifically granulated sugar because it doesn't add any flavour
- eggs—all recipes on this website call for large eggs, which weigh around 56 grams with the shell on. Don't use different egg sizes than this to avoid textual issues.
- vanilla—use pure vanilla extract
- milk—use regular milk (2 % fat) or whole milk (3.25 % fat)
- cinnamon—use ground cinnamon
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
If you know how to make the recipe fit a certain diet, let the reader know here. Don't fake it - only provide guidance on topics you have actual experience with.
- Cinnamon - I love pairing cinnamon with chocolate but if that isn't your thing, skip the cinnamon!
- Flour - if you want to omit the whole wheat flour in the recipe, simply replace it with the same weight of all-purpose
- Zucchini - you could replace the grated zucchini with grated carrot or even grated beet. Both should work, but obviously, they wouldn't be zucchini muffins anymore!
- Chocolate - you will use 2 types of chocolate in this recipe: 70 % dark chocolate, which cannot be easily substituted because it is melted into the batter, and milk chocolate, which you could easily replace with chocolate chips (white, milk, or dark).
Instructions
For this recipe, you will use the two-bowl mixing method, also called the muffin method. The dry ingredients are whisked in one bowl and the wet ingredients are combined in another. Then the two bowls are mixed together to make the muffin batter.
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients and whisk them together in a small bowl (image 1). Meanwhile, squeeze the grated zucchini in a sieve placed over a bowl to try and remove water (image 2).
Step 2: Combine the butter and the dark chocolate in a bowl (image 3) and heat them over a double boiler to melt them (or in the microwave) until smooth (image 4).
Step 3: To the bowl with the melted chocolate mixture, add the sugar (image 5). Stir it in to combine (image 6), then add the eggs one at a time (image 7). The muffin batter will thicken slightly (image 8).
Step 4: Add the milk to the bowl of wet ingredients (image 9). Stir it in (image 10), then add the dry ingredients (image 11). Stir everything together to form a thick batter (image 12).
Step 5: Stir in the grated zucchini (image 13) and the milk chocolate pieces (image 14). Stir until the add-ins are evenly dispersed (image 15). Use a large scoop to portion out the muffin batter between the paper-lined wells of two muffin pans (image 16).
Step 6: Make sure the batter is evenly distributed between the muffin cups (image 17). Bake the muffins until puffed and slightly cracked. Use a cake tester inserted into the centre to check if the muffins are done baking. If it comes out clean, they are done (image 18)
Hint: Be sure to unmould the muffins from the pan as soon as they have set. Aim to unmould them 5 to 10 minutes after pulling them from the oven. Otherwise, the paper (and the edges of the muffin) may become soggy.
Top Tip
Personally, I like disposable muffin paper liners (like these on Amazon that you would use for cupcakes too). For lower-fat muffins or muffins with less sugar, these tend to stick to paper liners. You would use parchment liners or silicone liners for these. Savoury muffins, for example, work best baked in either of these.
Chocolate Zucchini Muffin FAQs
There are different types of chocolate to choose from. Many muffins will call for cocoa powder instead of dark chocolate, but I wanted to make a muffin with melted 70 % dark chocolate. For these muffins, we are not using chocolate chips either.
These muffins are made with Ocoa, a 70 % dark chocolate by Cacao Barry. Ocoa is available at IGA grocery stores in Quebec, as well as many restaurant supply stores in smaller 1-kilo resealable bags. You can also order Cacao Barry products online via the Vanilla Food Company website. They ship across Canada and to the United States!
Muffins freeze well once baked. Let them cool completely, then freeze solid on a sheet pan before transferring them to an airtight freezer bag to store for a couple of months.
If you want to defrost frozen muffins, you have a few options depending on how much time you have: in the fridge overnight, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops; at room temperature, unwrapped to avoid moisture buildup on the surface of the muffin tops—this will take at least 30 minutes; in the microwave oven: place the unwrapped muffin on a napkin or a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on HIGH for about 30 seconds for each muffin. The time and results will vary according to the power of your microwave. I suggest microwaving in short increments to avoid drying out the muffins or burning them.
Other Chocolate Recipes to Try
Who doesn't love chocolate? You can't go wrong baking with different types of chocolate! I put chocolate to good use in lots of fun baking recipes, from a classic chocolate loaf cake to cherry chocolate crumble, vanilla cake with milk chocolate frosting, chocolate drop cookies, popcorn brittle brownies, and even these muffins. There are so many chocolate recipes to try!
📖 Recipe
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 125 grams whole wheat all-purpose flour
- 10 mL Baking powder
- 15 mL ground cinnamon
- 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 230 g zucchini, grated
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 130 g Cacao Barry Ocoa 70% dark chocolate
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 2 large egg(s)
- 5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 125 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
- 88 g Cacao Barry Alunga 41% milk chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175 °C). Line 12 wells of a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside for later.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Squeeze the grated zucchini over a strainer and leave it to drain while you work on the rest of the recipe to remove as much water as possible.
- In a saucepan, melt together the butter with the Ocoa chocolate pistoles on medium-low. Take your time and stir often to avoid burning the chocolate. Remove from the heat and transfer the melted mixture to a large bowl.
- Stir in the sugar and the eggs, one at a time, the vanilla, and then the milk. Mix this well so it's quite smooth and evenly mixed. Pour in the dry ingredients and stir them in gently. Give the shredded zucchini a good final squeeze before adding it to the bowl with the muffin batter. Fold it in. Then fold in the Alunga chocolate.
- Using a #12 scoop (like this on Amazon), divide the batter among the 10 muffin cups.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven until a cake tester inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. This takes about 20 to 25 minutes because the muffins are quite large.
- Let the muffins cool about 5 minutes in the pan to set, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Notes
- I baked these muffins with Cacao Barry Ocoa (70 % dark chocolate) and Alunga (40 % milk chocolate), which you can find at IGA grocery stores in Quebec, or online at Vanilla Food Company. You can use different brands of chocolate but for the dark chocolate, make sure to stick to good quality chocolate bars with 70 % cocoa mass (as opposed to chocolate chips which contain other fats and more sugar).
- Substitutions/Variations:
- Cinnamon - I love pairing cinnamon with chocolate but if that isn't your thing, skip the cinnamon!
- Zucchini - you could replace the grated zucchini with grated carrot or even grated beet. Both should work, but obviously, they wouldn't be zucchini muffins anymore!
- Flour - if you want to omit the whole wheat flour in the recipe, simply replace it with the same weight of all-purpose.
- For oversized muffins with a good muffin top, use a big #12 scooper, like this one on Amazon, and scoop 10 muffins instead of 12. This will result in a more pronounced muffin top
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by Cacao Barry. I was compensated monetarily and with product.
Justine | JustineCelina.com says
What an inventive combination -- I never would have thought to combine cocoa powder, zuchinni and cinnamon together in a muffin, but it sounds fabulous. I bet it tastes even better! Gorgeous photos as always, too! 🙂
Kortney (Allergy Girl Eats) says
My favourite part of starting school was also buying all the goodies, like new pens and binders! These muffins look like a great school snacks, full of yummy, a little veggies, and most importantly (for me at least) nut free.
Denise from UrbnSpice says
You had me at Double Chocolate 🙂 I look forward to trying your recipe - thank you!
Gabrielle @ eyecandypopper says
I was also excited as a kid when back-to-school rolled around every year! New beginings are awesome. Although I don't go to school anymore, I still view September like January. A fresh start! Beautiful muffins, and I love that you used whole wheat flour and zucchini, definitely boosting the nutrition that is so often missing from muffins. They look fantastic and I know they must taste delicious!
elodiesucree says
Superbes!!! Voilà qui devrait plaire aux enfants de retour à l'école mais aussi aux grands!!!! Merci pour ce partage gourmand. Gros bisous et très bonne rentrée ?
mayssam says
Fall? Back to school? Say it ain't so! But these muffins looks so scrumptious and the Cacao Barry chocolates are delicious! "Just like you should always cook with a wine you enjoy drinking, you should always bake with a chocolate you would enjoy eating." Truth!