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espresso chocolate walnut muffins

ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE MUFFINS WITH WALNUTS AND WALNUT BITTERS

A rich, moist muffin, with the distinct combo of coffee and chocolate, and the added crunch of walnuts. The perfectly decadent muffin!
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, espresso, muffin
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp instant coffee granules
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons milk (I have used almond milk with equally good results)
  • 1/4 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee , cooled
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 5-6 good dashes of Black Walnut Bitters (I use Fee Brothers bitters, but use what you can find. If you can't find Black Walnut, Chocolate Bitters would work equally well) See Notes below.
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
  • 1/2 walnuts , chopped

TOPPING

  • 2 tbsp chocolate chunks
  • 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
  • 2 tbsp raw or demerara sugar

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Spray standard muffin tin with non-stick pan spray or use muffin liners.
  2. Sift flour, cocoa, instant coffee granules, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk sugar with eggs until light, about 30 seconds. Whisk in oil, milk, espresso or coffee, vanilla, and bitters until combined.

  4. Whisk wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined, do not overmix. Stir in chocolate chips or chunks and the walnuts.

  5. Evenly divide batter between muffin cups.
  6. Combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the muffins.
  7. Bake until set, 18 to 20 minutes. Let muffins cool in pan 15 minutes, then remove muffins from tin and place on wire rack to cool.

Recipe Notes

The bitters really bring out the flavours in this recipe. As will all recipes, I use bitters as the 'herbs' of baking. They add depth, an added intensity or layer of flavour. Obviously, if you can't find bitters in your neighbourhood, this recipe will work just fine without them. But I truly encourage you to add them to your repertoire and pantry! I was inspired by a recipe found on the Serious Eats website. I decided to amp up the opportunity for coffee flavour, hence there are two places you will find coffee added in my recipe. I also added the walnuts, as well as the topping- for looks and crunch!!

Adapted from Serious Eats