Ok, well maybe not cake, but I got your attention. I had such a craving for a moist chocolate cake this morning, but didn’t want to give into my temptation (especially after last night's spinning class). Not to mention the fact that I kept hearing my mom’s voice at the back of my head saying “Don’t eat chocolate, have a real breakfast!” So for the fun of it I looked up some chocolate cake recipes to see what the average calorie and fat intake were. Well to no one’s surprise, it was way more than you should consume in one meal, not to mention, there’s also the dilemma of what to do with the rest of the cake. Indulge or give it away… Like anyone can give away chocolate cake!
It became clear at that point that muffins were my best bet. So here was my challenge, rich and moist chocolate muffins that won’t condemn your diet. As I started to deconstruct the recipe I found that there wasn’t much that was nutritional in there; white flour, butter, milk chocolate, granulated sugar… A diet of these would not tip the scale in your favor. So could I really cut the fat and processed ingredients without sacrificing on flavor? Can you really make indulgent chocolate muffins that are healthy at the same time? Definitely. Well, as healthy as a muffin can get that is :) The resulting muffins have about the same calories and fat as a bowl of Cheerios with milk. I don’t know about you but I can definitely live with that!
The recipe for my “Better for you Chocolate Muffins” is below. Try them and let me know what you think!
Better For You Chocolate Muffins
Makes 12 generous sized muffins
2 large ripe bananas
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil
1 250g package of 60% dark chocolate chipits
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffins pan with paper liners, make sure to lightly grease the exposed surface of the muffin tin. Otherwise your muffins will stick as they rise and expand over the paper liners. A stoneware muffin pan works great for this put metal will work fine. Just decrease cooking time by 2-3 minutes.
In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 3/4 of the bag of chipits. Using a handheld grater or mini food processor, grate the remaining 1/4 bag of chipits into the flour mixture. Stir to combine.
In a medium bowl assemble the wet ingredients; mash bananas with a fork, add brown sugar, buttermilk, egg and oil. Whisk just to combine.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet mixture. With a rubber spatulas, as not ot incorporate too much air into the mixture, fold dry and went ingredients together just until combined and free of lumps. Don’t over mix.
Using a large ice cream scoop, generously fill the prepared muffin pan evenly distributing the mixture among the 12 paper liners. It will seem like a lot of batter for the paper liners but don’t worry, they’ll bake fine.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean. Let muffins cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Muffins will keep in an airtight container for up to one week or can be frozen for up to a month.
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