I nailed this recipe on the first try. The crumb was moist and chewy with just the right balance of sweetness to rich dark cocoa. But then I mom-brained and didn't write it down (kinda like when I didn't write the bin number on my bag of sliced almonds tonight because I planned to repeat it over and over again so I wouldn't forget and then I totally forgot by the time I checked out). It took 5 more batches to recreate that same glorious muffin again. Fortunately, Lucas burned 3000 calories on Sunday training for his marathon and was more than happy to eat them.
Speaking of Lucas, I have the best husband.
Rodelle's baking cocoa is one of the few products I have a strong brand loyalty to. Due to the European Dutch-processing, it turns baked goods a deep dark brown and makes them extra rich without being bitter. Over the holidays last year, I ran out of cocoa powder just as I set out to make a few dozen chocolate cupcakes. Without hesitation (probably because he wanted cupcakes), Lucas ran to the store for a baking cocoa emergency.
They, too, were out. (Insert dramatic sound effect).
Instead of subbing in a different baking cocoa when he couldn't find Rodelle, he went all around town at midnight just to find my beloved baking cocoa (without my asking). Like I said: he's the best husband. He's also very specific, if you couldn't tell - guess how long it takes him to follow a recipe that should take 30 minutes?
Not sure. He's not finished yet. (Just teasing, honey).
He wants it to be known that he also went to the store at 2am last week for more sugar when I was testing batches 5 and 6 of these muffins. He either really loves muffins or really loves me. Jury's still out. JK, everyone knows I'm spoiled and he's well-fed.
These Mexican chocolate muffins were my inaugural recipe using Rodelle's new organic baking cocoa and their inspiration came from this Sunday vibes instagram post from my girl Renee a few months back. Buckwheat and cocoa were meant for each other - the chocolate notes in buckwheat enhance the cocoa's richness tenfold. I'm dying to try the buckwheat bergamot double chocolate cookies from Alanna's Alternative Baker cookbook now that I'm a buckwheat chocolate junkie (it might be one of the few recipes I didn't get to taste test!).
Pairing whole grain buckwheat flour with deep spices like cinnamon and cayenne creates a muffin that's warm and spicy with a moist crumb. Just a little hint of sugar balances out the cocoa and heat, leaving it tasting rich and earthy. There's no mistaking these morsels for cupcakes. These small-batch Mexican chocolate buckwheat muffins are the perfect pre-holiday breakfast - just bake them up the night before and pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to melt up the chocolate chunks before serving.
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Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
- 3 tablespoons sweet rice flour, different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour"
- 2 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, 31g (I use Rodelle Organic Baking Cocoa)
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil, such as safflower, sunflower, or canola oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon chocolate extract
- 2 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, chopped & divided
- Optional: 1-2 tablespoons coarse sugar like turbinado for sprinkling on top
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°F and generously grease a muffin tin with safflower oil (or other neutral vegetable oil).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, sweet rice flour, and tapioca starch. Add the cinnamon, cayenne, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Sift in the cocoa powder and whisk to combine.
- Add the sugar to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, egg, and extracts.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and, using a large wooden spoon, stir to completely combine.
- Fold in approximately ⅔ of the chopped chocolate.
- Divide the batter among your 5 greased muffin cups (about ¼-1/3 cup per muffin).
- Sprinkle the top with remaining chopped chocolate and coarse sugar.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F for 7 minutes.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the muffin tray until they're easy enough to handle. Remove from muffin tin and let cool on a wire rack (or eat!). Muffins will keep for 2-3 days, but are best eaten shortly after they're baked. If you keep some for the next day, just zap it in the microwave for 12-15 seconds to melt the chocolate again!
Disclosure: Special thanks to Rodelle for sponsoring this post! Find more Rodelle inspiration on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. And thanks to you for supporting the brands that keep Snixy Kitchen cooking!
Mike -
So many pseudo-cereal recipes fail to bake properly. These turned out perfect, albeit not that sweet, which I'll rectify next time.
Patricia -
I'm not very familiar with gluten free baking. I don't have sweet rice flour on hand, what is a suitable substitute?
Sarah Menanix -
Hm - the problem with finding a substitute is that sweet rice flour acts as the binding in gluten-free baking. Without it, your cakes would be very crumbly and not have the classic chew you look for in a cake. If you cannot find sweet rice flour, I would recommend replacing all three of the flours with the equivalent weight in an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. Sorry I'm not much more help here - sweet rice flour is the one flour I would not substitute in gluten-free baking (ex. for tapioca flour you can sub in corn starch, or for buckwheat flour, you can sub in millet flour).
Patricia -
I guess I’ll have to wait to make them :-( They look delicious :-) Thank you for the quick and helpful response, Sarah.
Lindsay -
These look wonderful! I am new to gluten free baking and trying to figure out the roles of various flours and starches. I know that tapioca (as in Brazilian cheese buns) and sweet rice (mochi!) can both create chewiness. Could you explain how they help in this recipe? What would happen if I replaced either with potato starch?
Sarah Menanix -
Hi Lindsay! Thank you! All of my gluten-free baking has been through trial and error. In general, here's what I've noticed: too much sweet rice flour will create a baked good that's dense and way too moist/chewy (like mochi) - I find that balancing it with some tapioca flour helps create a light and fluffy chewy texture. I find sweet rice flour adds stickiness, working as a binder that also tends to increase the chewy texture, almost leading toward gummy is used in large quantities, tapioca starch seems to work as a binder adding chewiness without the same gummy texture, leaving baked goods a little more delicate and tender.. I tend to use sweet rice flour in baked goods more often and tend to use tapioca flour in cookies, as it seems to help give that classic chew and also a little crispy edge. I haven't baked with potato starch at all actually because what I've read is that it tends to dry out baked goods, leaving them to become stale much quicker. Hope this helps!
Lindsay -
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your flour experiences. I was anxious to make these last night even though I had to improvise a bit because I didn't quite have everything. They still turned out great! I used plantain flour to replace the sweet rice, and since I can't eat eggs I used aquafaba and increased the baking powder to 1 tbsp. They sunk a little on top but the texture was great. Maybe this was due to the lack of egg, or too much leavening? Or perhaps that I couldn't find my scale and had to measure by volume. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Sarah Menanix -
Oh I'm so glad you liked them! I've never baked with plantain flour so I've got no idea how it might influence the baked good. My guess is that the sinking in the middle was from the lack of egg - gluten-free baking relies pretty heavily on the eggs for structure. But if the texture was great - a little sunken top never hurt anyone;)
Lindsay -
Darn it, I wish I could eat eggs.
(Edit: I meant 1tsp baking powder, not 1tbsp)
Farley -
You know what catches my eye? The lovely background on the items you use...I HAVE THOSE ANTIQUEY PANS and sifter...and measuring spoons!
They were my mom's and my hubbies Nana's...it all adds up to the whole flavour of the kitchen is *loving memories*...
I USE the old rolling pin for pies and cookies too...they work still the BEST!
Thank you for sharing your love!
Sarah Menanix -
Aw thank you! Some of these were my mom's and some my aunt has been collecting for me over the years. My mom has so many more pieces that were my great grandma's that she's not quite ready to part with though:)
traci | VanillaAndBean -
Lucas needs a metal - both for best husband AND training for a marathon (oh and lets not forget, carrying the cats in a full frontal baby sling - lol!!)! What a sweetheart! Agreed on that baking cocoa - deep, rich, dark = LOVE!! And that cute little mini sifter? Whaaaaa?!!!! I'm doing a faceplant into my screen, Sarah... all that chocolate - OMG and buckwheat? You and Alanna have turned me into a buckwheat lover and I KNOW it is fabulous with chocolate. OKAY - I've got a looong list today, but man, I want these muffins. I'm going to try to squeeze them into my kitchen list today! Yall have a fabulous thanksgiving! ox
Sarah Menanix -
He has one now! Hehe - he just finished his 5th marathon AND qualified for Boston while doing it.
And thank you so much! I so wish I could share these muffins with you! Come to SF and we'll get together for tea and muffins, k??
Carla -
AW, LUCAS. You're the best. Thanks for my glass of milk. Maybe next time you can hide one of these muffins for me in your pocket? :)
Sarah Menanix -
Hehe - he's a muffin hoarder ;)
Brian @ A Thought For Food -
It took me a while to get on board with buckwheat... but I think with age I've really come to love that flavor profile (same goes for rye bread, which I hated as a kid). These muffins look divine!
Alanna -
Love these muffins (and these photos!) SO much. These flavors were made for each other. Thanks to Lucas for his cocoa & sugar dedication, too!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness -
I always forget how much I love buckwheat! I really need to use it more...so these chocolatey muffins are perfect!
Marissa -
That driving around town to find the 'right' cocoa powder - I'll take that gift over diamonds any day.
Just gorgeous muffins - thank you for making them 5 more times to get the perfected recipe on paper.
Christine -
Yum! I have every single one of these ingredients right now so fingers crossed I have time before company comes this evening to bake up a batch. These look so delightful and I am obsessed with rodelle's cocoa too - it also makes unbelievably good hot chocolate. You are a lucky lady! xo
Sarah Menanix -
Aww - I hope you had a chance to try them! And loved them! :) <3
Nancy Stern -
Super delicious (:
Joyce @ Sun Diego Eats -
These look SO good!! And lol, my boyfriend is the same with following recipes, he gets super meticulous and follows them to a T (also gives him a mini heart attack when I go "off script")
Angela - Patisserie Makes Perfect -
These muffins look seriously good. I love how moist they look. These are wholegrain so obviously they're healthy right? So I can have 2 or 3?
Sarah Menanix -
Absolutely!
amanda paa -
he loves you something fierce. thanks for telling the story. it gave me a smile today.
i too, am a loyalist to rodelle's cocoa. nothing deeper, nothing richer. i haven't ever tried buckwheat and cocoa but i'm going to make these this winter. they might even stand in as cupcakes for my mom's birthday. all the love, xo.
Sarah Menanix -
Ain't that the truth - he's something special. I'll keep him.
Buckwheat + cocoa = new bff. Also what if you adding cocoa powder to buckwheat groats?!?! Omgawwwww.
Abby @ Heart of a Baker -
You have one sweet hubby there! I can't even tell you how many times I've run out of ingredients in the middle of a recipe, it's so dang frustrating. Also, Rodelle will always and forever be my favorite, so I get the love here! xo
Sarah Menanix -
He's basically the best:)
Jessica @Nourished by Nutrition -
My goodness! These look absolute divine. I'm so intrigued now to try the buckwheat and cocoa combination. This sounds like a praise-worthy breakfast or afternoon treat for when guest are over for the holidays, except I'm sure I'll have to 2x or 3x the batch or it will be such a tease. Anyways, lovely recipe!
p.s. you have a wonderful husband. I love hearing those cute stories.
Sarah Menanix -
Yes, definitely better to double or triple the recipe:) <3 Thank you!
Tori//Gringalicious.com -
Wow, great pics and such tempting muffins! Your photography just keeps getting better by the way, amazing!
Sarah Menanix -
Aw thank you so much! <3