Chocolate Muffins (Air Fryer or Oven)

While the entire world has been glued to the Paris 2024 Olympics, I was fascinated by the hype generated by the Olympic village chocolate muffins 😉

Are you surprised? I think baking would be the only Olympic sport I would be any good at, other than eating that is. I am pretty skilled at that too!

All this to say I was determined to recreate these famed Chocolate Muffins at home and I am glad to report they are true gold medal winners!

Chocolate muffins are super quick and easy to make – not as complicated as cakes, nor as time consuming as most baking recipes, but perfectly able to satisfy your chocolate cravings.

Chocolate Muffin Ingredients

These are triple chocolate muffins – packed with cocoa powder as well as milk and dark chocolate chips. They are gooey, fudgy and packed with chocolate in every bite! Here’s what you will need to make them.

• Flour: plain / all purpose flour.
• Baking powder to give our muffins a lift! Make sure this is fresh, especially if you don’t bake very often.
• Light brown sugar or you can use a mix of brown and granulated sugar.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – a good quality dark cocoa powder will make a big difference to the overall taste so get the best you can.
• Sour cream keeps the muffins moist and delicious – you can replace with yogurt if you like.
• Eggs: please use large eggs if you are in the US – medium eggs should be used in the UK.
• Vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter
• Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks – I used a mix of milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

How to Make Chocolate Muffins

↓ For the full ingredients and detailed method, jump to the recipe card.

Add the sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla into a measuring jug or mixing bowl and stir well to combine.

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder in a mixing bowl, stirring well so that the dry ingredients are well combined.

Add the dry to the wet ingredients and mix together to combine. Avoid over mixing the batter – just stir until there are no dry streaks of flour. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter, reserving some to top the muffins with.

Divide the batter between 10 large tulip muffin cases or up to 12 standard muffins cases. If you are baking in an air fryer you might want to double or triple the cases so that they are sturdier. Top each muffin with a few chocolate chips.

To Air Fry

Preheat the air fryer to 170°C (340°F). Place the muffin cases in the air fryer basket, spaced slightly apart. Bake for 24 minutes, or until the muffins are well risen and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the toothpick comes out with wet batter or lots of moist crumbs you will need to bake for a little longer.

To Oven Bake

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Place the cases into a muffin tray and bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool slightly before serving.

Recipe Notes and Tips

• Store the cooled muffins in a cake container at room temperature for up to three days. They taste best when served slightly warm, so that the chocolate chips melt slightly. You can reheat them in the microwave, oven of the air fryer.
• You can also freeze the muffins for up to three months. Wait for them to cool down first then wrap in cling film and place in ziplock bags. Thaw overnight in the fridge or on place on the kitchen counter for a few hours.
• Drop a small chocolate truffle into each muffin prior to baking to make the muffins EXTRA CHOCOLATEY. Just don’t bite into one straight out of the oven or you will burn your mouth!
• You can bake these muffins in silicone cases if you prefer. I particularly like these when baking in the air fryer. Mist them with a little cake release prior to adding the batter.

HAVE YOU MADE MY CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFIN RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #Nusde and make my day!