Chocolate Cherry Muffins

Chocolate Cherry Muffins! Sweet, soft, moist and buttery and packed with fresh cherries and chocolate chips. Flavored with vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom and topped with a crunchy brown sugar-cinnamon crumble. On top of all that, they’re super easy to make! So delicious warm, right out of the oven and just as good for breakfast the next day.

BAKING WITH FRESH FRUIT

One of my favorite things to eat has always been fresh fruit! As you may have guessed, having a baking blog means I love all things sweet. Fruit is one of my little strategies for not eating cookies all the time! It’s healthy and sweet and I love all types of it!

Living in Canada means that summer is the best time for fruit. It tastes so much better fresh and in season that I almost hate to bake with it. We had some just-picked strawberries last week and they were literally melt in your mouth sweet and delicious. The good news is that fresh fruit makes desserts taste so much better and there’s enough fruit to enjoy fresh and baked!

DESSERTS WITH FRESH FRUIT

Last week I made a Mixed Berry Galette that was as pretty as it was delicious. I also made the creamiest No Churn Mixed Berry Mascarpone Ice Cream. Another favorite fruity treat I’ve whipped up this summer are these creamy Mango Raspberry Popsicles!

One fruit I hadn’t baked much with for some reason was cherries! Maybe it’s because whenever we have a bag in our house, my husband and I devour them! Whatever the reason, I’m so glad I decided to turn them into these moist, buttery cherry muffins!

WHAT MAKES THIS MUFFIN RECIPE SO DELICIOUS?

These muffins were inspired by my Lemon Blueberry Muffins. They have the same fluffy, moist texture but are flavored with cinnamon and cardamom instead of lemon and the blueberries were replaced with cherries and chocolate chips. Both recipes are so, so delicious and both belong on my board called “Breakfast or Dessert?!” on Pinterest! 🙂

I kept a lot of the original ingredients the same since it makes muffins that are moist and puffy! Sometimes you find muffins that puff up but are kind of dry. Then there are the opposite, muffins that are super moist but not all that tall. These muffins are both tall and super moist!

A BASIC MUFFIN RECIPE WITH VARIATIONS

Cherries and chocolate= a match made in heaven. The texture and sweetness…..amazing! Seriously, I have loved this combo since the moment I tried Cherry Garcia Ice Cream. It just works!

In addition to loving that chocolate-cherry combo, you’ll also love the cinnamon-cardamom flavors together. Two of my favorite spices on their own and so delicious together!

WHAT MAKES A GOOD MUFFIN

One thing I should mention is to not over mix your batter especially when combining the wet and dry ingredients. I like to use a rubber spatula for this is to just fold them together rather than stirring it with a lot of elbow grease. Avoiding over mixing will give us that nice, tender muffin we’re looking for.

SUBSTITUTION OPTIONS

Writing this recipe during social distancing days, I want to offer some substitutes and variations so that you wouldn’t need to make a trip to the store for something. I’ve made several variations of these muffins and each batch was delicious! Below are some options. Feel free to use what you have/like:

• SUGAR: Use white or light or brown sugar or a combination.
• CHOCOLATE: Semi sweet or dark. I used chocolate chips, but chocolate chunks or a chocolate bar roughly chopped also works.
• CINNAMON AND CARDAMOM: I highly recommend using both spices! They add warmth and such a nice flavor. If you do not have cardamom, it can be replaced with more cinnamon.
• BUTTERMILK: Buttermilk adds a delicious, slightly tangy flavor, and a moist, tender texture to muffins. No need to make a trip to the store for buttermilk! Just substitute the buttermilk for the same amount of plain, full fat yogurt or whole milk and the muffins will still turn out great!
• BUTTER: I prefer unsalted but salted can be used.
• MUFFIN LINERS: If you’re like me and are out of paper cupcake liners, just grease the muffin tin really well.

FILLING THE MUFFIN TINS

Fill the muffin cups to the tops. I use an ice cream scoop to do this because it results in even muffins and it makes scooping the batter a little less messy.

Once the batter is evenly distributed in the muffin liners, take the crumble out of the fridge and evenly and top each cupcake. I like to sprinkle coarse sugar on top of the crumble. It’s not necessary but it adds a little extra crunch, sparkle and sweetness. Coarse sugar also gives these muffins a more bakery-style look to them too!

HOW TO MAKE CRUMBLE FROM SCRATCH

Who doesn’t love a delicious muffin top especially one with a sweet, buttery crumble topping! This crumble adds both a light crunch and sweet cinnamon flavor. You’ll also love how delicious and easy it is!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING

• Flour
• Light Brown Sugar
• Melted Butter
• Cinnamon

HOW TO MAKE THE CRUMBLE

Use a spoon or your hands to mix the ingredients together. I like to leave some bits smaller and some a little chunkier. Mix the topping up first and put it in the fridge while you make the batter.

TESTING FOR DONENESS

There are a couple good ways to DO this. One way is to stick a toothpick into the center of one. If it comes out clean (i.e. without any wet crumbs), then they’re done. Another way to check is to press a muffin lightly with your finger. If it springs back, they’re done.

As a huge fan of fresh fruit, I can assure you, these Chocolate Cherry Muffins are totally worth setting some fresh cherries aside to make them!Make these chocolate cherry muffins for dessert tonight and enjoy them again for breakfast tomorrow. They are delicious warm with butter slathered over them and are just as good at room temperature!

Print