Sour Cream Double Chocolate Muffins
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for details.
Rich and moist Sour Cream Double Chocolate Muffins are made with an intense chocolate batter and studded with chocolate chips inside and out. They make a delicious breakfast or as a snack!
Calling all the chocolate lovers! I think you’ll go crazy for these extra-rich Sour Cream Double Chocolate Muffins! These muffins are so moist, light, and packed full of melted chocolate chips in every bite. They have everything you’d want in chocolate muffins. Once you make these, you will never look at another chocolate muffin recipe again!
This muffin recipe is so easy and literally takes a few minutes to whip up. They keep well for days and it can be your next easy breakfast or snack idea. I mean who can resist chocolate for breakfast?
My Secret Ingredients for Moist Chocolate Muffins
- Vegetable oil. To attain moist muffins, we are going to use oil instead of butter here. Vegetable oil contributes moistness far more reliably, a result of the fact that oil remains liquid at room temperature while butter solidifies. Liquid contributes to the sensation of moistness, and therefore cakes made with oil tend to be moister.
- Sour cream. We also use sour cream in the batter. Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products. The extra fat content of sour cream will make baked goods moister and richer than if you use only milk. In addition, the acid in sour cream tenderizes gluten, helping to create baked goods that are light and fluffy. You can swap for an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt.
- Melty chocolate chips. Look at the generous amount of chocolate chips inside and out. I really love dark chocolate chips in these muffins. They ensure there’s extra chocolate in each bite with the best melty experience. For the ultimate chocolate muffin experience unlike any others, make sure to use really good chocolate. And if you are not a fan of chocolate chips, feel free to substitute them with the chopped chocolate bar of your choice.
How to Get Domed Muffins
Everyone knows that the best part of the muffin is the top, right? How many of you have bought a muffin at a bakery and just were in awe of high they rose without really spilling over? Bakery muffins have gently mounded tops, extending beyond the boundaries of their liners. This is why it’s doubly disappointing when a batch of muffins emerges with barely-peaked little domes. So, how can we make tall, round bakery-style muffins at home?
The secret is to give your muffins a boost of extra hot heat when they first go in the oven to help the outside of the muffins to set quickly while the inside of the muffins continues to rise, resulting in the muffin top/domed look. By starting them off at such a high temperature at the initial high heat of 425°F/220°C also causes the batter to create a burst of steam that lifts the batter rapidly during the first few minutes of baking. Then, to prevent the muffins from browning too fast, then you need to reduce the oven temperature to 350°F/180°C.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Don’t overmix. Overmixing will result in tough, dense, dry muffins that don’t rise above their muffin liners. Since we are already topping these muffins off with some fairly heavy chocolate chips, we don’t want to do anything to the batter to keep it from rising. Make sure not to use an electric mixer for this recipe or you have a high chance of overmixing the batter. Just use a whisk or spatula to mix everything until just well combined.
- Don’t overbake. Muffins don’t take long to bake. Don’t overbake them to prevent them from drying out.
- Cool down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them sit in their pan for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack. However, remove them after five minutes otherwise you risk them going soggy as they cool in the pan.
More Chocolate Desserts
While you are here, check out also these chocolate dessert recipes.
- Dairy-Free Chocolate Banana Bread
- Double Chocolate Butter Cookies
- Oat Flour Double Chocolate Cookies
- Baileys Chocolate Mousse
- Zebra-Striped Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200 gr) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup (160 gr) sour cream
- 2 cups (240 gr) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (50 gr) cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups (340 gr) dark chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F/220°C. Line the muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, mix all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, granulated sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and sour cream until well combined.
- Sift in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until well incorporated. Fold in 1 1/2 cups (255 gr) of chocolate chips into the batter.
- Spoon the batter evenly into each cup or liner, filling each all the way to the top. Distribute the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the muffin tops, pressing them gently into the batter.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425F/220°C. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350F/180°C. Bake for an additional 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pans, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
I didn’t have a whole milk, so I replaced it with whipping cream. I also mixed different kind of chocolate. They came out delicious!! Thank you!
Made this recipe today, my husband loves chocolate chip muffins and I am gluten free, I used gluten free flour and it worked wonderfully. They are delicious thanks for sharing!
Carolyn
Can I make this in a 9×13? If so what time and temp?
Hi Sarah,
I have never tried making this recipe in a loaf pan. I do recommend you look for a loaf cake recipe if you intend to use the loaf pan.
I baked 350 for 22 minutes. Perfectly cooked. Moist and chocolaty! Used regular muffin tins and had batter left over but it can’t be helped. Very good recipe!
Have you ever made these in a jumbo muffin pan?
No, I haven’t.
Can these chocolate muffins be made in mini muffins pans? If so what temp and time?
Hi Shirley,
Yes, you can make this recipe into mini muffins but I am not sure what temperature and time you need since I have never tested it myself. Maybe try baking the mini muffins at 350F/180C for 10-13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
My daughter asked for double chocolate muffins for breakfast again this week. I found this recipe because I wasn’t happy with the last one. This will be my go to recipe for my daughter from now on. They came out amazing. Moist and fluffy. Absolutely delicious!! Thank you!
Has anyone tried this with mini muffin pans?
These muffins are so tasty and chocolate driven. I use very good chocolate to make and they turned out perfect! Thank you for a wonderful recipe! Will be making again!
These are light and delicious. I only used 1 cup of chocolate chips and it was just right for us. Thank you for the recipe
The best chocolate muffins I have ever made
Came back to comment how perfect these were! I made them at high altitude in a dry climate and they still turned out great. Not too sweet (then I added buttercream frosting). This will be my go to recipe.
Hello! I’m hoping to make these muffins next week. May I know if the recipe calls for natural or Dutch process cocoa powder?
Hi Tiff,
You can use both. I personally prefer the Dutch processed cocoa powder for its intense chocolate flavor.
Got this! Thanks so much for the reply☺️
I have nade lots of chocolate chip muffins BUT I have say those were the best I have ever made. Will make them many more times th
Getting ready to make these tomorrow.. have you baked these in the jumbo muffin pans.. if so what is temperature & baking time..?
No, I haven’t. The temperature should be the same, but you need to bake them a little bit longer in the oven. Try doing a toothpick test to make sure they are fully cooked.
I made these today and they are amazing and oh so gooey! Thank you!
At 79 years young, coming from a family of great cooks, restaurateurs, and foodies, I’ve been cooking since I was eight years old (1953). Cooking is one of my great passions. I’ve made countless muffin recipes and yours stands with the best f the best. Lowering the oven five degrees to get a proper “muffin top” is brilliant advice. The muffins are moist (I used coconut oil), and delicious. This will forever be my go-to chocolate muffin recipe. Namaste
These were amazing exactly as written. So easy to mix up, thank you for including gram measurements for many of the dry ingredients as it made them even faster to make! They baked up beautifully.
I don’t usually look for people who leave comments with all the changes they make, but I was trying to get some protein into my 6 yo who just had hip surgery and he loves this muffin recipe. I threw in about four small ripe bananas I needed to use up and backed off the oil by about half, and also a scoop of protein powder and they worked great!
Hi Megan, thank you so much for sharing. Wishing your son a speedy recovery!
Made these with my 4 year old grandson he had so much fun ! They came out perfect!
The recipe made a dozen. They came out nice and high and tasted like a bakery muffin
I am so glad to hear that. Thank you so much Lois for the feedback.
Made these and they’re very good. I used a thermometer to temp mine so they wouldn’t over bake. Adding this to my recipe book!
Hello! I really want to make these; however, I cannot find where it says how many muffins this recipe makes. I’d like to make them for a lot of coworkers (at least 24) could you advise approximately how much this recipe makes? I just want to know if I should double it!
The yield is on the very top left of the recipe card. The recipe makes 14 muffins but some readers told me that it makes 12 muffins.
Could I substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Yes, you can use Green yogurt to substitute the sour cream.
We loved these chocolatey, not-to-sweet muffins. Raised beautifully!
Will bake again.
Love these so dang much! I wanted to say that I froze mine. I wrapped them individually with saran wrap and pooped them in the freezer. They were great frozen, dethawed on the counter or heated in the oven for a few minutes until warm. Thanks for this recipe!
Hi Lauren,
You’re welcome! Thank you for the feedback XD and enjoy the muffins.
What% of milk do you suggest. 1% 2% or homogenized
Hi Brenda, use whole milk which has higher fat content.
Thank you
I made muffins today, just as the recipe was written and they came out so delicious. My children loved them and begged for me to make another batch. They were very moist! They looked exactly like the picture provided.
I found this recipe this morning. I added one stick of instant Folgers to enhance the chocolate flavor. I also used cake flour instead of all purpose. The muffins were amazing! My kids loved them!
Made these this afternoon. I made ours Gluten Free as my son has Celiac. Had an extra orange around so I added fresh Orange zest and a quick orange squeeze from the Zested Orange. Ultimately I cooked mine for and extra 5 minutes…. But they were prefect. I saved the recipe to use again. Thank u so very much.
These are amazing. I used a mix of white and milk chocolate on the top, for visual interest. I’ve made these twice now (once following the recipe exactly, once with the milk chocolate variation) and both times they came out more like cupcakes than muffins. Love them, but they’re not really muffins. I mean, I think of muffins you might toast and put a pat of butter on (like blueberry muffins, corn muffins or other chocolate chip muffins I’ve had). These (at least the way I’ve made them) are more like amazing cupcakes. Am I doing this wrong? Do yours come out dense and bread-like (which is what I think of as a muffin), and not cake-like (which is how my cupcake “muffins” have turned out)? Don’t get me wrong, whatever the name, I love them. I just want to know if I’m making the recipe right, or if I’m making something else entirely. Thanks!
Hi Serena,
I am personally not a fan of dense muffins (they are usually too dry for me). That is why my very first intention of making this recipe was to have moist, not too dense muffins, unlike most muffins are. It ultimately comes down to personal differences when choosing between the two.
Made these muffins yesterday, they looked exactly the same as the photo. Must say they are delicious, think they were a little dry though. I followed the recipe exactly. Will make again any suggestions.
Same here, just a little dry. Thinking maybe baked too long? I’ll try less time next time myself and see.
Hi I just made the muffins! I realized when I was baking them that even though the timer was almost done, the middle still looked uncooked when I would poke it with a toothpick. I realized that because of the chocolate chips melting inside of the muffin it can appear as if the middle isn’t cooked when it is. I would follow the directions of the timing and after that just take them out and let them cool in the pan for a few minutes after they come out of the oven! Mine were very moist and delicious.
Thanks for the review Saige.
The silver bullet against dryness when baking anything for me has always been taking them out of the oven a touch before they seem ready. My toothpick came out just clean (if one or two crumbs stick that’s fine too), but the muffins felt almost like soft jello. After resting they were just perfect.
Thanks for the feedback 🙂 Enjoy the muffins
These muffins came out perfect! They are so moist and chocolatey. Everyone loved them. I will definitely be making them again! Thank you for this recipe,
Could you use espresso powder in addition to cocoa? Also can you use buttermilk
Hi Maddy,
Yes, you can add a little bit of espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor. I have never tried this recipe with buttermilk before, so I can’t answer that. But I think the buttermilk will make the batter thinner, so I would recommend Greek Yogurt to substitute the sour cream.
Delish! Substituted pain yogurt for milk (I was out), coconut and butter 50/50 for vegetable oil, duck eggs and used fresh milled flour and about half the chocolate chips *chef’s kiss*
I made muffins yesterday, not yours and they stuck to the pan was this because I didn’t bake them five minutes at high-speed temp for 5 minutes? Also what size pans did you use
I’m not sure. I recommend trying again because they’re truly delicious and worth a second attempt
Why do you bother to leave a review when you didn’t actually make this recipe?
Recipes are a great base for creativity, especially when we need to be adaptable to what ingredients we have on hand or when a person has allergies or when we simply want to elevate the dish to the next level. I recommend being open-minded and creative when it comes to baking.
Just made these and WOW, are they ever GOOD!! Made them gluten free with CUP4CUP brand gf flour. Turned out perfect!! Moist crumb. Only put in 3/4 cup chocolate chips, for less calories and expense, and there was still lots in the 12 muffins they made.
These muffins are great and we do love them, however they are a little dry. Any tips for this?
Thanks!
I had the same problem at first, just add a little more sour creme and put a baking dish with water on the bottom of your oven for moisture!! helped a lot
Hi. Making these this morning for my fiancé. It’s her birthday and she just love’s chocolate muffins! I was wondering though, will this recipe work if I substitute brown sugar and Truvia mixed for the granulated sugar?
Hi Rachel. Sorry for the late reply. I have never tried substituting the granulated sugar with brown sugar and Truvia for this recipe, so I can’t say if this works or not.
Hello! May I ask where you got your muffin baking cups? They look like ramekins and I think they would be so useful for a lot of my baking needs. Thank you!
I got the muffin tins from my mother. But you can also find the aluminum tin (click the link to see) online on amazon.
Hi, did you use standard cupcake liners, tall, or jumbo ones?
Thank you!
Hi, I used standard-sized cupcake liners.
My family went crazy for these muffins! Baked at 350° and the muffin tops were perfect. Definitely a family favorite ❤️
100% successful recipe.. thank you for the recipe and the dome tip 😍.. the whole family approved
You’re welcome. Enjoy the muffins 🙂
I made these tonight and one of the kids said it was the best muffin he’s ever had. (It might be the first chocolate muffin he’s ever had. Once the oven was on 350 I took them out after 15 minutes and didn’t get them the extra 2 and I think they were perfectly done.
They looked perfect with their lovely domed tops. Unfortunately, they were quite dry inside. I’m not sure if this had to do with the initial high heat or that I may have to adjust the time/temp for my oven. Also, I think that 1/2 a teaspoon of salt is too much and kind of overwhelms the overall flavor. Having said all of this, however, I will definitely make these adjustments and try making them again. Thank you for creating this recipe!
Can I sub butter for the oil?
Yes, you can substitute the oil with melted butter. Keep in mind that muffins with melted butter will taste richer, but drier in texture.
Can this be made with gluten free flour?
Hi Donna,
I never had this recipe made with gluten-free flour before. But I think you should be able to substitute all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour with the addition of xanthan gum to replace the gluten. Xanthan gum acts as a binder and provides structure to the baked goods. Some flour already contain xanthan gum or another binder and some do not. You can look on the package ingredient list and see if any binders are listed.
Perfect texture and taste
In an electric oven, I’ve found the initial temp increase gives the muffins a tough exterior. I tried leaving the 350 temp for the entire 15 minutes and the muffins came out moist and perfectly topped!
Hi Hannah, thank you for the feedback.
How many muffins does this make?
Hi Carm. The recipe makes about 12-14 muffins.
Hi! This recipe looks great! Question though…Do you use natural cocoa or Dutch cocoa powder? TIA
Hi Mary, I used Dutch-process cocoa powder because it gives the muffins a rich, dark chocolate flavor. You can also use natural cocoa powder for the recipe. Most of the flavor comes from the cocoa powder, so choose a good one!
Hi, how long would they bake in a jumbo muffin tin?
Hi Iris, you can try baking them 3-5 minutes longer than the recipe instructions. Insert a toothpick into the middle of the muffins and when it comes out clean, you know that they are cooked. If not, put them back in the oven to bake again for several minutes and do the toothpick test again.
I tried this recipe yesterday using flax egg (2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed + 1/4 cup water) instead of the eggs in the recipe and also added 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and the muffins turned out very good. Thank you for sharing such a simple yet delicious muffin recipe.
Thank you for sharing your vegan recipe! ☺️
These muffins are amazing. I no longer have to buy those wretched huge ones from Costco. Making them on a weekly basis at this point.
Super rich, fluffy, and full of chocolate. They are what I expect from a good chocolate muffins.