Gluten Free Vegan Double Chocolate Muffins
I love making raw sponge cakes and sometimes I love to bake too. Mostly the oven is used for storage rather than baking, but there is something about a warm double chocolate muffin straight from the oven that is so irresistible. It has a slight crust on the top that you don't get with raw cakes – plus these are a lot more portable than a raw sponge cake so you don't have to worry about it getting beaten up on its travels.
These are gluten free, vegan, decadently chocolatey and not very complicated to make. I used chopped Montezuma 73% Dark Chocolate in these but you could use any kind of chocolate you like. I don't decorate these as they are a treat enough on their own but you can use any raw plant-based icing or even raw chocolate mousse if you like your muffins super-rich and super chocolatey!
Note: I’m using grams here rather than my usual cup measurements as baking requires very precise measurements. Tablespoon measures are 15 ml and teaspoon measures are 5 ml.
Photography: Dawn Langley
Gluten Free Vegan Double Chocolate Muffins
INGREDIENTS
190g (6.7oz) gluten free self-raising flour (I use the Doves brand)
40g (1.4 oz) cocoa powder
120g (4.3 oz) light brown fine demerara sugar or coconut sugar
40 ml (2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons) sunflower or melted coconut oil
100 ml (6 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons) water
40 ml (2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons) oat or almond milk
1½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
70 g (2.5 oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 170C/ Gas 3/325F
2. Prepare your baking tin. Grease and flour a muffin tin or fill a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases.
3. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. If your sugar is coarse, grind it in a food processor or coffee grinder to make the sugar particles slightly finer.
4. In a jug, combine the water, oat/almond milk, sunflower/coconut oil, vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and beat until it forms a batter and is well combined. You could also use an electric kitchen aid mixer with the balloon whisk to take the hard work out of it.
5. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter taking care to retain as much air into the batter mixture as possible.
6. Spoon a large tablespoon of the batter into each muffin case/prepared muffin tin.
7. Place the filled tin on a baking tray and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until they are firm to the touch.
8. Transfer to a cooling rack… but don’t let them cool too much as these are delicious warm whilst the chocolate chips are still a bit gooey.
If you’re interested in learning how to make a raw chocolate cake, take a look at The Perfect Raw Christmas Plan. Learn how to make raw black forest gateau plus clementine and cinnamon hot chocolate, salted caramel bars and a whole lot more for a festive season of healthy indulgence. These recipes are delicious all year round, not just for Christmas.