There’s something so lovely about a batch of freshly baked muffins cooling on the kitchen bench. Especially when they have beautiful golden tops, juicy blueberries and generous pieces of dark chocolate tucked inside.
These blueberry muffins with dark chocolate are my latest muffin love. They’re buttery, beautifully soft and bursting with blueberries, with lovely chunks of dark chocolate in every bite. There’s a little lemon zest for freshness, thick Greek yoghurt for a tender crumb and a golden oat crumble that makes them even more delicious.
I’ve always had a soft spot for a really good muffin. My raspberry and white chocolate muffins, which appeared in my first cookbook, Relish Mama – Recipes from a Shared Table and the Relish Mama Kitchen, have been loved and baked by so many of you over the years. They remain a favourite of mine, but I think these delicious blueberry muffins with dark chocolate are certainly giving them a little healthy competition.
They’re a wonderful thing to bake for friends, to pop into lunchboxes, or simply to have something lovely waiting in the kitchen for afternoon tea.
For me, a really good muffin should be beautifully soft inside, generously filled and have a lovely golden top. It shouldn’t be dry or overly sweet, and you certainly shouldn’t have to go searching for the blueberries or chocolate!
There are a few things I particularly love about this recipe.
The dark chocolate: I use a good-quality dark chocolate with around 70% cocoa. It gives a lovely depth of flavour and balances the sweetness of the berries. Rather than using chocolate chips, I roughly chop the chocolate so you get a mixture of little flecks and larger pieces throughout.
The blueberries: There’s a generous 250 g in the recipe, which means plenty of lovely, juicy blueberries in every muffin. I also like to reserve a few to press into the tops before baking.
The Greek yoghurt: This is one of my favourite ingredients for baking. Thick, full-fat Greek yoghurt helps give these muffins a beautifully moist, tender crumb, with a little tang to balance the sweetness.
The lemon zest: Just enough to brighten everything. The lemon doesn’t take over, but it works beautifully alongside the blueberries and chocolate.
The buttery oat crumble: And this might just be my favourite little addition. Made with rolled oats, butter, flour and brown sugar, it bakes into a golden, slightly crunchy topping. Such a lovely contrast to the soft muffin beneath.
Blueberries and dark chocolate are a wonderful combination. As the muffins bake, the berries become soft and juicy, while the chocolate creates little pockets of rich, melted goodness.
I particularly love using Lindt Excellence 70% dark chocolate in this recipe. It’s a chocolate I enjoy eating, which is always a good place to start when choosing chocolate for baking.
I prefer dark chocolate here rather than milk chocolate because it brings richness without making the muffins too sweet. That slight bitterness alongside the juicy blueberries is just lovely.
Of course, you can use another good-quality dark chocolate if you prefer. Choose one you love the taste of, because it really does make a difference.
Muffins are wonderfully simple to make, but a few little things will help you get the best result.
Don’t overmix the batter. This is probably the most important tip I can share. Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, fold them together gently. A few lumps are perfectly fine. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour and leave you with a tougher muffin.
Use thick, full-fat Greek yoghurt. It gives these muffins a lovely richness and tenderness. I wouldn’t swap it for a thin, runny yoghurt.
Fresh or frozen blueberries both work. If using frozen berries, don’t thaw them first. Fold them straight into the batter from the freezer. Fresh blueberries are particularly lovely for decorating the tops.
Fill the muffin cases generously. I love a muffin with a beautiful, generous top. Tulip-style paper cases are wonderful for this, although regular muffin cases will work too.
Start with a hot oven. These muffins begin baking at a higher temperature for the first five minutes before the heat is reduced. This helps encourage a lovely rise.
Keep an eye on the baking time. You want golden tops and a beautifully tender centre. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out without wet batter, although you might find a little melted chocolate on it.
And finally, don’t skip the oat crumble. I know it’s one more little step, but it takes only a few minutes and really makes these muffins something special.
Absolutely. One of the lovely things about muffins is having a batch ready to enjoy over the coming days.
Once completely cool, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two, or refrigerate them if your kitchen is particularly warm.
They also freeze beautifully. Wrap them individually or place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to three months.
To enjoy, thaw at room temperature and, if you like, warm gently in the oven. A few minutes of heat will help freshen the muffins and bring a little crunch back to that delicious oat topping.
I particularly love them slightly warm, when the chocolate is still a little soft.
If you’ve been cooking with me for a while, you might remember the raspberry and white chocolate muffins from my first Relish Mama cookbook. They’ve been a much-loved recipe for years, and it makes me happy knowing how many kitchens they’ve found their way into.
You might also enjoy my raspberry, coconut and chocolate muffins, another lovely recipe to have up your sleeve when you feel like baking.
But for now, I really hope you’ll give these blueberry, dark chocolate and lemon muffins a try.
Make a batch, pop the kettle on and enjoy one while it’s still a little warm. That combination of soft, buttery muffin, juicy blueberries, dark chocolate and golden oat crumble is pretty hard to resist.
And if you make them, please let me know how you go. Hearing that you’ve enjoyed one of my recipes, or made it to share with people you love, is always such a joy.
Happy baking,
Nellie x
Since 2009, I’ve been bringing people together around real food, recipes made to cook, share, and enjoy.
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