I made an Easter dessert and had some leftover cream, so I thought of cocoa muffins with custard to offer you a new recipe! A simple preparation that allows us to enjoy a breakfast or snack dessert without much effort and, above all, allows us to make the best use of homemade cream left over from other recipes. In this case, you will need about 200 grams of already cold custard to create the soft and creamy heart of these cocoa muffins.
They are very reminiscent of the cocoa and custard Nua cake that I made several years ago and which you can find here on the blog if you are curious. I really love that color contrast between the bitter cocoa and the cream, so I wanted to recreate that play and flavor by making these delicious soft and creamy muffins.
In the ingredient list, you will find the quantities to prepare 500 grams of Grandma Licia’s custard. You can then store it in the fridge to eat it by the spoon, which is what I love to do most when I make the cream, or use it for other recipes, for example: puff pastry eggs with cream and sour cherries, Nua cake with cream in the classic or cocoa version. In short, there’s a dessert for everyone’s taste!
Below you will find links to some muffins you can prepare following my recipes. Each link will take you to the recipe you have chosen. There is also the Sweet and Savory Muffins Collection, where you will find them divided by ingredients! I remind you that I am waiting for you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day, an unmissable appointment to start the day together with a sweet or savory treat!
You can also find the video recipe of the cocoa and cream muffins below the first photograph. I invite you to watch it to understand all the steps of this preparation!
On the blog, you will also find the collection of sweet recipes with homemade custard, all the desserts I have made using this ingredient as the protagonist!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 12 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 238.97 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 34.65 (g) of which sugars 14.97 (g)
- Proteins 6.45 (g)
- Fat 9.90 (g) of which saturated 2.90 (g)of which unsaturated 6.79 (g)
- Fibers 3.77 (g)
- Sodium 58.74 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 65 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 12 Cocoa Muffins with Cream
- 1 2/3 cups flour (for soft cakes)
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 cup milk (at room temperature)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 packet baking powder
- 2 cups whole milk (at room temperature)
- 1/2 cup flour (previously sifted)
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 vial vanilla (or seeds from one pod)
Tools to Prepare Cocoa Muffins with Cream
- 1 Stovetop
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Muffin Tin
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spatula
- 12 Cupcake Liners
- 1 Oven
- 1 Scale
- 1 Sifter
- 1 Cooling Rack
Steps for Cocoa Muffins Recipe with Creamy Custard Core
Start by preparing the homemade custard by taking a saucepan with high sides. Break the two eggs into it and mix them with the electric mixer along with the sugar to get a frothy cream. Then add the flour previously sifted and the vanilla vial.
Now place the saucepan on the stovetop on low heat and pour in the whole milk at room temperature in a thin stream. Stir the cream with a whisk until it thickens. It will take about 5 minutes to thicken well. Always be careful not to form lumps. The cream should be smooth, light, and soft. Turn off the heat and stir for several more minutes to prevent it from setting.
Let it cool at room temperature for at least an hour. Then you can cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until you use it for the cocoa muffins.
With the homemade custard ready and cooled, we can proceed with preparing the cocoa muffin batter. Gather all the necessary ingredients and the tools to make this recipe, placing everything on a work surface. Weigh the flours and sift them, measure the liquids and preheat the oven to 356 degrees Fahrenheit with the static mode, so it will be hot when baking the muffins.
Take a large bowl and pour in the sugar. Break the two eggs at room temperature, add a pinch of salt, and work using an electric beater. We need to get a nice thick foam. Then add the milk, always at room temperature, and the cocoa powder, possibly unsweetened, continuing to work with the whisks or mixer.
Also add the vegetable oil without turning off the whisks. This will prevent the cocoa from forming lumps during this first phase of batter preparation. Now it’s the turn of the flours: also add the packet of baking powder and pour a tablespoon at a time to incorporate them well with the liquids in the bowl. I sifted directly over the bowl, as you will have seen from the video recipe. I find it more convenient that way. Then restart the whisk, if you did as I did, and mix the batter.
Now take the 12 muffin tin, arrange the cupcake liners and pour the batter into the molds, filling them about 3/4 full. Do not overdo it; otherwise, you won’t have room to add the custard. Take the cream from the fridge and place a spoonful on top of each muffin, pressing down slightly. This will help it sink towards the center.
Bake and let cook for about 25-30 minutes in the middle of the oven. Always do the toothpick test before removing the cocoa and cream muffins from the oven. Then take out the muffins and place them on a cooling rack to let them cool for at least an hour before serving them at the table. This time is crucial to set the hot cream inside: it will remain beautifully creamy.
You can then dust them with powdered sugar or serve them as is, without any other added ingredients. I just have to wish you a good appetite and remind you that I’m waiting for you here on the blog every day with many easy, quick, and delicious recipes like this one!
Tips and Variations for Cocoa and Cream Muffins
I recommend preparing the custard the night before making the cocoa muffin batter. This will ensure it is completely cold. I recommend always sifting the flours to avoid annoying lumps during preparation. If you do not want to use the custard, you can add some Nutella or a cocoa cream of your choice. If you want to replace the vegetable oil with butter, let it melt in a double boiler (about 60 grams) before using it in the muffin preparation.
