Let's celebrate March Muffin Madness today! Because, well, who doesn't love a good muffin? Especially when we're talking about chocolate muffins bursting with a bright, fresh raspberry-cheesecake-like filling.
March Muffin Madness is brought to us by Driscoll's. They sent me some berry coupons so I could make one of their muffin recipes or create my own for Muffin Madness. There are all sorts of delicious-sounding muffin recipes on their website, from Mixed Berry Buttermilk Muffins to Healthy Blueberry Bran Muffins and even gluten-free muffins, but I was inspired to come up with my own berry-laden muffin.
The combination of chocolate muffins with cream cheese filling is a favorite of mine, and I thought some ripe red raspberries could really take the traditional recipe up a notch.
Now I know some of you are probably thinking these sound more like cupcakes, but I'm going with muffins because they're not frosted and they're filled with raspberries and cream cheese, making them perfect for breakfast, not to mention how great the day-old ones taste toasted and buttered (you wouldn't toast and butter a cupcake, now would you?).
For your March Muffin Madness and raspberry fix, whip up a batch of these. Be forewarned, this recipe makes a lot of muffins, so you'll want to include them in your brunch spread and share them with friends.
Let's shake off winter and welcome spring one chocolate raspberry-cheesecake muffin at a time!
Chocolate Raspberry-Cheesecake Muffins
(adapted from Baked Elements)
A fresh raspberry-cheesecake filling hides within these rich chocolate muffins.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: about 30 muffins
Ingredients
Raspberry-Cheesecake Filling
5 ounces raspberries (plus extra for garnish if desired)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Chambord
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped small (preferably Ghirardelli bars)
Chocolate Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder (preferably Medaglia d'Oro)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped small (preferably Ghirardelli bars)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup hot coffee
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons hot water
1 tablespoon Chambord
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Preparation
Raspberry-Cheesecake Filling
In a small bowl, combine the raspberries, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the Chambord. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining sugar (1/3 cup minus 1 tablespoon) and beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg and salt, beating until incorporated, about 1 minute.
Fold in the white chocolate chunks.
Mash the raspberry mixture and then strain it (or use a slotted spoon to lift the raspberries out of the juices), and fold the raspberries into the cream cheese mixture.
Refrigerate the raspberry-cheesecake filling while you make the muffin batter.
Chocolate Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray, line the muffin cups with muffin papers, and lightly spray the muffin papers.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt.
In another large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, 2 ounces of the chocolate, and the butter. Pour the coffee, hot water, and Chambord over the cocoa mixture and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk the mixture together until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Whisk in the oil, vinegar, and eggs.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop about 2 tablespoons of chocolate batter into each muffin cup (you're going for one-quarter full).
Using a small cookie scoop, scoop about 1 tablespoon of raspberry-cheesecake filling into each cup.
Top each cup with another scoop of chocolate batter (it should come just to the top of the pan).
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the muffins are well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the muffin tin halfway through baking.
Let the muffins cool in the tin on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Then remove the muffins from the tin and let them cool completely on the wire rack.
Re-line the tin with muffin cups, and lightly spray them with baking spray. Repeat filling the cups with the remaining chocolate batter and raspberry-cheesecake filling and bake and cool as directed above. (You'll probably get another tin and a half.)
Serve, garnishing with extra raspberries if desired. (The muffins may sink in the middle. If you care, just place a raspberry in the divot.) Leftover muffins are awesome split open, toasted, and buttered.
What are your favorite kinds of muffins with berries?
Driscoll's sent me coupons for berries. As always, all opinions are my own.
This post contains an Amazon affiliate link to a cookbook I love. If you follow the link to purchase the cookbook or make other purchases, I'll earn a few cents.