A Tale of 3 Muffins

Which muffin is better?  For years I have been making a Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip muffin.  A favorite of my customers and kids.  Awhile back I found a recipe that had a similar flavor combination: Banana, Espresso and Chocolate in Bake from Scratch magazine.  What caught my eye, and imagination about this recipe, was how they incorporated the chocolate and espresso into the muffin.  I had never thought of doing it that way.  I wondered : Is their way really better?      

 The Contenders

So today I’m making test muffins to see which is the better muffin.  There will be 3 muffins: My Old Faithful, Bake from Scratch recipe and The Hybrid of the two.  Which muffin will prevail?

My Old Faithful muffin’s secret is the addition of whole wheat flour, ground flaxseed and wheat germ.  These ingredients give the muffin an incredible texture and flavor.  I have added these to other muffin recipes because I love the result.  I also add in the espresso powder at this stage.  It will be throughout the whole muffin.  Chocolate Chips are left in the natural state in this muffin.  Folded into the batter, just as in a cookie.

Bake from Scratch muffin uses all purpose flour, the traditional flour for muffins.  So the batter isn’t all that much of a standout. Now there real wow what is going on here part of this muffin is the espresso powder is added to the chocolate chips in a double boiler, then melts them together.  The espresso powder in with the chocolate as one.  That should really make that chocolate bold! I’m looking at this recipe and the photos and thinking, oh they just swirl this on top on the muffin before baking.  Not so fast.

To get this chocolate mixture into the muffin, is it added to part of the batter. Yes, the chocolate mixture and banana batter are combined.  Not all the banana batter, just some of it.  There is more to this story.

See, you first put in the banana batter into the muffin tin.  Place a dollop of the  chocolate banana mixture on top, then swirl it around.  by mixing the chocolate with a portion of the banana batter, it gives it the same constancy when it bakes.  If you do just the chocolate mixture, it will get hard and not bake as one.

So, can you guess what i’m going to do with The Hybrid?   You got it, use my batter (with the whole wheat mixture) and the chocolate banana batter swirl. The best of both worlds, right?  I’m getting all that flavor and texture that I love about my muffin with this chocolate made even more bold by adding the espresso powder to it.

Which one is the winner?

My Old Faithful!

When I was making these, I thought for certain that the hybrid would win.  Think about it, it has it all; or does it?  It goes back to the question I asked myself when I first looked at recipe in the magazine: Is their way really better?   As it turns out, in my opinion, it isn’t.  When the chocolate mixture is incorporated with some of the banana batter, it weakens the bold chocolate.  They did this so it would bake together seamlessly.  But when bite into it, I’m not hit with the chocolate flavor and texture the same way as when I bite into a chocolate chip.  That pure chocolate, gooey when it is still warm from the oven.  The espresso isn’t overly pronounce in either of these muffins.  In my muffin, it is another layer of flavor to the overall muffin.  And if you are looking for more espresso flavor, just add more powder.    But when it is added directly to the chocolate, then mixed with some of the banana batter, I think it is just too much. Too many flavors for it to get lost in.

Which one will you prefer?  Try them and let me know!

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

12 muffins

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana ( about 3 bananas )

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup milk

1 large egg

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1 1/2 Tbsp wheat germ

1 1/2 tsp espresso powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with non stick spray or line with muffin cups.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, on low stir together bananas, sugars, butter, milk and egg. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, flaxseed, wheat germ, espresso powder, baking soda and salt.  On low, add to the wet ingredients until just combined.  With a spoon, add in chocolate chips.

Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes.  Test with a toothpick, it should some out clean.  Let cool in muffin tin for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy as soon as cool enough to do so!