Do you ever get a recipe idea in your head that you just can’t shake? That’s how I felt about these chocolate chai zucchini muffins – once I dreamed up the idea, I couldn’t stop thinking about them! Chocolate and chai are delicious together and I had a feeling that they’d make an especially delicious treat when added to zucchini muffins.
Peak zucchini season is over, but it took me a few tries to perfect this recipe. Luckily, zucchini is pretty easy to find year-round.
The first time I attempted these muffins, I used chai concentrate but, unfortunately, the flavor didn’t come through. The second time the flavor was spot-on, but the muffins were too dry. The third time, I finally nailed it. The chocolate and chai flavors are nicely balanced, and the muffins are moist and cakey. I love that they’re healthy enough for breakfast, but decadent enough for dessert.
To help keep the calories in these chocolate chai zucchini muffins down, I used Zing™ Baking Blend, a combination of stevia leaf extract and cane sugar with just 5 calories per serving. It bakes and browns like sugar so you get perfectly golden cakes and cookies with fewer calories. You can easily use Zing™ Baking Blend in recipes by replacing the sugar with half as much of this sweetener, but since you use less there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, it will decrease the volume of your batter slightly (that’s why these are a little smaller than the oversized muffins I usually make.) Also, since the sweetener doesn’t add moisture to baked goods the same way sugar does, you’ll want to add an extra egg or 1/4 cup more liquid to your recipe. For these muffins, that’s as simple as not needing to squeeze the extra moisture out of the zucchini. I also found the using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil gave the muffins a better texture. You can see more tips for baking with Zing™ Baking Blend here.
Chocolate Chai Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 bags spiced chai
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Born Sweet® Zing™ Baking Blend
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 medium zucchini, shredded
- 2 Tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray it with cooking spray.
- In a small saucepan, heat the coconut milk over medium heat until it's lukewarm. Add the tea bags. Remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes. Discard the bags.
- Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a second bowl, combine the chai, coconut oil, Zing™ baking blend, and vanilla. One at a time, whisk in the eggs. Stir in the zucchini.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 of the way to the top. If desired, top each muffin with a few chocolate chips.
- Bake 22-25 minutes.
What kind of treats will you bake using Born Sweet® Zing™ Baking Blend?
Angel Jacklyn says
https://mobile.twitter.com/kytah00/status/660733668076462080
SHAWN GALLAGHER says
NOT SURE TWEET WENT THROUGH… https://twitter.com/Esham4life/status/660719539051732992
SHAWN GALLAGHER says
GOOD OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE PUDDIN’
Norma says
I’d try it in bread pudding!
LAMusing says
I’d make my butter pecan ball cookies!
Kathryn C says
#SweepstakesEntry
I would try making my favorite, Lintzer tart cookies
KC
Jerry Marquardt says
The treat that I bake most using Born Sweet Zing Baking Blend is Banana Bread.