Chocolate Muffins – the Shift Variation

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Chocolate Clementine Muffins

I was thrilled to be a guest on the CBC NB Radio 1 show Shift on 25 Jan 2024.  We talked about almond flour and how for me it was a gateway ingredient to alternative cooking.  I brought some muffins with me to the studio, including this recipe, modified from the Chocolate Zucchini Muffins I have shared before. Enjoy!

Click Here to Listen to the CBC Interview - Shift NB with Vanessa Vander Valk

Keto (5 net carbs per muffin), nut-free, sugar free, gluten free.  
When I made these in January for the CBC NB Shift team, it was not zucchini season, but it was clementine season.  So here you go:

INGREDIENTS

Dry Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup coconut flour (spoon into the cup measure – DON’T pack) (coconut is considered a fruit, not a tree nut)
  • 1/2 cup low carb sugar (I use Erythritol-Monkfruit blend from Bulk Barn)
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  • 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5 oz (142 g, 1 cup) clementines, peeled, sectioned, and each section sliced in 3.  Then smash with a potato masher

To be Melted Together

  • 4 oz (1/2 cup) coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1 ounce (30 g, 2 tablespoon) dark chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients

  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 12 dark chocolate chips (50% cacao or greater for low carb) – for topping (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and position rack to the middle of the oven. Spray standard muffin tin (12) with baking spray or use paper liners (better).
  2. Grate zucchini. To dewater zucchini, place into a colander, and sprinkle with the 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix thoroughly and let sit (the salt draws the water out of the zucchini).
  3. Measure the dry ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk together, breaking up any lumps.
  4. Melt the butter and unsweetened baking chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl starting with the eggs. Add the eggs and mix until incorporated. Add the chocolate and butter and mix until incorporated. With clean hands, squeeze the water out of the zucchini and add it to the bowl. Mix thoroughly (I use a mixer).
  6. Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, mounding slightly in the middle. The batter will be thick. Top with the chocolate chips (3 per muffin).
  7. Bake for 21-25 minutes depending on your oven. Don’t over bake. Let cool in the pan 3 minutes before removing.

Secret option:  If you don’t have zucchini you can substitute any mashed fruit.  Make it first with zucchini so you can see the consistency of the grated, de-watered zucchini.  Then next time, smash up the same weight of strawberries, blueberries, whatever-you-like berries, and add water if necessary to get the same consistency.  I’ve tried with both strawberries and blueberries and they work just fine.