Chocolate Chunk Muffins

• All-purpose flour: 330 grams
• Baking powder: 1 tablespoon
• Fine sea salt: 1 teaspoon

• White granulated sugar: 100 grams
• Brown sugar: 110 grams
• Unsalted butter: 113 grams (Equal to 1 American stick, or half a brick of European butter)
• Heavy cream: 300 ml (Roughly one standard full container)
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt: 60 grams (Approximately 2 teaspoons)
• Large eggs: 2 fresh eggs
• Vanilla paste: 1 tablespoon (Or 2 teaspoons of high-quality extract)
• Maple syrup: 80 ml to 100 ml (The chef's custom secret ingredient for moisture)

Chopped chocolate bars or chunks: 1 1/2 cups total

• Grab your digital kitchen scale and place your primary mixing bowl directly on top. Utilizing a scale allows you to accurately measure out all your core components into a single container.
• Remember to zero out or tare your kitchen scale each time you prepare to weigh a new addition.
• Set your kitchen oven or countertop mini oven to preheat to a steady baking temperature floor of 215°C to 218°C (425°F).

• Weigh out and add 330 grams of all-purpose flour directly into your mixing bowl.
• Add 110 grams of brown sugar along with 100 grams of regular white granulated sugar directly into the flour. Note: These are breakfast style muffins, but if you prefer to transform this recipe into chocolate cupcakes, simply double the total volume of sugar.
• Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of baking powder over the top of the flour.

• Pour 300 ml of heavy cream and 60 grams of sour cream or Greek yogurt straight into the bowl.
• Add 113 grams of your unsalted butter.
• Stream in 100 ml of maple syrup. Including the syrup ensures an incredibly moist crumb structure, though it can technically be omitted if preferred.
• Crack your 2 large eggs cleanly into the mix. Baker's Tip: If you are worried about dropping shells or hitting a rare bad egg that could ruin the entire base, crack them into a separate small cup first before dumping them in.
• Measure out and add 1 tablespoon of vanilla paste.

• Dump a cup and a half of your coarsely chopped chocolate chunks directly into the bowl.
• Intentionally reserve a modest handful of the smaller chocolate chips or shards on your cutting board to use as a top garnish later.
• Texture Note: Try to chop your chocolate bars reasonably fine; leaving the chocolate pieces excessively large will force your mechanical mixer blades to work significantly harder to push through the dough.

• Turn on your hand mixer or stand mixer onto a low speed setting.
• Mix the ingredients steadily just until everything is completely incorporated into a cohesive, thick batter. Avoid over-agitating the dough so the muffins stay perfectly light and fluffy.
• Set up your baking trays, utilizing non-stick silicone muffin pans or metal tins lined with paper cups.
• Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to cleanly transfer the thick chocolate batter, dropping even mounds into each individual muffin cavity.
• Grab your reserved pile of chocolate shards and scatter them generously over the exposed top surfaces of the raw batter mounds to create a beautiful bakery appearance.

• Slide the filled muffin trays carefully onto the center rack of your preheated oven.
• Bake at 215°C to 218°C (425°F).
• Check for absolute doneness; the muffins are perfectly cooked through when the sponge bounces back lightly and the internal structure is set.
• Chef's Error Alert: Be aware that adding large, heavy chunks of raw chocolate directly to the crown of a muffin means those top surface pieces can occasionally get a bit too dark or caramelized in a hot oven. If this happens, you can pick those dark surface flecks right off, or enjoy them as-is for a rich, toasted s'mores-like accent.
• Remove the trays from the oven and let them drop temperature slightly. Serve warm while the interior chocolate chunks are still molten, gooey, and melted.