Chocolate Fudge Spiderweb Muffins

These chocolate fudge muffins are soft, fluffy and super moist, with extra chocolatey flavour. Chocolate spiderweb decorations make them a perfect sweet treat for the Halloween for kids and grown-ups alike!

Using a mild-flavoured oil instead of butter in this recipe makes these chocolate fudge muffins stay moist for days, and addition of buttermilk creates the softest and most tender crumb that almost melts in your mouth!

If you enjoy big, fluffy, bakery-style muffins and chocolate flavour, then these chocolate fudge spiderweb muffins are for you! With their classic 'muffin tops' and simple, but effective spiderweb decoration, these are perfect for the spooky season and beyond.

My chocolate fudge muffins have incredibly soft and tender texture, thanks to my not-so-secret ingredient. Just like my Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins and my Banana and Blueberry Muffins, they are made with buttermilk. This, and the addition of oil and soured cream makes them stand out from the crowd, and allows the muffins to stay soft for days.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions and variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Frequently asked questions
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

Chocolate fudge muffins are made with the following ingredients:

• Flour - I'm using the self-raising flour here, which already has raising agents added to it. Check out the substitutions notes below in this post for the alternatives to self-raising flour.
• Sugar - Golden caster sugar is great in this recipe, as it adds a very subtle caramel flavours.
• Baking soda - Only ½ teaspoon of baking soda to produce more rise in the muffins.
• Buttermilk - My secret weapon for all of my muffin recipes! Buttermilk, just like yoghurt or sour cream helps to tenderize gluten, giving these muffins a softer texture and more body.
• Soured cream - Same as above, but also for an extra tang and even more tender bite.
• Cocoa powder - Try to use a good quality, unsweetened cocoa powder. It really makes a big difference to the taste and to the appearance of this bake!
• Chocolate - In this recipe, we are using chocolate chips (dark or milk), as well as dark and white chocolate for the decoration.

Scroll to the bottom of this post for the recipe card and the full list of the ingredients.

Instructions

These chocolate chip muffins come together in only few, very simple steps. We are using the classic muffin mixing method, adding the wet ingredients into the dry ones.

I always find that muffins rise and spread much nicer and more evenly, if they have more room to do so in the baking pan. So I normally bake 6 muffins in the 12-hole baking pan at a time. I fill every other hole with paper case, leaving the rest empty.

That said, you can bake them all together, as one batch. Just be aware that the muffins may be a bit more uneven, and will not raise as much.

Hint: Make sure that the buttermilk and the soured cream are at room temperature before mixing the wet ingredients together. This will ensure even mixing and no curdling.

Hint: Filling the muffin cases all the way to the top will create the 'muffin tops'. If you don't want the tall, big muffins, fill the cases up to ¾ full.

Substitutions and variations

• Self-raising flour - If you don't have any self-raising flour, you can use the same amount of plain/ all purpose flour, and add 2 ½ teaspoon of baking powder to it.
• Sugar - If no golden caster sugar is available, you can use any other type of sugar.
• Buttermilk - Make your own buttermilk by combining the same amount of milk of choice (250 ml) with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Set the mixture aside for 5 minutes. It will curdle and thicken a bit, and that is exactly how it should be.
• Soured cream - Use an extra buttermilk or same amount of natural yoghurt to replace the sour cream.
• Chocolate - Feel free to use chocolate chips or chocolate bars chopped into chocolate chunks instead. Both types will work just as well.

Here are few ideas to try, if you would like to introduce some more variety to this chocolate muffins recipe:

• Triple chocolate fudge muffins - Replace 50 g of chocolate chips in the batter with milk or white chocolate chips.
• Add some chopped nuts - Add a handful of chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or cashews to the muffin batter for an extra texture and flavour.
• Chocolate banana muffins - Replace one egg with a small ripe banana for an extra flavour! Simply add mashed banana to the wet ingredients.
• Vegan chocolate muffins - Check out this recipe for Vegan Chocolate Muffins from Ela Vegan blog.

Equipment

Here's the list of the equipment to bake these double chocolate muffins:

• Muffin pan - You can use a standard, 12-hole muffin/ cupcake baking tin. If you will be baking 6 muffins at at time, you may find that having two baking tins will allow you to bake them both together. Otherwise, use one, and bake two batches.
• Muffin cases - Use the ready made muffin cases, which are widely available in stores these days. Alternatively, check out this helpful post on how to make your own muffin cases from Emma Duckworth Bakes.
• Ice cream scoop - I always use an ice cream scoop to divide my muffin or cupcake batter, as it gives my bakes the most uniform look. For these easy chocolate fudge muffins, I use my large scoop, which is 2 oz (about 59 ml) in capacity. But this is an optional item, as couple of dessert spoons will do just as good job.
• Piping bag - For piping the white chocolate circles to create the web decoration. Use a disposable piping bag or zip-lock style bag, and snip off a small corner from it to create a small opening.

Storage

One of the greatest things about these easy chocolate muffins is the fact that they will stay moist and soft even few days after making them. Thanks to the use of oil, these fudgy chocolate muffins do not dry out as quickly, and can retain that wonderful texture for longer.

Store them in an air tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Plain, undecorated muffins are also suitable for freezing for up to 3 months. To freeze, wrap each individual muffin in a double layer of clingfilm and place in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.

You can also re-heat them gently in a microwave or in the warm oven.

Top tip

If there is one tip to give you, it will be to make sure you do not over-mix the muffin batter. You want the ingredients to only JUST come together. Muffin batter supposed to be rather thick and a little lumpy.

When you over-mix the batter, it will crash the air bubbles and will ruin that wonderful fluffy texture. The muffins will be dense and tough, and we want the opposite of that!

Frequently asked questions

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If you try this recipe, or any other recipe on Anna Banana, please take a moment to rate the recipe and/ or leave me a comment. I love hearing from you, but it also helps other readers who are thinking of making the recipe.

📖 Recipe

This recipe was originally published in October 2016. It has been updated with the new photos, video, revised recipe and tips in October 2022.