Double chocolate muffins

During a recent chocolaty-cakey craving, I decided to experiment baking with less traditional, healthier ingredients, in an attempt to dodge some of the guilt and other adverse side effects that come with eating delicious chocolaty-cakey things. I found a recipe for double chocolate muffins and substituted butter with coconut oil, whole milk with soy milk, and white sugar with the raw turbinado variety. The muffins would have been completely vegan if I had had a substitute for eggs.

Soy milk has less fat and is less acidic than dairy but its texture is very similar to whole milk so I found it to be a great substitute in the recipe. Turbinado sugar is less processed than regular white sugar so it’s been effected by fewer chemicals and retains more nutrients. The granules are also slightly larger so they don’t incorpotate into batter or dough as easily as white and the end product is likely to be crunchier and more molasses-like - an okay substitute in this case, but probably not right for airy cakes or thin batters. Lastly, there’s some contention as to whether coconut oil is really better for us than butter - especially when heated to 400F in the oven - so I’ll hold off on touting its benefits for now. However, cakes/muffins made with coconut oil are generally denser and less moist than those made with butter, as was the case with these particular muffins. Coconut oil is a great substitute if you’re a dedicated vegan, though.

All in all, these muffins turned out pretty great and they definitely satisfied my craving. Anyone know of a decent substitute for eggs in vegan desserts?

(Yield: 1 dozen)

Adapted from this Nigella Lawson recipe

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 c granulated sugar (I used raw turbinado sugar)
4 oz chocolate bar, roughly chopped
1 c soy milk, at room temp
1/3 c + 2 tsp melted coconut oil
1 egg, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure: Preheat oven to 400F. Line a muffin tin with paper cups. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar and 2/3 of the chocolate chunks into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into another bowl and whisk to combine (if the milk and egg are not at room temperature, the coconut oil will solidify). Stir the dry and wet ingredients together, just until combined; the batter will be pretty thick. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chunks and bake for 20 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack.