This moka muffin recipe is pure nostalgia in a bite. It comes straight from a vintage French muffin book called Cordon Bleu, printed in the 1970s and passed down from my grandmother’s kitchen to mine.

The pages are yellowed, the cover is a little worn, and right next to this recipe she scribbled ‘very good‘. I cherish this little Cordon Bleu book, of course.

These muffins are lightly sweet, with a deep coffee flavor and just enough dark chocolate to make them feel like a treat rather than breakfast. The crumb is soft and tender, perfect for dipping into a cup of hot coffee or for eating out of hand while you’re packing lunches in the morning.

Made with simple pantry ingredients, those muffins taste like a luxury bakery good. This is the kind of recipe you bake once for curiosity and then keep baking because it starts to feel like part of the family.

Top them with a light sprinkle of powdered sugar and you’ll have a decadent, luxurious breakfast or snack.

TIP: use the very best dark chocolate and instant coffee you can find. It truly makes a difference.

Marjorie B.

Moka Muffin

The strong coffee aroma combined with the decadent taste of chocolate make those muffins as indulgent as any high end bakery goods in Paris.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Servings: 12 muffins

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American, French

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2½ cup All Purpose Flour sifted
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 teaspoon Baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• 6 teaspoon 100% Cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon Instant Coffee
• ¼ cup Non-salted butter melted
• ¼ cup Vegetable oil
• 2 Eggs, large room temperature
• 1 cup Whole milk room temperature
• ¼ cup Buttermilk room temperature
• 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. While oven is pre-heating, grease a muffin pan with some butter and lightly coat with flour.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, add the melted butter, vegetable oil, milk, eggs, buttermilk, instant coffee, vanilla extract and sugar. Whisk together until combined.
4. Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry ingredient and combine with a wooden spoon or spatula. Do not to over-mix.
5. Fill each muffin mold up to 3/4 with a spoon. Cook in the 400F oven for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
6. Allow 10 minutes of cool down before demolding.

Notes

TIP: Adding a small ramekin of water increases the humidity in the oven to keep the muffins nice and moist during the bake but this is optional.