More backyard treasures discovered. The mystery berries I mentioned before turned out to be raspberries! Not many but I was able to pick about a cupful. Just enough to top these muffins. There’s something about picking your own berries or fruit that makes it feel more special than buying them in a store, so i didn’t have the heart to simply toss them on yogurt, plus I felt a bit overdue for some baking and wanted to take advantage of yesterday’s cool morning. Portland is simmering in a mini heatwave today, and it’s looking like summer has very much arrived so it was a good time to bake.

This recipe is very similar to the loaf cakes I’ve been making as it uses yogurt, but still somewhat different, turns out this batter is really thick, almost like a cookie dough, but it baked up fine and the muffins were moist and delicious. I chose hazelnuts because I still have quite a few on hand from the Beet Stacks and they work really well with the chocolate and raspberries!

Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Muffins

(adapted from All Recipes)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ounces chocolate, 70% cacao, chopped
1 cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 egg
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raspberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Add 3/4 of the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts. Whisk egg, yogurt, milk, and vegetable oil in another bowl until smooth. Pour into dry mixture and stir until batter is just blended. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full and top with a few raspberries, bits of chocolate and bits of hazelnuts.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. (this recipe makes slightly more than 12 muffins, so I put the remaining batter in a small 4x6 baking dish)