Mocha Raspberry Muffins

I was trying to produce some power-through-the-end-of-the-school-year treats (for me, but especially for the tutors at Julie’s work), and in this case, that definitely meant adding a large dose of caffeine to my baking! I put black tea in cupcakes, and the next night upped the anty and threw some coffee into my chocolate muffins to make a mocha muffin! Mmm…

The recipe is adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking but I took out the spices and added some mix-ins of my own. These muffins were absolutely delicious; the cake was fluffy and had a very tender and moist crumb, and they were chock full of tasty additions like instant espresso powder, raspberries, and mini-chocolate chips for a bit of crunchy texture. In the picture above, you can see the little chocolate chips and the pink from the raspberries!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
6 Tblsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (check the label to make sure it is non-dairy)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer + 4 Tblsp. warm water
2 tsp. instant espresso powder mixed with 1 tsp. hot water, till it dissolves
1 cup almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup non-dairy butter, melted (I always like original Earth Balance)
1/2 cup non-dairy semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips
1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin with non-dairy butter or canola oil spray.
Sift together the flour and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Blend the Egg Replacer with the warm water till light and creamy.
In a medium bowl, mix together the Egg Replacer and water mixture, almond milk, melted butter, dissolved espresso powder, and sugar. Add this combination to the dry mixture and stir until they are just combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips and raspberries.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin pan cups (I like to use a large ice cream scoop to do this). The cups should be about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.