Marble Muffins

Are you team chocolate or team vanilla? Well, when it comes to these marble muffins you don't have to choose! A sweet vanilla batter gets swirled with a rich chocolate batter to make these muffins that will please the chocoholics and vanilla lovers in your house. 

I often talk about the inspiration for muffin flavors and the idea for these marble muffins came from two members of my family. My brother-in-law and one of my sisters-in-law share a birthday which is this week. My brother-in-law loves the classic marble cake and my sister-in-law is the queen of baked goods, loves chocolate, and lives for coffee so when I made the chocolate batter I added some coffee to accentuate the chocolate flavor. 

Marble cake is also the perfect cake to symbolize the relationship with siblings-in-law. When your brother or sister marries someone a new person is joining your family and you gain a new brother or sister. That new person blends into your family and adds another dimension. Much like the chocolate swirling with the vanilla your new sibling brings their amazing qualities to your family. Ok, that marble cake symbolism might have been a bit cheesy and a bit of a stretch, so happy birthday Daniel and Amy! I'm so happy that you married Ayala and Shalom (no backsies - Wendy it's not your birthday but that applies to Eytan too) 

Marble Muffins 

2 cups flour 

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

1 cup milk of your choice 

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 2 tsp water 

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C 

Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners or coat with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a liquid measuring cup or medium bowl mix together the milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry along with the sugar. Mix until just combined.

Pour about half the batter into another bowl don't worry you don't have to be so exact. To the second bowl add the cocoa powder and the coffee. Stir until combined. 

Scoop about 1 teaspoon of the vanilla batter into prepared muffin cups and then top with 1 teaspoon of the chocolate batter add another teaspoon of vanilla batter on top and top off with the rest of the chocolate batter. Using a toothpick or skewer swirl the batter making sure to be touching the bottom of the pan so you are swirling all the layers. Don't over-marbelize the batter you still want to have two distinct colors.

Bake for 14-16 minutes. 

Yield: 12 standard size muffins 

Like all the muffins on this blog, these should be stored in a zip-top bag or airtight container on the counter for 2 days (if you don't eat them all beforehand) they also freeze beautifully.