These chocolate rhubarb muffins with lemon zest glaze are a go-to recipe this time of year. Rhubarb is one of the first harvests our raised-bed garden offers early in the growing season. It’s jewel-toned stalks are also making an appearance at the farmer’s market and in grocery store produce aisles. Traditionally, rhubarb’s sweet/tart flavor is matched up with strawberries for June pies and tarts – but this chocolatey recipe adds a new twist to this seasonal gem.

Crumble Topping for Chocolate Rhubarb Muffins

The best part of this recipe is the ease in which it comes together. There are three components: the batter, a crumble topping, and a lemon zest glaze. Each step is a simple, one-bowl mix that comes together in minutes. When all three are combined, however, the flavor is complex and sweetly satisfying.

Crumble Ingredients

Combine the following in a small bowl:

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Using a fork, mash the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt into the vegetable shortening until a uniform crumble forms.

Set this bowl aside and prepare the muffin batter.

Batter for Chocolate Rhubarb Muffins

This batter recipe is a simple one-bowl wonder that only requires mixing with a spoon. It is adapted from my chocolate vegan cupcake recipe but engineered a little differently to accommodate moisture from the rhubarb. Start by mixing the dry ingredients.

Dry Ingredients

Place 1 1/4 cups of flour in a medium size mixing bowl
Add 1 cup of brown or white sugar
Add 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

Additionally, you will need:

1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Combine all the ingredients in the mixing bowl, being careful to remove any lumps.

The mixed dry ingredients for these chocolate rhubarb muffins should have a uniform color and texture before adding wet ingredients.

Adding Wet Ingredients

Now that the dry ingredients are blended in the mixing bowl you can:

Pour in 3/4 cup of warm, black coffee
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of white, apple cider or balsamic vinegar

Stir well, removing any lumps, until the batter is smooth. You can use a whisk rather than a spoon if you find it works better for blending. Once the batter comes together, add:

1/4 cup chopped rhubarb
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling Tin with Chocolate Rhubarb Muffin Batter

You will need a muffin tin lined with muffin cups for this recipe. I used tall, decorative cups, so this batch yielded 9 muffins. If you used regular sized muffin cups, you should be able to fill a 12-cup muffin pan. Alternately, the batter will fill a 9-inch loaf pan or one 8-inch cake pan depending on your preference. If you choose a loaf or cake pan, you will have to watch carefully and adjust baking time.

I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter and fill the cups. Once all the cups are filled, you will cover the surface of the muffins with the crumble mixture you set aside. Sprinkle evenly on tops until you have used all the crumble mixture.

Bake the chocolate rhubarb muffins in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes. Test with a toothpick before removing. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are done.

Place the hot muffin tin on a baking rack to cool. As soon as you can handle the muffins, remove them from the tin and put them directly on the baking rack to finish cooling.

Glazing Chocolate Rhubarb Muffins

While the muffins are cooling, you can prepare the glaze. This is also a simple, one-pan icing mix.

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan
Add 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar

Stir the mixture, adding a teaspoon of water at a time to thin the glaze to your desired consistency. (Truly add only a tiny amount of water at a time. A little goes a very long way.) Thin until the glaze is loose enough to drizzle over the muffin tops. It’s important not to let the glaze bubble at any point during the process or it will crystalize. Just keep it warm and smooth.

Stir in the zest of a medium sized lemon

Drizzle the baked chocolate rhubarb muffins with lemon zest glaze.

Enjoy!

If you are interested the DIY vanilla infusion/extract I used in this recipe, follow this link.

I also have info on rhubarb in the garden.

And, my basic vegan chocolate cake recipe.