Chocolate (Zucchini) Muffins

I love muffins. Bran, plain, banana, carrot. But all muffins I bake have one thing in common.
Chocolate.

It might be a handful of chocolate chips added to the batter, or a drizzle of chocolate coconut butter. (upcoming post!)
Or it could be a muffin of pure chocolate goodness.
With zucchini.

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. cocoa
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 spotted banana
1/4 c.-1/3 c. brown sugar (I used jaggery)
1/2 c. applesauce
1/4 c. soy milk (or almond or cow's as a last resort)
1 tsp vanilla
1c. shredded zucchini (equal to one whole zucchini)
Crumble topping
1 T breadcrumbs/crushed rice crispies
1/2 T jaggery (Or brown sugar)
date paste
carob chips or milk chocolate chips
For the topping: using a fork, mix together breadcrumbs and jaggery. Add small amounts of date paste until the mixture starts coming together, but still crumbly.
For the muffins:
Whisk dry ingredients. Here's a little trick I learned from Chocolate Covered Katie: If you microwave a banana for about 1 minute, it's a lot sweeter! It also saves you from having to mash it. Combine the banana, applesauce, milk and vanilla. Add to the dry. Don't mix yet! Add the zucchini, then stir until the dough comes together and flour is completely incorporated. Spoon into a greased muffin tin. Sprinkle the crumble topping and a couple carob chips on each muffin. Bake @ 350 F for 18-25 minutes.
Note #1. Be careful with the carob chips. They're a lot sweeter than semisweet, so I only use 4-5 chips per muffin.
Note #2. I've been trying out sugar alternatives lately. The current one I'm loving is jaggery. You can find it in most ethnic food stores in the Indian section. It's a concentrated cane juice made with minimal processing.
Since it's not pure sucrose, the sugar content per tsp is lower then white or brown sugar. The flavor is very strong, so a little goes a long way. It might not be for everyone, but I'm really enjoying experimenting with it!