There comes a time in every young bananas life where being consumed on it's own or dipped in almond butter is no longer an option. Their vibrant yellow exterior begins to wither, their sweet youth fleeting from them seemingly over night. Age spots ravage their once taut skin, as it becomes slack and wrinkled. Their life has not been in vain however, they will still fulfill their purpose and I will make sure they taste damn delicious in doing so.
Let's be honest, banana muffins are usually only ok, mostly because every baker seems to insist on stuffing them chuck full with walnuts! I mean, walnuts are so low on the 'nut totem pole' they can't help but be hard and bitter, why people insist on desecrating such a delicious muffin with this bitterness is beyond me. I would rather have a plain banana muffin... or you know... turn that muffin into a cupcake; because a muffin is just a cupcake disguised as a "healthy" breakfast food.
I may or may not have decided to make banana muffins because I didn't really feel like being very creative (originally). Then I realized I had some left over chocolate chips in the cupboard and thought... ok I will make chocolate chip banana muffins. But then I thought of the amazing Babycakes NYC cupcakes Drew got for my birthday and decided... what the hell, if I am adding chocolate anyways, I might as well frost these bad boys too! And, that is just what I did (you're welcome).
-PALEO BANANA CUPCAKES (MUFFINS)-
(with decadent chocolate, vegan, frosting)
What you will need:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 very ripe bananas
3 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla
dash of sea salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Whisk together your coconut flour, almond flour, sugar, sea salt, and baking powder, eliminating any chunks. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas throughly, add in vanilla and coconut oil, stir until smooth, whisk in the eggs until smooth. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, blend together. Add in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into your prepared cupcake tin (pre-oiled or lined). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden on top.
Cool throughly.
While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare your frosting.
What you will need for the frosting:
1/8 cup coconut oil butter (you could also use vegan shortening)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2-3/4 cup coco powder
Whisk ingredients together until smooth (yes, it is just that easy). Place in the refrigerator.
Once the cupcakes are cool, frost and devour. Thankfully we had guests coming over, otherwise I would have destroyed all several of them on my own (I may or may not have tried to hide one or six of them for myself)... but you know, my desire to give them to people somehow managed to out weighed the fat kid in my brain, so everything worked out pretty ok in the end.
Here's to you dear reader, and all of our culinary misadventures (turning muffins into cupcakes and the like).
xx
