Vegan Banana & Chocolate Muffins

Whenever you can’t decide which tasty vegan treat to bake, go for vegan banana & chocolate muffins. I guarantee – they’re the universal fit for each and every occasions. These muffins are sweet, moist and satisfying. And, yes, loaded with bananas!

All my muffin-bake love started with this simple recipe. So it’s quite legendary in my kitchen. Using bananas as a base in muffins is a real revelation for me, and it could be for you too. Bananas add a soft moisture, sweetness, and also a nice nutrient punch to the muffins.

Bananas are high in potassium which helps the body’s circulatory system deliver oxygen to the brain. This contributes to maintaining a regular heartbeat and proper water balance.

Also, bananas release a mood-regulating substance called tryptophan. In our brains, tryptophan is converted to serotonin. And serotonin is in charge of our happiness. So there’s no such thing as eating too many bananas, right?

Lastly, bananas are rich in iron which helps to produce hemoglobin in the blood. This is especially important to all vegetarians and vegans out there!

To make 15 vegan banana & chocolate muffins, you’ll need:

• 1 1/2 cup spelt flour (or all purpose flour)
• 4 small (or 2 large) ripe bananas (they’re ripe if covered with small, black spots)
• 1/2 cup of coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup of plant-based milk (rice, soy, almond etc.) or water (it’ll taste better with the plant milk, though)
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• a sprinkle of salt
• 100g of dark chocolate for topping
• optional: you can add oats, blueberries, seeds or nuts to the batter

Directions:

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350C). In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, leaving some texture.
   2. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir well.
   3. Add wet ingredients – milk and olive oil. Stir well. The batter should be nice and runny. If it’s too dry, add more plant milk/water.
   4. Prepare a paper lined muffin tin (or grease it well if you don’t have the paper). Fill 3/4 of each muffin cup. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
   5. While muffins are cooling, melt the chocolate. Fill a saucepan with 1/5 of water. Bring to boil and put a smaller heatproof bowl in the saucepan. Chop the chocolate and put it into the smaller bowl. Make sure that water doesn’t get into the bowl with chocolate. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts.
   6. When muffins are cooled, decorate them with melted chocolate. You can also sprinkle them with some extra nuts or seeds.