Gluten Free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
Ohhhhhhhh my goodness guys. These Gluten Free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are somethin’ else. They are so gosh darn fudgey, moist, soft, rich, fluffy and like an explosion of amazing-chocolate-banana-yumminess in yo’ mouth.
And the perfect way to celebrate my 24th birthday today! I actually forgot how old I was turning a couple of days ago, I somehow convinced myself that I was celebrating my 25th this year, ha! #GetYourHeadOutOfTheCloudsGIRL
We don’t have too much planned around here for my birthday because I’m still smack dab in the middle of my final exams but I’m taking my birthday night off to celebrate. J is taking me out to a lovely, local vegan restaurant we’ve been meaning to try since we moved here a couple of years ago. They even have some vegan seafood on the menu we are itching to try, how cool is that?!
Anyways, what better way to celebrate my birthday than with my two favorite things – banana and chocolate! Y’all know that I am a banana bread connoisseur over here on Ceara’s Kitchen! 😉 If it were only up to me, I’d probably post a new banana bread recipe every week to share with you guys but you’d probably get tired of only seeing ‘nana bread recipes on here, ha! I mentioned on Facebook and Instagram that I have TWO more banana bread recipes coming up soon so stay tuned! #BananaBreadObsessed
What makes these Gluten Free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins sooo special, soft, moist and fudgey? The trick is in the ingredients, friends. Let me break it down for you here:
Tapioca Starch: Now don’t go running just yet. I had nooooo idea what tapioca starch really even was until I made these Double Chocolate Muffins from my girl Brandi over at The Vegan 8. I was seriously blown away by the results, the tapioca starch makes them soooo incredibly fluffy! I’ve baked with corn starch before (in my Chocolate Chip Cookies) and baked with a bit of tapioca starch in my Chocolate Chip Blondies but usually stick to a mixture of almond and oat flours when whipping up gluten free baked goods. I wanted these muffins “fluffier” like my wheat based baked goods and the tapioca starch really does the trick, making these Double Chocolate Banana Muffins SO flipping fluffy!
Molasses + Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar gives these Vegan Double Chocolate Banana Muffins slight caramel undertones. You can replace it with cane sugar or light brown sugar and you’ll get similar results. The molasses is a must in these muffins – so I really would not recommend leaving it out. It brings the fudginess of these Double Chocolate Muffins to the NEXT LEVEL!
Mini Chocolate Chips: Okay, so using mini chocolate chips is not necessarily a necessity buuuuutt they are always my preference because you get more melty chocolate dispersed into every bite. 😉 I use the Enjoy Life Brand because they are certified GF and Vegan.
Super RIPE Bananas: I mean like super spotty and brown bananas, baby! None of this green banana stuff in these super fudgey vegan muffins. A trick I like to do is peel and freeze my bananas when they are SUPER ripe. Once they are defrosted, a couple mashes with a fork and your bananas are ready for baking!
Cacao Powder or HIGH quality Cocoa Powder PLUS instant coffee: I used cacao powder in these muffins which is one of my favorite things to bake with because it’s basically cocoa powder with a lot less of the processing. Replace it with high quality cocoa powder if you don’t have cacao powder on hand. You don’t taste the coffee in the final result but it really makes the chocolate flavor POP in these Healthy Double Chocolate Chip Muffins, Yum!
Gluten Free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Total Time: 27 mins
- Yield: 9 - 10 1x
Description
Fudgey, rich and decadent Healthy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins. Nobody will guess these moist, soft and fluffy muffins are gluten free, vegan and oil free! The perfect snack, breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup oat flour (139 gr.)
- 1 cup almond meal (102 gr.)
- 3 slightly rounded tbsp tapioca starch (24 gr.)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup mashed banana
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar*
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp unsulfured molasses
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp cacao powder or high quality cocoa powder
- 1/2 tbsp instant coffee*
- 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (+ 2 tbsp for sprinkling on top!)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 355F/180C. Lightly grease a muffin pan with coconut oil, non-stick cooking spray or with liners.
- In a medium size mixing bowl measure and whisk together dry ingredients (oat flour through to sea salt) until evenly dispersed. Note: I recommend using a measuring scale for the ingredients because if you over-measure it will make a difference in the final result! If you do not have a kitchen scale, lightly fluff your flours with a spoon before scooping them up and measuring them.
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl and measure to make sure it’s exactly 1 1/4 cups. Add the coconut sugar, vanilla extract, unsulfured molasses and whisk together. Whisk in the cocoa powder until a thick-ish chocolate mixture is formed.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir together until a thick batter is formed (see photo). You do not have to worry about over-mixing because there is no gluten in the batter. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the muffin batter into the muffin pan (using an ice cream scoop or a slightly greased 1/4 cup measuring cup makes this a lot easier!). There is approximately 1/4 heaping cup in each muffin cup. Bake for 14 – 17 minutes, the amount of baking time with depend on your oven. The muffins are ready when an inserted toothpick comes out almost clear. Leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
1) Replace coconut sugar with cane sugar or light brown sugar.
2) Feel free to use naturally decaffeinated instant coffee.
3) Make sure all your ingredients are certified vegan and gluten free if necessary.
4) It’s really important to leave your muffins to cool for 5 – 10 minutes in the muffin pan before transferring them to a cooling rack so they stay together. Okay, maybe sneak one muffin but leave the rest to cool!
5) You can make your own almond meal and oat flour by blending together oats or almonds in the blender until a fine flour-like consistency is formed.
Inspired by: My Chocolate Banana Bread Bars and The Vegan 8’s Double Chocolate Muffins.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 17 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
