Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffins

My latest vegan muffin recipe is a tender, fragrant strawberry banana treat. And they just so happen to be wheat-free, dairy-free and egg-free.

June is sexy gorgeous here in northern New Mexico. The sun is just the right amount of hot. The sky is flawless cobalt blue. The morning shade is deliciously cool. The mockingbirds sing their magic in the junipers. And the strawberries at the market are drop dead ripe. If fruit is love, it must be a strawberry- red and juicy and flirtatious.

And if I was so inclined I would wax voluptuous, like a cheap romance novel. I would detail every lip licking moment in my big strawberry love. How I crush and whip them into smoothies. Churn them into dairy-free sherbet. Bake them into golden scones. Macerate them in orange infused liqueur. And stir them slowly into sticky banana muffin batter.

In fact, I would flaunt my muffins.

I would pen sentences to make you giddy and weak kneed with berry desire. I would spin words to make you salivate, even drool. I would tug at your longing and tease you until you begged me to stop torturing you. You would be breathless by then. And become a flirt yourself, batting your silky virtual eyelashes to Please, may I come over? You would arrive at my pink casita door flushed and willing and eager to sink your pearly whites into this tender vegan goodness.

And then you would sigh. And thank me. And ask for the recipe.

Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffin Recipe

Make sure your berries are ripe and sweet. That goes for your bananas, too. You want them fragrant and soft, as they provide much of the sweetness in this low sugar treat. (Note- these are egg-free and vegan- more akin to a whole grain muffin than a cakey white flour and sugar cupcake. I'm just sayin'.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or line a 12-muffin baking pan with paper muffin liners.

Beat together the wet ingredients:

1 cup banana puree- I used 3 organic bananas
1/3 cup light olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/3 cup warm water or rice milk- more if needed
1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract
Egg replacer for 2 eggs- I used Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with warm water

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup white or brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca or potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until well combined. If the batter is stiff add a tablespoon of liquid at a time to achieve a lighter, somewhat sticky batter.

Add:

2 cups sliced fresh organic strawberries, rinsed and patted dry

Stir till combined.

Drop by spoonfuls into the prepared muffin cups.

Truthfully? I had 2-3 tablespoons of leftover batter- not enough to make a 13th muffin, but not enough extra to incite overhauling the recipe. You may come out with the perfect amount of batter for 12. Or you may have a baker's dozen, depending upon the size of your berries. And your bananas, Darling. And you know what they say about bigger bananas.

Bigger banana? More batter.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven until they are done in the center. At high altitude this took a good 35 minutes, but I suspect you bakers at lower altitudes should begin checking in at 20 to 22 minutes. Ultimately, my bet is on roughly 25 minutes. But please use your experience and a wooden pick to test the center for doneness.

The most important tip I've found when baking gluten-free muffins and cupcakes is to remove them from the pan to cool, as soon as you can. The longer they stay in the muffin pan the longer they steam. And we know what steam does to bottoms. That's right. And we hate our soggy bottoms, now, don't we?

Cool on a wire rack. Eat warm or cool, or whichever way warms the cockles of your sweet little heart.

Makes 12 muffins.

Karina's notes:

If you eat eggs, you can use two large eggs in this recipe instead of the vegan egg replacer. If the batter is too stiff, add a tablespoon or two of water to thin a bit.

If your berries are less than sweet you can always add a little more sugar to the recipe to compensate.

And if you adore a sugary crusty muffin top, sprinkle the muffins with organic raw sugar crystals before baking.

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