*These Banana Flax Muffins are gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free.
Here we sit, smack dab in the center of April and what am I doing?
I’m wearing a thick knitted top, sipping a steaming mug of pineapple ginger tea, and staring out the dining room window watching snow flakes the size of quarters pile up on my strawberry plants and newly blossomed cherry trees.
I woke this morning with a raging sinus infection so I suppose it might as well snow if I’m going to stay inside resting the day away anyways.
HA.
Just kidding.
I have four kids under the age of eight. The only resting that will be done around here will be the *hopefully* long nap that my youngest will take mid-morning.
As for me, I’ll just keep sipping quarts of tea, gulping down elderberry syrup, and eating these Banana Flax Muffins.
For some reason, when I’m feeling under the weather I find baked goods so comforting. Since my 3 and 5 year old are probably a little too green to be whipping up batches of cinnamon rolls for me, I keep it simple. For myself to make, not them!
I first came across this recipe on La Tartine Gourmande as a tea cake. I knew I would be making it as soon as I could (hello, gorgeous pictures AND wholesome ingredients!) but didn’t have the molds to make tea cakes, as she did.
Instead, I baked them as muffins and they were just perfection.
Soft, fluffy with substance, and perfectly sweet.
I love any muffin that uses bananas. Since bananas are so naturally sweet, you won’t need nearly as much sweetener as you would otherwise. 1/3 cup maple syrup is the only added sweetener in these muffins and that makes me so happy.
A little banana mashing tip?
Place your peeled bananas in a ziplock bag and squeeze all the air out of it while sealing shut. Then, smush. Use your hands and squish those bananas to a smooth pulp. When you’re done, snip of the tip of the bag and squeeze the bananas right out into your bowl. Toss the bag and get on with the baking! This method makes banana mashing so quick and easy, and mess-free as well!
The flax seed and oat flour give these muffins heartiness while the quinoa flour makes them pillow soft. Quinoa flour can be very strong tasting when used as the only flour in recipes, so it’s best to combine it with other flours. It will make your muffins so very soft, so I think it’s worth keeping a little around.
If you are set on these muffins being dairy free, use the coconut milk as suggested in the recipe. If it’s not a concern for you, plain whole milk yogurt is another great option. OR, you can just use a coconut yogurt if you have it around. Either way, you’ll have a lovely, moist muffin.
To make these muffins extra special, we topped them with a little honeyed coconut cream. You can use canned coconut cream or you can use coconut milk that has separated. Some brands of coconut milk will separate with the thick cream on top of the can and the clear liquid on the bottom. Normally, you would shake these together before using, but if you need coconut cream instead of milk, simply scrape the thick cream off the top and discard the liquid (or save for another use).
You can buy large cans of coconut cream, or smaller cans like these
which are the perfect amount for topping these muffins with.
MORE MUFFIN LOVE:
Gingerbread Cream Cheese Doughnut Muffins
Blueberry Meyer Lemon Chia Seed Muffins
- 1 cup Quinoa Flour
- ½ cup White Rice Flour
- ½ cup Oat Flour
- 2 tablespoons Ground Flax Seed
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Large Ripe Bananas, mashed
- 2 Large Eggs
- ¼ cup Coconut Milk (or plain yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
- ⅓ cup Olive or Coconut Oil
- 1 (5 ounce) can Coconut Cream
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake wrappers.
- Add the quinoa flour, rice flour, oat flour, flax, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, maple syrup, and olive oil until smooth.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin wells.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 17-20 minutes, or until the tops or the muffins are puffed and firm to the touch.
- Remove from the oven. Place the muffins on a wire wrack to cool.
- FOR THE HONEYED COCONUT CREAM:
- Place the coconut cream and honey in a bowl. Whisk together until smooth and lump free.
- Spoon a small dollop on top of cooled muffins before eating.
Muffin recipe slightly adapted from La Tartine Gourmande
