Caramelized banana bread muffins with coconut cashew cream filing

If there’s any indication of a recipe’s quality, it’s that the food is gone before the strapping food blogger can take pictures of it.

The first time I made this recipe, I whipped up a loaf’s worth of caramelized banana bread and found that, at around seven o’clock, it was too late to take any kind of naturally-lit pictures. So I decided to push off that task until the morrow. However, being a procrastinator through and through, I never actually took those pictures—for about three days, when the final piece was gulped down and only a crumb remained. A tragedy, really.

But no matter: Baby June had the opportunity to try a different iteration, perhaps...a cream-filled muffin? Ah yes. And that is the story behind today’s creation.

Soldiers, march!

As is the trend these days, I shunned the idea that I would make the plebeian specialty that is traditional banana bread—no, these bananas are caramelized, all fancy-like. If they weren’t vegan, I would’ve browned the butter. Or maybe I would have infused the coconut oil with some herb or another—basil? Rosemary? No matter which. Or I might have added a bit of candied orange peel, a splash of glaze, or—even better—a shot of booze. That’s how we roll these days, you know?

Whatever you say, June.

But today, it’s just caramelized banana and coconut. Real basic bitch stuff. Nothing not to love, nothing too adventurous. And I can give you my certificate of deliciousness for that caramelized banana bread, because daaaaaamn it is fluffy like, like, like a pillow, like something you could burrow your face in and not have a care.

With cashew cream cheese filling, it is glorious.

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Caramelized banana bread muffins with coconut cashew cream filling

Makes twelve muffins

Ingredients

Banana bread (adapted from Cooking Light)

40 grams ● coconut oil ● 3 tablespoons

165 grams ● dark brown sugar ● ¾ cup, packed

330 grams ● ripe banana, sliced ● 3 medium

122 grams ● nondairy milk ● ½ cup

2 grams ● apple cider vinegar ● ½ teaspoon

40 grams ● canola oil ● 3 tablespoons

13 grams ● vanilla extract ● 1 tablespoon

124 grams ● silken tofu, blended until smooth ● ½ cup

250 grams ● all-purpose flour ● 2 cups

3 grams ● baking soda ● ¾ teaspoon

3 grams ● salt ● ½ teaspoon

Cashew cream (adapted from these pumpkin muffins)

85 grams ● cashews, soaked in water overnight and drained ● ½ cup

20 grams ● maple syrup ● 1 tablespoon

4 grams ● vanilla extract ● 1 teaspoon

8 grams ● lemon juice ● ½ tablespoon

45 grams ● nondairy milk ● 3 tablespoons

15 grams ● shredded sweetened coconut ● 3 tablespoons

1 gram ● coconut extract (optional) ● ¼ teaspoon

Instructions

To make muffins, start by preheating oven to 350 degrees F and greasing twelve muffin tins.

Melt coconut oil in a medium saucepan, then add brown sugar and banana. Sauté for about four minutes, or until the sugar has melted. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Place mixture in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together nondairy milk, apple cider vinegar, canola oil, vanilla extract, and tofu. In another bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly drizzle liquid mixture into banana mixture on medium speed until incorporated, then spoon in flour mixture and mix just until combined.

Divide batter evenly between muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Let cool for five minutes before removing from tins. Let cool completely before filling.

To make filling, place cashews in a food processor and blend until as smooth as possible. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. With a serrated knife, cut small holes out of muffins (ideally, they should be deeper than they are wide). Fill holes with cashew cream mixture. The muffins are now ready to roll (into your mouth, that is).

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See that? That is the world's greatest muffin cross-section right there.

If you’re not too fond of coconut, feel free to leave the coconut-y ingredients out of the filling. They aren’t desperately necessary, I would think. Now...if you’re fond of day-drinking, you might want to add a bit of rum. Or rum extract. That’s a bit tamer.

Shit. Now I want rum filling.

Doesn’t matter; had muffins. There’s always a next time.