Date Sweetened Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

April is here, and it's one of my most favorite months of the year. Mainly because it is my birthday month and I always like to make a big deal about my birthday (been dreaming about my cake for months now....stay tuned). But it is also a month of many birthdays of friends and family. So April for me is a month of life, birth and celebrating. What better way to celebrate with a special treat? This treat may fool you if you ate it on the first of the month (eh hem). Mostly because it is so tricky with it's sweet, moist and delicious quality without a pinch of sugar. Surprise! Dates are the main sweetness and bananas fill in the blanks. And with a touch of pure vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg you have a cute little cupcake made to perfection. Of course the vegan chocolate chips help out a bunch too...

The funny thing about dates is that they are tiny sweet-filled antioxidant-packed 'candies' of nature. They are packed full of vitamins, iron and minerals, and have many health-boosting qualities. They even help your digestion improve and fight off cancer building cells. Amazing! So why not add them instead of sugar, right? I have also found that I have acquired a taste for dates. They are a nice treat just by themselves or with a scoop of seed butter or I have heard that goat or nut cheeses are a nice pair to dates as well. I think dates help baked goods rise better in the oven and also serve as a nice gel when used in gluten-free baking. I have lots of love for dates in cookies, biscuits, breads and now a special cupcake as well.

Date Sweetened Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcake Recipe

Date Cream Mixture:
1 cup of chopped pitted dates
1 cup of coconut milk or other non-dairy milk (I love So Delicious for best results)
1 cup of pure water
3 TB of chia seed meal

Soak the above ingredients together overnight or for at least 4 hours and then blend in high powered blender to make a pudding-like cream to add to the rest of the cupcake batter. Then, in a large mixing bowl blend the following ingredients to make your base batter.


Recipe:
dry:
1 cup of freshly ground buckwheat flour
1/2 cup of organic millet flour
1/2 cup of tapioca flour
1 ts. of baking powder
1/2 ts. of baking soda
1/2 ts. of sea salt
1/2 ts. of ground nutmeg
1/2 ts. of ground cinnamon
wet:
*Date Cream Mixture*
3 TB of light olive oil or grape seed oil
1 cup of mashed banana (about 2-3 small ripe banana)
1/2- 1 cup of chocolate chips (I always use Enjoy Life's brand for no dairy, no soy and best quality!)

Mix all of the dry ingredients together first. I recommend you grind your own buckwheat groats in a high powered blender to get 1 cup of the best buckwheat flour to use. Then after the dry ingredients are mixed add in the date cream mixture and the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix well and then add the chocolate chips last. You can sub dry fruit for the chocolate if you want and can make this cupcake more of a tasty muffin. Pour the batter into a muffin tin and top with more chocolate chips if you are not going to frost with frosting. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

Notes:
*The cupcakes are moist and fluffy. They will not disappoint. To keep best you must eat within 2-3 days and leave them on the counter in an airtight container. If you want to freeze, then I suggest you make sure then cupcakes are wrapped tight or in an airtight container. 


* I started out making this recipe with a muffin recipe in mind, but then I added the chocolate. I have also make this kind of muffin without the chocolate and with some oats and cranberries to make a nice fruity and crunchy muffin. You can sub out the banana for applesauce and you can add other flavors if you want to experiment. 


*If I didn't add the chocolate chips, I would have frosted these cakes with this frosting recipe. You could slice a fresh banana on top of the frosting for decor to :)


*You could easily make this recipe into a cake. I would suggest pouring the whole batter into a bundt cake tin or 9x13 pyrex pan. You would need to bake those cakes between 45-55 minutes. Check on the best baking time for your oven.

This is one of those recipes that you can sub a lot of the ingredients for to make your own variety of muffin or cupcake. I would suggest if you are looking for a sugar-free alternative that you try dates. Really! Add them into your hot cereals and baked goods and I know it make take some time to get off the true sugar taste and addiction, but in the end switching to dates will make you a healthier and happier person!

Much love to you!

Monkey Cake (vegan)

Milestone first birthday cake...done! Egg-free, sugar-free, nut-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. It was a bit of a challenge, but mostly because I wanted to make a monkey-face out of a cake. And, really, it didn't even matter because my now one year old destroyed the cake with a swing of his little paw. He devoured his piece and that was worth all of the work. It was so much fun to watch him be so excited. It was the first time he had cocoa and he was just as excited as I thought he would be. So I thought I would share a few photos and the recipe...just because I can. I mean, it's not every day your baby turns one, and you make a silly cake to celebrate it. So indulge me as I share a little piece of my life, my sweet monkey-faced babe and a yummy vegan cake.

Here is my little man, post cake-eating. He was happy and very very messy! :) So much fun and we even took a few videos to watch when we are old and grey. The last year sure was a lot of work, stress, tears, joys and wonder. And, it quite possibly doesn't seem like it can be a year already. Life moves so fast, and that is why we must enjoy every day for what it brings. The good and the bad. Life is a gift and we must not let the lies of greed, selfishness, laziness and boredom rule our daily routine. We must make ourselves seek gratitude, love and thankfulness for every gift. I know one specific person that reminds me of that daily... my little monkey boy. So sweet.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting (vegan)

1/2 cup of millet flour

1/2 cup of brown rice flour

1/4 cup of tapioca flour

1/2 cup of organic corn flour (or quinoa flour)

2 ts. of baking powder

1 ts. of baking soda

1/2 ts. of sea salt

1 ts. of ground stevia powder

2 TB of chia seed meal

1 ts. of pure vanilla (optional)

1/3 cup of maple syrup

1/4 cup of organic apple juice

1 1/4 cup of mashed ripe banana puree

1/3 cup of melted coconut oil or light olive oil

1/2 cup of non-dairy milk ( I used So Delicious coconut beverage milk) then add 2 TB of lemon juice to the milk in a separate bowl. I use one fresh squeezed lemon with usually adds up to about 2 TB of juice. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it gets a bit cultured. Then mix it with the rest of the batter.

First, pour the milk and lemon juice together and let sit while you mix up the rest of the batter. Then in a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients and then add the wet, lastly mix in the milk mixture and make sure you mix well with everything blended. Then let sit for just a few minutes to have everything sit together and get acquainted. Then pour into a oiled 9x9 circle pan and put in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until it is golden brown and checked with a toothpick in the middle to make sure it is baked through and not gooey.

Then, after cooling for 15 minutes, turn upside down on a serving platter and then let it continue to cool for another hour. Then take a serrated bread knife and cut out the head so that the cake looks like it has 2 ears on each side. This can be more difficult if you are not into cutting cakes or even drawing. It doesn't have to be perfect or that hard, just make sure you cut enough of the cake away to make it look like monkey ears. You can eat some of the cake at this point. Tests taste and make sure it's yummy!

Then time to make the frosting...

Chocolate Cake Frosting Recipe (vegan)

6 TB of very soft Earth Balance (soy-free version)

2 TB of cocoa powder

4 TB of coconut palm sugar

2 TB of maple syrup

4 TB of non-dairy milk 

9-10 TB of tapioca flour or starch (or arrowroot powder)

In a small bowl, mix the softened vegan butter with the cocoa powder, then add the sugar, and rest of the ingredients, except for the tapioca. Then lastly mix in the flour and slowly mix well with a spatula. Add more flour if you need it, and then let sit and blend together in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. It should be like a spreadable Betty Crocker frosting...If you leave it in the fridge too long it will thicken up considerably, so beware. Yet, if you warm it in the microwave or stovetop for just a few seconds it softens up quite nicely.

When you get the thicker consistency after it sits in the fridge...use this chocolate frosting to frost most of the cake, except for the monkey face. I used some leftover Namaste Toffee icing I had in the freezer for the monkey's face and lighter section. Then I also used the lighter frosting to make some ears.

Then I used some allergy-free mini chocolate chips to make eyes, nose and smile.

And, viola, I created a monkey!

We sung to the babe with a #1 candle and broke off the ears for him to eat first! It was just perfect! Of course I moved the chocolate chips out of the way of him eating the cake because I didn't want to create too much of an issue for him swallowing. He loved it!

I also make the same banana cake batter and frosting mix above to make some banana chocolate chip cupcakes for some guests to eat. They turned out just right, and only baked for about 22 minutes, instead of 35-40 for the cake. I served them in a green banana leaf :) hehe.

Not to mention, we had a little gathering of friends and family that we had a 'harvest-party' theme with lots of fresh apple cider, fresh apple slices and caramel dip, apple and pumpkin muffins, and I also splurged and made some pumpkin donuts (recipe to come) and pumpkin pudding bars. We had a ton of food and everyone enjoyed a gluten-free dairy free party (minus the caramel dip). We had a ton of fun celebrating, and you can bet that I had some fun baking all those goodies.

Thanks for indulging me in my little monkey cake and party treats.

I hope you find ways to celebrate life and enjoy each year (day, month and season) for all it's gifts.

Grace and peace!

Stephanie