Chocolate banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting

It seems like it’s been way too long since I’ve baked! I joked with Erik the other day that I haven’t baked “all year”. So it was by far time to change that!

These cupcakes involve banana, chocolate and peanut butter. Always an amazing combo! I’ve been using coconut sugar lately as my main form of sugar in baking, and these came out delicious.

Why coconut sugar?

• It’s produced from the sap of cut flower buds of coconuts and is also called palm sugar.
• It’s subtly sweet and has similar characteristics to brown sugar with a slight hint of caramel.
• Has a very low glycemic index of just 35, making it a good alternative for diabetes.
• A rich source of potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron and contains vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6, having twice the iron, four times the magnesium, and over 10 times the amount of zinc as in brown sugar.

And I also got to try out a new to me flour! I met Chef Brad, Thermador appliance’s executive chef, at a Portfolio Kitchen event back in December in which he was cooking. We got to talking about food, baking, etcetera and he offered to send me a bag of his new flour which he calls WonderFlour.

What is WonderFlour?

• WonderFlour is marketed as “the first whole grain all purpose flour that actually works”
• It’s a whole grain, wheat free blend of three grains; spelt, barley and brown rice.
• It can be used in place of white flour in all of your baking and cooking needs, with the exception of yeasted breads as it doesn’t have the sufficient gluten for yeast.
• It’s an all natural flour that is biologically grown, meaning the soil is taken care of naturally with no added chemicals or synthetic products.

 

Now let’s get to business!

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes (w/ peanut butter frosting)
-Makes a dozen cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup WonderFlour (alternatively, you could use white whole wheat flour or all purpose)
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or cane sugar)
• 5 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup almond milk

Instructions:

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
• In large sized bowl, stir together coconut sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, and mashed banana.
• In medium sized bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
• A little at a time, stir in flour mixture and almond milk into the sugar mixture until smooth.
• Place batter evenly into lined cupcake pan, and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 cup natural peanut butter (I used chunky, but creamy works perfectly as well)
• 1/2 cup agave nectar (or honey, coconut nectar, etc)
• 1/2 cup WonderFlour (about any flour would work here)
• 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

• Simply whisk it all together! Feel free to add more or less almond milk to get desired thickness.

Note: You’ll have extra frosting!



I threw a little shaved chocolate on top for fun.

The results?

We loved these cupcakes! I made a double batch and brought them to a friend’s house and everyone there seemed to really like them as well. Chef Brad’s WonderFlour gave them a light and fluffy texture that you just wouldn’t get with typical whole grain flours. I was really happy with that, as a lot of times it’s a struggle to avoid dense baked goods using more nutritious flours.

Thanks to Chef Brad for letting me try out some of his flour! You can check out where it’s sold and buy it online via his online store. All that’s left to say is yum!



lesley