Vegan Chocolate Banana Donut-Muffins

This afternoon, I experimented with vegetarian cooking and made the best “Vegan Chocolate Banana Donut-Muffins” ever. My craving for a chocolate dessert, such as brownies, and my afternoon baking project was not going well. Alas, I was out eggs and it was pouring down rain outside. Too risky to go to the grocery store with my cell phone flashing weather alerts. After surveying my kitchen, I decided that this would be the perfect time to improve upon a “Chocolate Doughnut Muffin” recipe posted on the New York Times Cooking internet site by making a vegan version. I had all the ingredients on hand!

My final recipe for “Vegan Chocolate Banana Donut-Muffins” tuned out to be a combination of the one posted on the New York Times Cooking internet site, another recipe source and my own ideas. I determined that I already had all the ingredients in my kitchen to mix up “Chocolate Banana Donut-Muffins — Vegan Style.” No need to go out in the rain. For the eggs, I substituted a soft, mashed banana and a tablespoon of vinegar. For the milk, I used almond milk. Canola oil substituted in for butter. Now, the muffins were truly vegan. All the other recipe ingredients were the same.

No, No, Not Another Subscription

Somehow, I have become the lucky recipent of New York Times Cooking recipe feeds which seem to constantly pop up on my Facebook homepage. The photos make the recipes look so enticing. However, there is a catch. Yes, indeed. To print out the recipes, a person must subscribe to the recipe internet site and pay a monthly fee. Let’s be clear. I have overspent my monthly subscription budget and, unfortunately, must pass on their kind offers to collect my money. Occasionally, I have figured out how to print out a recipe from their site, as was the case with “Chocolate Doughnut Muffins.” In the meantime, their photos provide lots of inspiration. The New York Times Cooking recipe is supposed to taste like familiar baked donuts from a doughnut shoppe. Let’s see how these vegan muffins compare and if mine taste like doughnuts.

Purpose of Eggs in Baked Goods and Egg Substitutions

Eggs play an important purpose in baked pastries such as cookies, muffins and cakes. For example, eggs act as a binder to hold all the ingredients together. They provide structure so that the baked goods rise and pop up. They increase viscosity so that the batter is thicker. When beaten, eggs act as a foam and trap air and moisture, so the muffins are softer and less rubbery. Yikes! Eggs serve alot of purposes in baked goods. No wonder baked cakes, confection recipes contain eggs.

To substitute for the eggs, I used one well-mashed, very ripe banana. Also, vinegar in the recipe reacts with the cocoa powder to form gas pockets, help the muffins rise and make them soft and spongy. Let’s hope this works to give my now-delicate muffin batter a soft, moist texture.

Ingredients

The ingredients in this recipe were already in my cupboard and refrigerator; probably your kitchen, too. We usually have plenty of ripe bananas around. (The recipe uses one mashed banana.) Since we are lactose-intolerant, we generally have almond milk on hand in our home. The other ingredients — cocoa powder, vinegar, sugar, baking powder, salt and vegtable oil are in my cupboard. Espresso powder is in my freezer.

This vegan recipe uses cocoa powder rather than milk chocolate morsels. Instant espresso powder helps bring out the flavor of cocoa making the chocolate flavor more intense. I keep the espresso powder in my freezer.

As mentioned above, vinegar reacts with cocoa to make gas pockets (as with a red velvet cake). You don’t taste the vinegar in the final muffins.

Making the recipe

This is a simple “one bowl” recipe. So easy to make. Get ready by heating the oven to 400 degrees and generously oiling a 12-cup standard-size muffin pan. (I only used 10 of the wells.) Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine. Then add in the liquid ingredients (including the mashed banana), stirring only enough to mix. Don’t overmix, there will probably still be lumps.

Immediately pour to fill 10 of the muffin wells and bake, adding a tablespoon of water to the other two wells. (I like large muffins.) Bake for 22 minutes. Don’t overbake.

That’s it. “Vegan Chocolate Banana Muffins” will be a hit at anyone’s home. The recipe has healthy substitutes — oil for butter, bananas for eggs and almond milk for whole milk. The result is a low-saturated fat muffin which is vegan. The recipe does contain all-purpose flour–so it’s not gluten free — and sugar. I’ll work on finding substitutes for those ingredients on another day.

Vegan vs Vegetarian

Vegan and Vegetarian are both terms describing a plant-based diet. There are, however, several important differences between the two terms. A vegan diet does not inc;ude any animal products including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and sometimes, honey and any products (such as milk chocolate) which include these foods. On the other hand, a vegetarian diet does not include any meat, poultry or fish. However, many vegetarians include dairy products such as cheese and sour cream. Some vegetarian diets include eggs — other vegetarians don’t eat eggs. It is a matter of personal preferance.

Not vegan? No bananas?

This recipe can be modified in many ways. If you are not vegan, add two large eggs or 1/2 cup sour cream to the recipe and omit the vinegar. And no bananas? Substitute 1/2 cup sour cream or 1/2 cup applesauce. Low-fat or regular milk can be used in place of almond milk. Let’s be adaptable.

Enjoy these chocolate muffins. My recipe turned out well, The muffins are soft and spongy. Not dry at all. They have a distinct banana flavor but you can still taste the chocolate flavor. How do my muffins compare with the recipe from New York Times Cooking? Their recipe includes alot of butter and sour cream. Mine are totally vegan, lower in saturated fat and much healthier. Hey!

In summary, my vegan chocolate muffins taste just like what I imagine Dunken Donuts baked doughnuts would taste like. Since we don’t have Dunken Donuts here, I can’t be sure. But my “donuts” are quite good. Now, whenever I have a craving for a chocolate dessert, I can quickly make — in less that 30 minutes — some relatively healthy “Vegan Chocolate Banana Donut-Muffins.” No need to go out in the rain for one ingredient. I’ve found a vegan muffin recipe! Enjoy!