chocolate tahini swirl banana muffins
these chocolate tahini swirl banana muffins are bakery style, refined sugar free and filled with swirls of homemade chocolate tahini.
Equipment
- 6ct. muffin pan (jumbo muffin size) OR 12 ct. regular muffin pan
- 3 mixing bowls
- whisk, spoon and/or spatula
- cupcake liners are optional, personal preference
Ingredients
homemade chocolate tahini
- ⅔ c (150g) tahini, well stirred
- 4 tbsp dutch process cocoa powder sub with unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tbsp pure maple syrup sub with honey
bakery style banana muffins
- 2 c (240g) all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅔ c (159ml) pure maple syrup sub with honey, other liquid sweetener of choice or sugar
- 4 tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, melted sub with canola oil, vegan butter or tahini
- 4 tbsp (56g) tahini, well stirred sub with melted butter
- 1 c very ripe mashed bananas, about 2 medium bananas
- 2 (114g) large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
- ½ c whole milk greek yogurt sub with milk or sour cream
Instructions
homemade chocolate tahini
- Pour all ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Using a spoon, whisk or spatula, mix until smooth and well combined. Taste and adjust as needed. Personally, I like a very small punch of salt! Set aside.
bakery style banana muffins
- Preheat oven to 425F (218C). Place cupcake liners into each muffin well OR lightly spray with non stick spray. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Place the very ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Using a large whisk, work the bananas from mashed into a smooth mixture. Whisk the melted butter, tahini and maple syrup with the mashed bananas until smooth and very well combined. Very few lumps should remain. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, whisking well after each one until well combined, about 20 seconds each.
- Switch to a large spatula or spoon for the easiest mixing. In this order (dry ingredients, yogurt, dry, yogurt, dry), add dry ingredients to the wet alternating with the yogurt. Mix each time until JUST combined. A few flour streaks is okay! Place the muffin batter in the fridge to rest for 20-30 minutes. I like to use this time to finish preheating the oven (425 F) and clean up!
assembling the swirl banana muffins
- Take the bowl of banana muffin batter out of the fridge.Scoop 2 tablespoon banana bread batter into each jumbo muffin cup. Scoop 1 tablespoon of homemade chocolate tahini. Using a knife or toothpick, gently push down/swirl the chocolate tahini. Repeat this layering, swirling two more times ( if the size of the muffin tin allows). Each muffin well should be filled ALMOST to the top.
- Bake the muffins at 425 F (218C) for 5 minutes. SET A TIMER. After 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350F (177C). DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN. Bake an additional 18-23 minutes. The muffins are finished when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Keep in mind the chocolate tahini will remain "wet," so look for other signs the muffins are finished. The tops of the muffins will be golden brown and the top of the muffin should bounce back, when lightly pressed down.
- Cool muffins in the muffin pan for 10- 15 minutes. Once cool to the touch, gently loosen any edges of the muffin still stuck to the pan.Remove muffins from the pan to cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
If using a standard, 12 count muffin, pan the total baking time will be closer to 18-21 minutes. Bake the muffins at 425 F for 5 minutes, then lower to 350 F for an additional 13-16 minutes.
homemade chocolate tahini: there are a couple of store bought chocolate tahini products that are delicious. you can use one of those or sub with a chocolate spread like Nutella. I love tahini for this recipe, but you can use any natural (meaning runny) nut butter in place of tahini.
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