Banana Split Cupcakes (vegan)

September 25, 2019

reading time: 3 min

Three years ago my quest of creating as many banana split themed vegan recipes as possible began! I had come across a non-vegan recipe for banana split cupcakes, which had triggered an epiphany: Why not turn various dishes into a "banana split"?!

These Banana Split Cupcakes are dairy-free and quite decadent (so much about my boyfriend's granny always worrying about us not getting enough calories 😅). Because, you know. Sometimes it's just too cold for ice cream... (or so I'm told! I would actually eat ice cream every day if I wasn't somewhat concerned for my health... however, this recipe isn't "healthy" in any way either, sooo...)

So here it is: banana split, cupcake-style.

BANANA SPLIT CUPCAKES

Preparation time: 90 mins
Main ingredients: flour, banana, vegan butter
difficulty level: easy
makes: 12 cupcakes
suitable for: vegan, lactose-free, wheat-free, nut-free

Ingredients

Banana batter:
1 1/2 cup flour (I use spelt flour, type 1050)
3/4 cup raw cane sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup margarine or vegan butter, room temperature
1 "flax egg" (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 2.5 tbsp water)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup vegan buttermilk (1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar + fill up with soy milk)
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 large banana)

Strawberry vanilla buttercream icing:
2 cups (500ml) almond milk or other plant-milk
1 package vanilla custard powder
1 cup cane sugar
1 1/3 cup vegan butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup strawberries

Toppings:
vegan dark chocolate, melted
vegan sprinkles
chopped nuts
Maraschino cherries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 °C / 350 °F. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners, or lightly grease for a more eco-friendly alternative.

Batter:

Beat sugar and vegan butter until light and fluffy, using an electric whisk (about 3 minutes). Add the flax egg and the vanilla essence. Beat again. Then gradually add flour and baking soda. Mix.

Add "buttermilk", and mix again. Add mashed banana. Mix well.

Scoop the batter into your prepared cupcake tin, dividing the batter evenly between the 12 cups. I used an ice cream scoop to get evenly-sized cupcakes. Transfer the tin to your pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool in their tin for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes from their tin and transfer them to a wire rack to continue cooling.

In the meantime prepare the icing.

Icing:

First, the custard.
To a small bowl, add the custard powder along with 6 tbsp of your measured plant-based milk, and whisk thoroughly. Slowly heat up the remaining milk. Once it's close to a boil, stir in the dissolved custard powder. Whisk and stir for a minute or so, then remove from heat. Cover with cling wrap or waxed paper to prevent the "custard skin".

Once the custard has cooled completely, cream the vegan butter and the sugar. Spoon by spoon, add in the custard to form a "buttery" cream. Whisk on high speed to achieve a stiff consistency.

Puree the strawberries with an immersion blender. Pour off any extra juice, so the icing doesn't get too wet. Add the strawberry puree to the "buttercream" with the electric whisk running. Be patient as you whisk-whisk-whisk (about 4 minutes).

To assemble the cupcakes, fill your strawberry icing into a piping bag and do a cupcake swirl. Drizzle with melted chocolate, then quickly add your cherries, sprinkles and chopped nuts as long as the chocolate is still sticky.

Enjoy your concoction of banana muffin, strawberry vanilla icing, and chocolate topping.