JACKPOT bakes vegan wheat bran banana muffins

Hello all!

Since it’s Wednesday and we are half way through the week, I thought I would post a recipe from one of my latest baking experiments. I made vegan oat bran muffins last time but was keen to try wheat bran this time as I really like the texture of the muffin that comes from utilising wheat bran in place of some of the flour in the muffin mixture.

I was really happy with the results of my muffin experiment as I kind of just improvised and experimented with what I thought would work well in the muffin and the flavour combinations. The resulting muffins were moist, packed full of goodness from the bananas, wheat bran, coconut oil and sweetened with coconut sugar and a dash of agave nectar. I was surprised at how well these muffins turned out so much so I know that I will be making these again and probably putting in other various fruits in the mixture such as blueberries or strawberries.

The muffins were very light and airy to my surprise as I thought that using wheat bran and wholemeal flour would lead to a really dense and heavy muffin but it was definitely the opposite once I bit into one of the muffins to trial them. The bananas give it a nice sweetness and you can taste a hint of coconut from the sugar and the oil which pairs nicely with the bananas.

I gave these muffins to my dad and sister to sample and I was surprised at how quickly my dad scoffed down the muffin. My sister on the otherhand seemed to think it was a bit too wheaty for her liking as she is used to eating things a lot more sweeter and a lot more indulgent when it comes to desserts and muffins. But the fact that she finished the muffin, means it can’t have been all that bad. I had to stop myself from eating more after I trialled the first muffin after it came out of the oven as it was way past my bedtime…curse my late night baking…I understand now where all these extra calories are coming from ;P

So onto the recipe….

JACKPOT’s Vegan Wheat Bran Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Wheat Bran (you can use oat bran if you can’t find any wheat bran)
1 and 1/4 cup of Wholemeal Spelt Flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of baking powder
1-2 tsp of cinnamon
a pinch of salt
3 bananas mashed
1 cup of vegan buttermilk (1 cup of almond milk or soy milk with 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar)
2 tbsps of coconut oil (I used a bit less as my bananas were quite large and so I subbed the bananas for some of the oil)
1/4 cup of organic coconut sugar
1 dash of agave nectar (can add more if you want your muffins to be sweeter)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celscius.
Line a muffin tray with muffin liners or coat your muffin tray with oil if you are not using any liners and set aside.
Add the dry ingredients into a large bowl except for the coconut sugar (wheat bran, wholemeal spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt) and combine with a wooden spoon. Set aside.
Mash your bananas in a smaller bowl with a fork until relatively smooth. You can leave a few pieces in there if you want your muffins to have some banana pieces when you bite into it.
Make your vegan buttermilk by measuring a cup of almond milk and adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Whisk gently and then let it curdle for a few minutes.
Once the vegan buttermilk has been set, you can add the buttermilk mixture into the mashed bananas bowl.
Add in your coconut oil, coconut sugar and agave nectar into the wet mixture (you can always add more or less sugar depending on your taste buds)
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon being carefully not to overmix the batter.
Using an icecream scoop or a spoon, spoon in the mixture into the muffin liners about 3/4′s full.
Place the muffin tray into the oven and bake for around 20-25 minutes or until you see the muffin tops turn a nice golden brown colour.
Take the muffins out of the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
You can freeze the rest of the muffins for an easy go to snack for breakfast or when you are feeling peckish.
Enjoy!