Today’s recipe is brought to you in collaboration with Earth Balance. They make top-quality vegan, non-GMO, and 100% plant-based products (how cool is that??), including the buttery sticks that help give these adorable cupcakes their rich flavor and tender texture!
About seven months after I started this food blog, I decided to adopt a vegan diet for a month to challenge for myself to get out of my cooking comfort zone and try something new. (My intimidation by cooking meat—aka anything other than chicken—may have had something to do with it too… But shh, don’t tell!)
In preparation, I poured myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast and dessert nearly every day for the next week to finish off my new half-gallon of nonfat milk, and I baked big batches of lemon bars and angel food cupcakes to use the unopened carton of eggs in my fridge. I also printed out various vegan-friendly shopping lists posted online by the healthy grocery store chains in town, carefully highlighting the items that sounded tempting and scribbling notes in the margins.
The day before I officially began my vegan month, I bought lots of tempeh, tofu, and seitan for protein; vanilla soy milk and new granola (sweetened with brown rice syrup instead of honey!) for my morning meals; and soy-based shredded “mozzarella” along with my typical fruits and veggies. I refused to give up pizza or quesadillas!
Because I loved to bake and refused to give that up too, I also purchased a vegan dessert cookbook from a bookstore downtown, and I found egg replacement powders and Earth Balance Buttery Sticks at the grocery store. Certain recipes, like chocolate chip cookies, just don’t taste the same when made vegan-friendly with oil… They need that irresistible buttery flavor!
I successfully made it through the next month, and I really enjoyed that plant-based diet. I looked forward to eating lots of veggies, more than I typically did in the weeks before, and I also became much more conscientious of vegan-friendly baking. It was really difficult to find suitable baked goods at the grocery store—even something as simple as a loaf of bread!
Over the past few years, my brother actually developed an egg allergy and lactose intolerance, and because he now tries to stick with vegan-friendly baked goods, nearly every treat that I share with him is vegan. So when he basically aced all of his finals at the end of his quarter at graduate school a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated with these…
Mini Dark Chocolate Banana Cupcakes! They’re moist and perfectly tender, just like traditional cupcakes, but they contain absolutely no eggs, dairy, refined flour or sugar. How awesome is that?? And that rich frosting… Just hand me a bowl of that with a spoon, and it’ll disappear in a heartbeat!
Oops?
In these healthier cupcakes, the mashed banana plays four main roles. It gives them their fruity flavor, replaces the eggs, adds natural sweetness, and creates an extremely tender texture. You’ll need about 2 large bananas, and try to use the darkest, spottiest ones you can find! Those ripe bananas will be sweeter than plain yellow ones, which is ideal for sweetening cupcakes.
The other part of the tender texture comes from Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. I fell in love with Earth Balance five years ago during my vegan month because it tastes like butter, melts like butter, and is great for baking. (Plus my brother really appreciates it when I use it in his baked goods!) You can find the buttery sticks at just about any grocery store, as well as Earth Balance’s other vegan-friendly products.
To boost the sweetness, you’ll also use a combination of powdered stevia and vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! You’ll only need a few teaspoons of the powdered stevia and half a teaspoon of the vanilla crème stevia for all 30 little cupcakes. (You’ll also use them in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
And finally, the frosting… Oh my goodness, this frosting. It’s one of the best chocolate frostings that I’ve ever eaten, and it’s so simple! You just need cocoa powder, milk, vanilla, and sweetener. Yes, that’s it! No messy powdered sugar and no mixers required—just a fork and a bowl.
It’s important that you measure the cocoa powder correctly, using either the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale. I highly recommend the latter—this is the inexpensive one that I own! Too much cocoa powder will make the frosting taste bitter instead of decadent like 72% dark chocolate. And if you prefer your frosting sweeter, you can always add more sweetener to taste!
Now who’s ready to bake—and eat!—some cupcakes?? Even better, Earth Balance is currently hosting a Vegan Cupcake Challenge Contest that you can enter! One lucky person will win a weekend in beautiful Boulder, Colorado along with a $1500 Visa gift card and other awesome prizes. Check it out and enter here!
| Mini Dark Chocolate Banana Cupcakes | | Print |
- for the cupcakes
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp (12g) powdered stevia
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, melted
- 1 cup (260g) mashed banana (about 2 large ripe bananas)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- for the frosting
- ¾ cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ½ cup (120mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp vanilla crème stevia, or to taste
- To prepare the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 30 mini muffin cups with paper liners, and coat the liners with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered stevia, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the Earth Balance, banana, and vanilla. Mix in the vanilla crème stevia and 2 tablespoons of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
- Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners. Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes or until the centers feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the frosting, add the cocoa powder to a small bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour in the milk, vanilla, and vanilla crème stevia. Stir until thoroughly combined. Spread on top of the cooled cupcakes.
If you prefer not to use stevia in the cupcakes, substitute ½ cup of agave for both the powdered stevia and vanilla crème stevia. Decrease the milk to 2 tablespoons, or slightly more if the batter seems too dry. (The batter should be thick, similar to muffin batter.)
If you prefer not to use stevia in the frosting, substitute 3 tablespoons of agave or pure maple syrup and decrease the milk to 5 tablespoons.
It’s very important to measure the cocoa powder correctly, like this. Too much cocoa powder will make the frosting taste bitter instead of rich and dark, similar to 72% dark chocolate.
Any milk may be substitute for the unsweetened cashew milk in both the cupcakes and the frosting.
For more substitutions, see the Nutrition Information page below.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
This post was sponsored by Earth Balance. As always, all text, opinions, recipe, and photographs are my own.
OMG these look so adorable and delicious. I could probably eat all of the frosting at once! If I wanted to make these into regular-sized cupcakes, how would I go about doing that? (I don’t own a mini cupcake pan but I NEED one!) Thank you Amy! <3 and I'm glad you're enjoying my Snapchats hahah
Thank you so much Marina! The recipe should yield about 12 cupcakes, and I recommend following the directions in this recipe. (It’s almost exactly the same!) 🙂 I can’t wait to hear — and see! — what you think of the cupcakes! Keep those snaps coming!!
Are you able to use almond milk, coconut oil not the butter or marg.. i don’t use sugar.
I already answered that in the Notes section! 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the cupcakes Ann!
Hi Amy!
I am 13 years old and in the last few days I was diagnosed with Anorexia. My family have found it really hard to cope with as I struggle to allow myself to eat cakes and treats like my pre eating disorder self did. To help me and my family get through it in the meantime, I have been baking some of your recipies like the Carrot Cake and Oatmeal cookies (which were both AMAZING) as it helps me enjoy yummy food without all the guilt and sadness. Today I made these banana cupcakes and WOW they are great! I love your recipies and look forward to reading your posts whenever I have free time. My battle with Anorexia will be hard, but I know me and my family will get through it. Especially with your scrumptious recipes. 🙂
I’m truly touched that you’ve turned to my recipes as part of your recovery Louisa! It’s really hard to take those first steps down the path to recovery, let alone acknowledge and admit to a diagnosis like that in the first place, and I am incredibly proud of you for doing that. You are a very strong young woman to face your guilt and sadness head-on and start baking sweet treats, despite them tending to be a fear food for you. You are so brave and amazing!! It also takes a lot of courage to open up and tell your anorexia story in a public place like the internet, and I truly appreciate that you wanted to share that with me. ♥ I’m really looking forward to reading more comments from you in the future and hearing what recipes you try next!
oh my god these look incredible. and i love anything chocolatey and banan-y.. so i just know that these would taste amazing X
Thanks Thalia!
Heyy these look yummy ^_^ wanna ask that what can i use instead of buttery sticks? Can i change it with olive oil or something?
Thanks Eda! I answer that in the Notes section underneath the Instructions (see the bit about the Nutrition Info page). 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the cupcakes!
Hi Amy, can I make this as a cake instead, and what dimensions of a square cake pan would you recommend? I would have to increase baking time, I reckon. Also, can I use all purpose flour instead? Thanks!
Yes to all-purpose flour! I’d suggest a 9″-square baking pan. Start checking after about 22 minutes. I expect it’ll require closer to 30 minutes, if not more, but I don’t want you to accidentally overcook it if I’m wrong! 😉 It’ll be done when the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I can’t wait to hear how it turns out Kinny!
Hi Amy, these were so easy to make! They were done in 26 mins, in a 9″ square pan. I used agave instead of stevia for both the cake and frosting. The cake was moist and light. Personally, I’d add a little more salt to it because I love the balance of salt and sweetness in desserts. The frosting was really dark, even with 5 tbsp agave! I’d try this with honey in the frosting instead next time. I had to add up to 8 tbsp milk to get this to a spreadable consistency. Had a lot of fun with this, thanks again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kinny! And thank you for letting me know about the cake pan baking time and the agave subs. I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂