Double Chocolate Banana Muffins – Gluten Free

Over-ripe bananas? Make some deliciously tender, rich and decadent gluten free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins. Perfect on their own, or dress with a little cream, custard or ice cream. Whatever way you eat them, you’ll be happy you did.

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Gluten Free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins – A recipe for over-ripe bananas

These aren’t any old chocolate muffins. No. These are Double Chocolate Banana Muffins. And they’re gluten free, so perfect for us Coeliacs (and Celiacs)! Tempted?

I’d love to tell you that with no less than 3 bananas in a batch, they count as one of your ‘5 a day’… Although I don’t think it works like that. But… They are good for the planet… Sort of! Because this is the perfect recipe for using up over-ripe bananas. And let’s be honest… We always need recipes for over-ripe bananas. Or is that just me?

I think not… Because according to a 2017 survey, in the UK, we routinely throw away 1.4 million bananas every day. Multiply that a few times over for the key banana-loving nations of the world and the figures must be shocking beyond belief. So how about we stop? Soft bananas are at their sweetest and most versatile. And at Gluten Free Alchemist we make a virtue of them…

From Banana Brownies to Blender Banana Ice Cream… and Banana Cookies with Chocolate Chips to Banoffee Cupcakes. And of course, these perfectly decadent Double Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Gluten Free Chocolate Muffins so good, no one will know they’re gluten free

As for the ‘gluten free’ status of these muffins… At Gluten Free Alchemist, we don’t accept anything that tastes typically ‘gluten free’. But what is ‘typically gluten free’? As someone with a long memory of ‘normal’ food, gluten free is mostly dry, crumbly, gritty, over-sweet, wierdly-textured and goes stale way too quick. It’s no surprise it gets a bad press.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. So, we strive to make food that genuinely no one will ever know is gluten free. Food that is as good as wheat originals and wherever possible, better. And these Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are no exception… A deep, rich chocolate sponge which is moist, fruity and slightly sticky with banana and shot through with extra bites of chocolate lavishness… Yet still not over-sweet.

What makes these muffins so deliciously moist?

The texture of these muffins is amazing… A soft tender crumb to rival the best. But what makes them so deliciously moist?

Of course, there is the banana. It goes without saying that fruit brings moisture to any bake. But in addition, the recipe incorporates ground almonds with their natural, nutritious oils (offering both structure and succulence). And a dash of buttermilk to enrich.

What gluten free flour blend is used in this muffin recipe?

Because of the overall balance of ingredients in the recipe, most gluten free flour blends should work fine for this bake. The flour blend used to develop my chocolate banana muffins was Gluten Free Alchemist Blend A. A reasonable alternative would be Doves Freee plain white flour blend.

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins with or without cream

My double chocolate banana muffins were originally conceived to be stand-alone sponges to be eaten ‘straight’. And indeed, they are quite delicious as they are… No toppings required.

As food photography goes however, there was a slight problem… The base muffins were not greatly photogenic…. Not a problem if you just want to eat them. But to showcase the muffins in all their glory, they needed to look slightly more dashing.

Enter a little whipped cream and a sprinkle of nuts found lurking in the fridge… Topped and finished off with a drizzle of warmed caramel sauce from a jar. Gorgeous! Simple but delicious gluten free sponges deservingly transformed from a bunch of shrinking violets into full-on drama queen chocolate-banoffee muffins. Soft, over-ripe bananas? Bring them on!

Ready to make gluten free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins?

I hope you’re tempted to try this recipe for Double Chocolate Banana Muffins. It’s such a delicious take on my standard Best Gluten Free Banana Bread recipe… With or without the fancy toppings.

If you do make them, pretty please let me know. Take a quick photo and tag me on social media so I can see how they turned out… And leave a comment or rate the recipe too. My main social media (and don’t forget to follow too) is: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Other fabulous recipes to use over-ripe bananas…

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5 from 3 votes

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Over-ripe bananas? Make some deliciously tender, rich and decadent gluten free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins. Perfect on their own, or dress with a little cream, custard or ice cream.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Bake Sale, Cake, Desserts, Sweet Treats

Cuisine: British, Gluten Free

Keyword: banana, chocolate, muffin

Servings: 12 large muffins

Calories per serving: 341.7kcal

Author: Gluten Free Alchemist – Kate Dowse

Key equipment

• Kitchen scales
• measuring spoons
• non-stick muffin tins (+ optional large muffin cases)
• Oven
• Mixing bowls
• kettle
• teaspoon
• electric whisk
• fork
• Large mixing spoon or spatula
• wire rack

Ingredients 

0.33x0.5x0.66x1x1.5x2x

MetricUS Customary

Double Chocolate Banana Muffin Sponge

• 50 g cocoa powder
• 100 ml/g boiling water
• 180 g plain gluten free flour blend I use GFA Blend A (see NOTES)
• 100 g ground almonds almond meal
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1½ tsp baking powder gluten free
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 100 g unsalted butter softened
• 150 g golden caster sugar
• 125 g soft light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs room temperature – UK large (Canadian ‘Extra Large’; Australian ‘Jumbo’; and US ‘Extra or Very Large’)
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 medium bananas very ripe
• 100 g dark chocolate chunks or chips
• 175 ml buttermilk

Cream Topping – optional

• double cream (heavy cream) whipped to soft peaks
• caramel sauce warmed to drizzle
• chopped nuts of choice to sprinkle

Instructions

• Prepare your muffin tins, by base lining with baking paper or lining with large cake cases.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
• Put the cocoa powder in a small bowl and gradually add the boiling water, stirring until you have a smooth paste. Set aside.
• Combine the flour, almonds, xanthan gum, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and whisk briefly to make sure any lumps are completely broken down. TIP: Weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously.
• Cream together the butter and sugars with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
• Add the vanilla extract and the eggs (one at a time), beating thoroughly between each addition.
• Add the cocoa paste and beat again to thoroughly combine.
• Mash the bananas and gently fold into the batter with a large spoon or spatula.
• Fold in the chocolate chunks.
• Finally fold the buttermilk and flour mix into the batter alternately (about a third of each at a time), until just combined.
• Spoon the cake batter into the muffin tins/cases, to about two-thirds full.
• Bake for about 20 minutes (large muffins), until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Decorate with whipped cream and toppings or serve with custard… Although they taste great just as they are.

Notes

* Note: nutritional information is an estimate & may vary according to portion size/ingredient variants.

Gluten Free Alchemist Flour Blend A can be found on the GFA Flours & Flour Blending Page. If using an alternative flour blend, the texture may vary slightly.

Nutrition

Calories: 341.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.1g | Protein: 6.4g | Fat: 15.8g | Saturated Fat: 7.9g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 46.9mg | Sodium: 385.4mg | Potassium: 269.5mg | Fiber: 4.9g | Sugar: 30.7g | Vitamin A: 291.6IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 119.8mg | Iron: 1.8mg

Tried this recipe?Take a pic & tag @glutenfreealchemist on Instagram & Facebook (GFAlchemist1 : Twitter) ~ #glutenfreealchemist ~ I love seeing your posts x

© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins shared with

• Create Bake Grow & Gather #464 with Shabby Art Boutique
• Cook Blog Share 2021 Week 15 with Sew White
• Fiesta Friday #377 with Angie and Spades Spoons & Spatulas
• What’s For Dinner #310 with The Lazy Gastronome