Vegan Starbucks Copycat Banana & Caramel Muffins
Vegan Starbucks Copycat Banana & Caramel Muffins
~ Fluffy banana muffin stuffed with chocolate and nuts, with a gooey caramel center ~
These muffins are 100% my favourite thing I have ever made. They are so easy to make, and they taste like heaven. If you are looking to WOW a crowd, these will be just the thing for you. You barely even need any baking experience to make them! You can add in some raisins, oats, peanut butter, whatever you like. This recipe makes 9 large muffins perfect for a family event, or you can double it, or even triple it!
If you enjoyed this recipe, I guarantee you will love my vegan banana bread. click here for the recipe.
What's so great about these muffins is that they have no weird ingredients in! I know vegan baking can be intimidating, especially when all of the recipes you find contain ingredients that you don't even know. That's why this recipe is great for beginners, or experts. They only take about 15 minutes to prepare, then you can just sit back and relax while they bake in the oven. I promise you, your house will soon smell like heaven. Caramel melting in the pan, and banana muffins baking in the oven.
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Equipment and Ingredient notes
Equipment needed:
- A large mixing bowl
- A fork / masher
- Wooden spoon / spatula
- Sharp knife
- Loaf pan
- Kitchen scales / measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients:
- Bananas. I get these from a fruit and veg market since their produce is usually better, but you can get it from anywhere accessible to you.
- Chopped nuts. I used chopped hazelnuts and almonds. This ingredient is fully optional, but I think it makes this banana bread so much more flavourful and delicious. You can buy these in almost any supermarket.
- Oil. I use sunflower oil but you can also use any other neutral tasting oil like canola or vegetable oil. I do not recommend using oils like olive, coconut, and sesame because they have very strong flavours which will come out in your loaf.
- Sugar. I use caster sugar in all of my baking recipes, because it is finer and easier to work with in baking. Granulated sugar will also work well. This is used in
- Plant milk. I always use oat milk in anything I'm baking other than recipes including coconut, where I will use coconut milk. I like Alpro's oat whole milk as I find it the closest tasting vegan milk to ordinary milk. You can use any plant milk though.
- Vanilla. I use vanilla paste rather than extract, although extract will still work fine. I prefer paste as it has a more authentic vanilla flavour. It is good to invest a little money into buying a good vanilla paste / extract, as it makes a pretty big difference in the flavour of your bakes.
- Flour. In all of my sponge recipes I use self-raising flour. A lot of people substitute this for plain or all-purpose flour, but if you do this your sponge will not rise properly. Unlike plain flour, self-raising flour has a raising agent (baking powder) mixed in with it. However, plain flour requires you to add your own raising agent separately. Most recipes that use self-raising flour will still add extra raising agents to give it a better rise.
- Baking powder. This creates a level bake and inflates the loaf creating bubbles to stop it from becoming dense and chewy. Baking powder contains baking soda and an acidic substance so it does not require you to activate it with your own separate acidic solution. It also contains a small amount of corn-starch, that keeps it from activating while it is in storage. I don't have a specific brand that I buy this from, I usually just go for the no-plastic option.
- Baking soda. This is also known as bicarbonate of soda. Again, I don't buy this from any particular brand, as it doesn't make much of a difference where you buy it from. Baking soda does not contain an acid so it does require you to add in your own acidic solution, unlike baking powder. Baking soda is used for creating a light and fluffy sponge.
- Vegan chocolate chunks. My favourite vegan-chocolate is Moser Roth vegan cocoa bar which can be found in Aldi. It also comes in two different flavours, dark and blond. These can also be found in Aldi. I love the creamy texture of this chocolate, and it melts in your mouth, unlike many vegan chocolates.
- Plant-based butter. This is used in the caramel to stop the sugar from hardening. I normally use flora's plant based butter blocks, or vegan stork butter blocks. Both work fine. You can use whichever you prefer.
- Plant-based cream. You can either use vegan double cream or vegan single cream. I have used both and they seem to work the same.
- Salt. This will give your caramel that salted caramel taste. This is also used in the muffins.
Step-by-step instructions:
Step one (the batter):
Place the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mash with a fork or a masher until the texture reaches a slightly chunky puree.
Add the oil, sugar, milk and vanilla to the mashed bananas and whisk together with a whisk or a fork.
Once fully combined, the mixture will be slightly foamy. Now add your dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, vegan choc chunks, chopped nuts, and a sprinkle of salt.
Fold in the shape of the letter 'J' carefully and slowly until the flour is fully hydrated. Try your best to not overmix the batter but still make sure there are no lumps of flour left.
Step two (baking):
Pre-heat your oven to 180c (conventional oven) or 160c (fan oven).
Line a muffin tray with 9 muffin liners.
Scoop your muffin batter in into the 9 muffin liners.
Sprinkle with some extra chocolate chips and chopped nuts.
Place into your pre-heated oven on the top shelf (conventional oven) or the middle shelf (fan oven).
Bake for 30 minutes until the muffins have risen, and they are golden brown and crispy on top.
Let cool at room temp until they are fully cooled.
Step three (the caramel):
Place the sugar in a pan over medium-high heat. Let it melt without stirring too much until it turns a light golden colour.
Once the sugar has fully melted, add in the butter. Place on medium heat until the butter has fully melted.
Immediately add in the cream and stir until combined. (Because the cream is cold and the caramel is hot, there will be a lot of bubbles. Be careful!)
Once the cream is mixed in, take of of the heat and add in the vanilla and salt.
Mix until combined, and pour into a container. Let it chill at room temp (or in the fridge to be faster) until the caramel has become thick.
Step four (assembling):
Take the tip of a piping bag and insert the opposite end into the middle of the muffin. Twist and remove the centre of the muffin.
Pour about 1tbsp of the caramel into each muffin. Sprinkle some extra chopped nuts onto the top.
And enjoy!
Storage - These muffins will stay good for up to 3 days covered at room temp, 1 week in the refrigerator, and up to 1 and a half months in the freezer.
Tips:
- Use over-ripe bananas. This makes the muffins more flavourful, and the bananas are easier to mash.
- Don't overmix the batter. This overworks the gluten in the batter, and the muffins will end up dense and they will not rise.
- I recommend using chopped hazelnuts in these muffins because they give them the best flavour.
- Don't take your eye off of the caramel! If you let the sugar melt for too long, the caramel will end up bitter. Sugar hardens super fast, so don't go away from the caramel.
The History of Banana Bread
Alexandra the Great, the former king of Macedonia, conquered parts of India in 327 BCE and it is said that he ''discovered'' bananas. However, Archaeological records indicate that the banana had been cultivated a long time before that but this was the first written record of any trace of them.
Banana bread first started to become popular in America and made its way into many American cookbooks in the 1930s. It began gaining popularity after the popularization of baking powder and baking soda in 1930. The origin of the first banana bread made is unknown, but many believe that it was created by housewives in the 18th century that were experimenting with pearlash. Home baking became popular again in the 1960s and many people realised how simple the banana bread recipe was, and the recipe began to blow up in popularity.
Banana bread was a very common recipe during the Great Depression (1929 - 1939) since it costs very little to make and uses very common ingredients.
In 2020 as the covid-19 lockdown began, the popularity of banana bread increased by 525% in the UK. Since people were very bored during the lockdown, there was a baking craze from 2020-2021. Most people were getting stocked up on food and they found themselves with many leftover bananas and flour. This is why it became extremely popular, once again.
~ Bakery style banana muffins filled with caramel, nuts, and chocolate ~
Prep time: 15 mins. Serves: 9. Cook time: 30 mins.
Ingredients:
Batter:
- 3 large / 4 small over-ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup sunflower oil / or other neutral tasting oils (75g)
- 1/4 cup oat milk / any other plant milk (60ml)
- 1/3 cup caster sugar / or granulated (67g)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste / extract
- 1 + 3/4 cups self-raising flour (216g)
- 1 + 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chunks / optional (140g)
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts / optional (110g)
Caramel:
- 1 cup caster sugar / granulated
- 6 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract / paste
- 1/2 cup vegan cream
Method:
For the caramel:
Place the sugar in a pan over medium-high heat. Let it melt without stirring too much until it turns a light golden colour.
Once the sugar has fully melted, add in the butter. Place on medium heat until the butter has fully melted.
Immediately add in the cream and stir until combined. (Because the cream is cold and the caramel is hot, there will be a lot of bubbles. Be careful!)
Once the cream is mixed in, take of of the heat and add in the vanilla and salt.
Mix until combined, and pour into a container. Let it chill at room temp (or in the fridge to be faster) until the caramel has become thick.
For the muffins:
Place the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mash with a fork or a masher until the texture reaches a slightly chunky puree.
Add the oil, sugar, milk and vanilla to the mashed bananas and whisk together with a whisk or a fork.
Once fully combined, the mixture will be slightly foamy. Now add your dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, vegan choc chunks, chopped nuts, and a sprinkle of salt.
Fold in the shape of the letter 'J' carefully and slowly until the flour is fully hydrated. Try your best to not overmix the batter but still make sure there are no lumps of flour left.
Pre-heat your oven to 180c (conventional oven) or 160c (fan oven).
Line a muffin tray with 9 muffin liners.
Scoop your muffin batter in into the 9 muffin liners.
Sprinkle with some extra chocolate chips and chopped nuts.
Place into your pre-heated oven on the top shelf (conventional oven) or the middle shelf (fan oven).
Bake for 30 minutes until the muffins have risen, and they are golden brown and crispy on top.
Let cool at room temp until they are fully cooled.
Take the tip of a piping bag and insert the opposite end into the middle of the muffin. Twist and remove the centre of the muffin.
Pour about 1tbsp of the caramel into each muffin. Sprinkle some extra chopped nuts onto the top.
And enjoy!
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