Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post. I would love to share the day and a raw cheesecake with all of you. Hopefully, we’ll have the chance one day soon (mark those calendars: October 2nd the Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off is on in Toronto).

This recipe may seem a bit out of place among my usual raw, whole food fare. But it was created with a very special purpose in mind – feeding Dax’s parents calories in a delicious, but concentrated form that could be consumed using just one hand. Back in June, when I was preparing care packages for a couple of expecting vegan Moms I created this recipe to rival one of our cities finest vegan baked goods (the marvelous muffins of Urban Herbivore).
Since I dropped off that first batch, I’ve had a few requests for the recipe. The only problem was…I didn’t write it down. I’m one of those, hmmm…needs another TB of this or tsp of that bakers. 
But this week I finally had a chance to retest it and share the results during a visit to see two-month-old Dax (he’s looking handsome and healthy). So, in honour of the little vegan man who adds about a cup of coffee in weight a day, here’s to many more ounces made of bananas, blueberries and whole grains.

Preheat oven to 425. Lightly oil a standard muffin tin. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mash up the bananas into a mushy paste (I know, appetizing, right?). Add the oil and lemon juice to the bananas and stir to combine. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until “just mixed”. Everything should be moist but don’t overdo the stirring. Fold in the blueberries. Scoop the batter into the prepared tin. Rough up the top with your fingers so you get some ridges (it will add great texture). Put the muffins into the oven and reduce the temperature to 410. Let the muffins bake for 20-25 minutes until they get a nice brown exterior and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out dry.

This is not a moist muffin. It is dense. The top texture is almost cookie-like. Not everyone enjoys a muffin that is this firm, but you will find most bakery muffins share this type of texture. This is the kind of muffin that you can tear off the top and enjoy it on its own without ending up with a crumbly mess (it holds together is what I’m trying to say).


For a long time I couldn’t figure out what made bakery muffins so different then the lovely little ones I was baking at home. You may notice two main differences in this recipe: oven temperature and limited liquid. The muffins get their moisture from the mashed bananas and oil alone. This stops that mushy texture that most home-baked muffins get by the next day. The high temperature supports a nice rise and a crispy top. 


The basic recipe is really easy to play with – replace the blueberries with apples and cranberries, raspberries and chocolate chips, sweet potato and dates, etc.


These muffins freeze fantastically well and maintain their texture even when defrosted.


P.S. Little vegans, Elyse and Barrett I think you’re awesome too!


What is your favourite muffin flavour? 
Do you like moist or firm muffins?


Did you see Caitlin introduce Operational Beautiful on the Today Show today? It was pretty fantastic.