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healthy muffins

Banana Walnut Muffins with Vegan Cream Cheese Mascarpone

January 9, 2020 by APRÉS RUN

And the obsession with banana bread baked goods continues… (sorry I’m not sorry 🤷🏻‍♀️).

These are not just regular banana bread muffins, though. They’re hearty banana walnut muffins, topped with an incredible cream cheese mascarpone frosting. Is there anything more fun than a muffin with frosting? It makes eating a muffin feel 10x more fancy and decadent. When I make these, I always feel like I have a special treat on hand, and they look so beautiful all dressed up.

The frosting on these is a homemade vegan mascarpone. Mascarpone is a soft cheese, so it’s not designed to be a super sweet icing. Rather, it’s meant to be a savory complement to the sweet banana muffins. If sweet icings are your thing, though, I have a few tips in the Notes section (below) for how to make that happen.

Bonus: This recipe will make slightly more frosting than what you’ll need for topping the muffins. Store the leftovers in your fridge, and slather on a warm bagel with a drizzle of honey, dip pretzels in it, or use it to top pancakes or other baked goods with. The possibilities are endless!

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Banana Walnut Muffins with Vegan Cream Cheese Mascarpone

  • Author: APRÉS RUN
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 22
  • Total Time: 37 minutes
  • Yield: 12 muffins 1x
  • Category: Baked goods
  • Cuisine: Healthy
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Description

Oh, my. I don’t have enough good things to say about these muffins. Elevate your weekday snack – or make a fun weekend baked good for a crowd – with these amazing savory-sweet banana bread muffins. The whipped mascarpone frosting really puts them over the top.


Scale

Ingredients

Banana Walnut Muffins:

  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 3 medium super-ripe bananas (the spottier and more brown, the better!)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup plant-based milk of choice (I used almond milk)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Vegan Cream Cheese Mascarpone:

  • 1 8-oz. container Kite Hill Plain Cream Cheese
  • 1/2 cup plant-based butter or margarine of choice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Pinch of sea salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 425º F. Grease a 12-count muffin tin, or line with baking cups, and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Crack in the eggs, and whisk until well-beaten. And then add in the olive oil, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until well-incorporated.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir to combine, until no flour pockets remain.
  5. Add in the walnuts, and stir once more.
  6. Spoon your batter into the muffin cups. Fill all the way to the top, or just under.
  7. Bake for 5 minutes at 425º. Then – without turning off the oven – reduce the temperature to 350º and bake for an additional 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean and crumbly.
  8. While muffins are cooking, combine all mascarpone ingredients in a stand mixer, and beat until light and fluffy. Refrigerate the mixture to let firm up before frosting.
  9. Once the muffins are done cooking, remove them from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the baking tin. Then remove them and let finish cooling on a baking rack.
  10. Wait until muffins are fully cooled before frosting. Be as generous with the frosting as you please, and store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5-7 days. Because the muffins have a cream cheese-based frosting, they should also be refrigerated.

Notes

  • If you don’t need these muffins to be gluten-free, feel free to substitute 2 cups whole wheat flour in place of the 1 cup almond meal and 1 cup oat flour.
  • The initial high cooking temperature is a trick I learned from Sally’s Baking Kitchen. They allow the muffins to spring up and rise much higher than cooking them at – say- 350º for 20+ minutes. They’ll also give them a lighter, fluffier texture (and make them what I call ‘bakery-quality’ baked goods). Keep in mind – rising is all relative with gluten-free baked goods, which won’t rise as much as muffins made with a gluten-containing flour (like whole wheat).
  • This frosting is not designed to be super sweet – like an icing. If you prefer a sweeter frosting, add either 1-2 tablespoons of real maple syrup, or 1 cup powdered sugar to your mascarpone ingredients, and beat in the stand mixer until light and fluffy, as directed.
  • Feel free to use another brand of vegan cream cheese, if you prefer, but Kite Hill is the one I created the recipe with, and loved. Of all the vegan cream cheeses I’ve tested, this has the best texture, in my opinion.

Keywords: Healthy muffins, banana muffins, banana bread muffins, banana walnut muffins, vegan cream cheese, vegan mascarpone, healthy baked goods, gluten free baked goods, dairy free baked goods

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Filed Under: Nutrition, Recipes Tagged With: banana bread muffins, banana muffins, banana walnut muffins, dairy free baked goods, gluten free baked goods, healthy baked goods, healthy muffins, vegan cream cheese, vegan mascarpone

Raspberry Double Chocolate Muffins (gf, df)

February 18, 2019 by APRÉS RUN

I love Valentine’s Day. It might be my second favorite holiday behind Christmas. Is that a crazy thing to say? I can’t help it — I love red and pink, I love roses, I love the thoughtful gift giving and romance. I love seeing people in love. So — like the people who keep their Christmas lights up long after Christmas has passed, I’ll post another Valentine’s Day-themed recipe after February 14th.

These muffins are decadent and delicious but healthy enough that you can eat one (or two) for a daily mid-morning or afternoon snack. They have no refined sugar, are packed with whole grains, and are gluten- and dairy-free.

And really, I think those who love Valentine’s Day, those who loathe it, and those who only like it for the half-priced chocolate the next day can all agree… there’s really no bad time for fudgy chocolate-raspberry baked goods. Enjoy!

Dry ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups oat flour
  • ¾ cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa poder
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients

  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 1 ¼ cup almond milk
  • ¼ cup melted and cooled coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup dark chocolate chips

For topping

  • 6 oz fresh raspberries
  • More dark chocolate chips
  • Coconut butter, warmed so that it’s nice and drippy

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a muffin tin and set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
  3. Add wet ingredients one at a time and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
  4. Fill muffin cups ¾ of the way full. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips and 2-3 raspberries on top of each muffin cup.
  5. Place pan in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. When ready, the muffins should have risen, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins should come out clean.
  6. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and drizzle with melted coconut butter.

Filed Under: Nutrition, Recipes Tagged With: dairy free baking, double chocolate gluten free muffins, double chocolate raspberry muffins, healthy baking, healthy baking for athletes, healthy baking for runners, healthy muffin recipes, healthy muffins, healthy valentine's day, valentine's day eats, valentine's day sweets

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Montana DePasquale

Welcome!

I’m a certified running coach who has the pleasure of working with busy, hardworking runners all over the world. I work with runners chasing Boston qualifiers and sub-3:00 marathons, to runners who are just getting started and want to learn how to train correctly or build up safely. I also specialize in working with pre- and postpartum women.

In addition to running, I am an avid foodie who places an emphasis on whole, nourishing foods – and I’m a huge proponent of strength training for runners. On this blog I share training tips, recipes from my home kitchen, and evidence-based strength training info.

I live in Providence, Rhode Island, with my husband Ryan and son Brady.

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