Dining In - Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Coffee Frosting (Gluten-Free)

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Coffee Frosting - Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen

When my boyfriend's birthday rolls around it's time to jump in the kitchen and bake! In previous years I've made full cakes, including last year's ambitious duo of German Chocolate Cake and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake (divine!), but this year I hate to say I was pressed for time so cupcakes were the pick. I wanted to incorporate my boyfriend's favorite flavors and Chloe delivered with her new cookbook for a recipe that included coffee, banana, and chocolate. The recipe is in Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen (buy yourself a copy here to fully enjoy!). I chose to make these gluten-free like my last baking experiment, because it came out so well! I used Trader Joe's gluten-free flour and Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum. These were a delicious batch of cupcakes. I loved the chocolate chunks in the subtle banana-flavored cake, and of course coffee frosting is taking things to the next level of yumminess. The banana cake included similar spices that you would use in a banana bread, like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg, so it smelled great when baking! I did notice that the cupcakes got a little tough and chewier than normal ones, so my lesson learned was to bake for a little bit less time.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
2 cups gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Mashed Banana

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 ripened bananas mashed (equals about 1 cup)

1 cup canned coconut milk (I use Trader Joe's Light Coconut Milk, canned)

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips

Coffee Frosting
1 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder mixed with 2 tablespoons of water

To Prepare Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins for about 16-18 cupcakes.

In a large bowl sift together all dry ingredients up until the bananas in above list. In a separate bowl, combine bananas, coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients and stir together without over-mixing. Next add in chocolate chips and stir so they are evenly distributed.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. In my baking experience these would have been best baked for about 18 minutes then removed from pan to stop from cooking. Let cool.


To Prepare Coffee Frosting:

Use a stand mixer or handheld mixture to smooth out shortening for one minute. 

Slowly add in powdered sugar and vanilla, while beating on slow speed. Add one tablespoon at a time of the espresso liquid, blend in completely and continue adding tablespoon by tablespoon until you reach the proper consistency for frosting. Continue to blend on high speed for two minutes until frosting is fluffy. Set aside.

Once cupcakes are fully cooled, use a frosting bag and tip to frost or a frosting knife. 

* I went a step further to make these visually appealing by mixing up some chocolate ganache to drizzle on top. I heated up about 1/4 cup chocolate chips and a couple teaspoons of coconut milk to blend into a nice sauce that I then poured over the cupcakes and cooled in the refrigerator.