banana, coconut + dark chocolate babycakes

This recipe all started with an overripe banana that I didn't want to throw out. As it turned out, it wasn't a bad way to use it up. Banana, coconut and dark chocolate is a ripping combination (in my opinion). Bananas are high in fructose, but we're talking about one banana spread across 12 mini muffins here. 

I think the dark chocolate ganache icing is what makes these so good. It sets semi-solid, with a fudge-like texture. But the little muffins are also nice on their own if you want to keep things a bit lighter.

ingredients

for the muffins:

• 1 banana
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• � cup coconut flour

for the dark chocolate ganache:

• 100g dark (85% cocoa) chocolate
• 2 tsp raw virgin coconut oil

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 170�C.

2. Mash the banana in a bowl with a fork until smooth, then stir in the coconut oil, desiccated coconut and cinnamon. Beat in the eggs with a fork and then beat in the coconut flour until you get a smooth batter.

3. Place mini cupcake moulds or paper cases on a baking tray, spoon the mixture into the moulds, and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until the tops are starting to crack. Allow the muffins to cool completely before icing.

4. For the ganache, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a bowl. I chop the chocolate up finely and place it in a bowl with the coconut oil. Then I place the bowl in an inch of hot water in the sink and stir until the chocolate is melted, being very careful not to get any water into the bowl.

5. Leave the chocolate mixture to firm up slightly, then spread it onto the muffins.

Makes 12 mini muffins.

NB: I use a 20ml tbsp. If you have a 15ml tbsp (if you're in the US or UK), you can measure out 4 tsp in place of each tbsp.