I have recently fallen in love with a new tea I found whilst on a trip along the Great Ocean Road. My morning ritual always includes a matcha but I have found myself alternating with this cacao chai mix from Love Tea. Substituting some of the liquid component in these muffins with brewed chai tea lends a really subtle spice that tastes delicious and gives the muffins a real depth of flavour. I set about testing different versions until they hit my brief, with the right balance in taste and texture. Not too sweet (only natural sweetness from the banana and vanilla), suitable with breakfast, as a snack, wholesome yet with a hint (or more) of cacao. Everything I love in a mini muffin. Of course, you may use your favourite loose leaf chai mix.
I like spreading a fresh-from-the-oven sliced muffin with almond butter, it is super delicious. Feel free to add more of your chai mix with the same ratio of liquid if you’d love a stronger chai flavour in your muffins. Stay tuned for a few more posts coming your way, including one exploring natural products and supplements.
Maria
x
♥
Cacao Chai Banana Mini Muffins
Makes 6 mini muffins
- 2 tsp of your favourite loose leaf chai tea mix (I looove Love Tea’s Cacao Chai mix)
- ½ cup of almond milk
- 2 ripe bananas, set aside 6 small slices and mash the rest
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla bean extract
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- Pinch sea salt
- Handful of dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 180°C and pop six muffin patty pans in a 6-hole cupcake/muffin pan.
Start by brewing the chai tea. Add 2 tsp of chai mix to a small saucepan and add ½ cup of water. Bring to the boil then gently simmer for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of almond milk and heat it up, then take off the heat.
In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients (spelt, coconut flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt). In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients (mashed banana, whisked eggs, olive oil and vanilla bean extract). Add the strained tea to this bowl as well and mix until all are combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined and there is no longer any dry mix. Add in a handful of dark chocolate chips into the mixture and mix again.
Divide the mixture into the 6-hole muffin pan, place and push one banana slice on top of each muffin (as shown in the photos) and place in the oven. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden. Insert a skewer into a muffin, if it comes out clean then the muffins are ready, if not, bake for another minute or so until it comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then place them on a wire rack to cool further. Enjoy. 🙂
So Matcha To Love 