I keep saying that I am not a sweets person, and I am not--any day I would choose a savory dish over dessert. However I might have to change thinking that if I keep making happy accidents as I did last night when I whipped up a dessert for my hubby.
See the night before I attempted to make an upside down apple cake and failed miserably [yes that happens to me]--my hand mixer broke before I could finish making the batter, and a large food processor was no match for what I needed to do. [Need I tell you that I see shopping in the near future for myself? ;)] I still finished making the dessert but it was plain NASTY... no, not the taste but the way it baked. Caramelized apples tasted fantastic but the rest was not worthy of a picture or a mention in this post... but I have to be honest. So, I made a promise to my hubby, for whom that dessert was made, that I would redeem myself.
I taught two power yoga classes yesterday and was pretty spent by the end of the day having done a lot of other things, so going grocery shopping was out of the question--I had to make do with what I had at home to fulfill my promise.
I looked in the fridge and the pantry and came to a quick conclusion--I need to exercise my imagination and hope that happy accidents do happen :). To my delight they still do! But... I am getting ahead of myself.
I was out of apples, no vegan milk of any kind, but I did have a few pears. So, at first I decided I would make an upside down pear cake, but once the batter was made I thought it would be better to make muffins with it, since there will be no clean up after them.
I poured the batter into muffin pan lined with paper muffin cups, placed it in the oven and... waited... very patiently and nervously. I could not take another flop in my kitchen. To my eternal delight, when I finally cracked the door of the oven open, I saw little brown pillows of culinary delight.
My mouth watered, and let me tell you, my taste buds were not disappointed when I bit into the first muffin. It simply MELTED in my mouth. It was so good that mouth was asking for more! Needless to say, my husband was not disappointed with this creation.
Without further ado, here is the recipe for Pear Banana Muffins you can whip up at home to enjoy with your loved ones.
Pear Banana Muffins {Vegan Recipe}
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter [I used Earth Balance]
- 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese [I used Toffuti brand]
- 1 heaping tbsp vegan mayo [I used Veganaise]
- 1/2 cup apple or pear sauce*
- 2 mashed [or grated] bananas
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup sugar
- dash of sea salt [about 1/8 tsp]
- 1 cup white flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 peeled and thinly sliced pear
Preparation
*Pear Sauce
As I mentioned above, I had no time to go grocery shopping and had to make do with what was home. I was out of apple sauce, so, for the first time ever, I decided to try making and substituting it with Pear Sauce. To make the sauce:
- Peel and core 1 pear, chop it into large chunks
- Pour 1/2 cup filtered water into a high speed blender
- Add pear chunks
- Blend on high speed until smooth consistency is achieved
- Pour into a pot and bring to boil on high heat; reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2 mins
- Cool to warm temperature before adding to batter
Batter
- Place first 3 ingredients in a pot and place on a stove on low-medium heat to melt butter and cream cheese
- Using whisk keep stirring ingredients
- When butter starts to melt reduce heat to low; keep stirring until ingredients are melted
- Add pear [or apple sauce], mashed bananas, baking soda and vinegar; stir
- Add sugar and salt; fold it in, stirring all contents for about 1 min
- Batter should be slightly warm but NOT hot
- Whisk in flours
- Lastly fold in pear pieces
Baking
The oven should be preheated to 375 F
- Line muffin pan with paper cups
- Fill cups 3/4 of the way with batter
- Bake 20-25 mins or until golden brown [you can test if muffins are ready by inserting a toothpick in the middle of a muffin; if it comes out dry your muffins are done]
- Let muffins cool for 3-5 mins and then place on a cooling rack for another 10 mins before serving
ENJOY!
I already started browsing my new favorite on-line store--CSN stores--for a new handheld mixer. I am very tempted, however, to treat myself to a KitchenAid standing mixer. I have been dreaming of one for a LONG, LONG time. I can't tell you how much I would like one. Browsing through CSN's selection did not make it any easier--they have all sorts of kitchen nick knacks, as well as many other things, including lighting, rugs and even home bar furniture. What a girl to do with so many options?! If I cave in and get the KitchenAid mixer I need to convince not only myself but also my hubby that we REALLY need it. I know it will be easier convincing him than me, however, since he is the one I do most of the baking for.
What do you think? [Meanwhile I am off to the kitchen to make myself some hot apricot tea and grab a pear banana muffin ;).]
