Bryant Terry's Banana-Maple Pecan Cornbread Muffins

Well, you knew I couldn't stay away for long! Like I mentioned below I have been very eager to try things from my new cookbook, Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen. Naturally I was drawn to one of the sweet, bakery items in the book - these fantastic Banana-Maple Pecan Cornbread Muffins. Everything in this cookbook is very healthy, no white sugar or bad fats and a direction I could certainly start going down!

They turned out beautifully and while I am certainly used to my muffins being much sweeter than these I didn't miss it at all. They get their sweetness from just 2 Tbsp raw cane sugar and maple syrup plus the ripe banana - then you get a nice hit from the maple glazed pecans. Lovely. I'll post the recipe I used here, not exactly the cookbook version as I had to make a few changes. First I can't buy whole wheat pastry flour here, which it called for 1/4 cup, and second his pecans were 'double maple glazed' - first with maple syrup and then with maple sugar, a LOT of maple sugar. Now, the only place I can get maple sugar is in Brighton, it's a small bag and costs like 6 quid, meaning I treat that stuff like the granulated gold that it is. So... I used the maple glazed pecans recipe from Veganomicon's Smlove Pie that I posted earlier. Turned out just fine.


Muffins: (recipe was for 24 mini muffins but I don't have that size tin, these are 12 regular)
165g cornmeal
3 Tbsp unrefined corn oil
3/4 cup plain flour
2 Tbsp demerara sugar (raw cane)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
190g banana (about)
240ml rice milk (unflavoured)
2 Tbsp maple syrup

For the Maple Glazed Pecans:
110g raw pecans
2 tsp canola oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/8 tsp salt

First make the maple glazed pecans. Set aside a sheet of baking paper. In a saucepan over medium heat lightly toast the pecans for a couple minutes. Stir constantly for a couple minutes more until lightly toasty -careful not to burn. Turn heat down and add the oil and salt, stir for about a minute more. Add the maple syrup and stir constantly - it will bubble up then get dry. Tip onto some baking paper and spread out with a spatula. Leave to cool, as it's cooling, break the pecans up with your hands. Set aside.

For the muffins, grease 12 muffin tin holes with some of the corn oil and set aside. Heat the oven to 220C. In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients and whisk well. In a blender add the banana, maple syrup, rice milk and remaining corn oil and blend until smooth. Place the tin in the oven for 5 minutes to get the oil really hot. When there is 1 minute remaining stir the wet into the dry gently - do not over mix, then fold in the nuts. Spoon batter into the tins 3/4 full and bake for 13 minutes or until golden on top and well risen.

He then states to serve immediately and they certainly are good fresh from the oven!