Cafe Stepping Stone’s Chocolate Banana Vegan Muffin Recipe
Whip up a batch of this social impact cafe’s beloved chocolate banana muffins.
Cafe Stepping Stone in a Nutshell
Started by an Australian duo in 2017, this innovative cafe restaurant was the first and only of its kind in Cartagena. Their seasonally rotating staff came from some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Working at the cafe provided them with an opportunity to gain the confidence and professional skills necessary to support themselves and their families in the future. That name’s making a bit more sense now, no? Unfortunately, the cafe was forced to close at the start of the pandemic, but the founders have taken the concept back to Australia with them. You can now visit the Canberra edition of Cafe Stepping Stone if you’re ever in that neck of the woods or check out their Pa’lante Program, a microfinance program to continue creating impact in Cartagena even while the Founders are no longer here.
The Recipe
Meet Tom Navakas, one of Cafe Stepping Stone’s founders. He’ll walk you through the recipe for the cafe’s chocolate banana vegan muffins. They’re so delicious you’ll wonder why eggs and milk ever belonged in a muffin anyway.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup almond milk (or any other milk substitute)
- 2 medium bananas
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup vegan chocolate
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 215°C/400°F (the high heat helps to form the nice tall rounded muffin top) and grease a muffin tin.
Sift flour and cocoa powder into a medium bowl and mix in the rest of the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Blend the banana, almond milk and vanilla essence together and add to the dry ingredients along with the vegetable oil.
Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined, NEVER overmix muffins as they will end up dense and chewy.
Fold in the vegan chocolate until evenly distributed and fill the muffin tins almost completely full.
Reduce the temperature of the oven to 180°C/350°F and cook the muffins for 17 minutes for the small muffins or 27 minutes for the giant cafe-style muffins.
On behalf of Cafe Stepping Stone, thanks again for your support!
If you’re willing to donate to Cafe Stepping Stone’s former staff, tap the button below.