17 Dec Date and pecan muffins with coconut caramel sauce and banana cashew butter icecream

Date and pecan muffins with coconut caramel sauce and banana cashew ice cream

A play on sticky date pudding just a bit healthier!
Can be vegan if you use coconut oil in the muffins and 2 tbsp chia seeds soaked 10 minutes in 100ml water instead of eggs.
Line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin cases and preheat oven to gas 6 or 200C

For the muffins
100g white self – raising flour (for a lighter muffin or wholemeal if you prefer)
50g ground almonds
50g oats
1 tsp baking powder
75g butter or coconut oil
50g chopped pecans plus 12 halves for topping
Process these ingredients together except the pecans in your food processor until butter is incorporated. Place into a large bowl and set aside. Stir in chopped pecans.

Wet ingredients
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas
2 tbsp maple syrup
200g dates, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes then drained
Process together in your food processor for a minute until it is all nicely combined. Stir into the flour mix in the bowl until combined.
Spoon the mixture into the cases leaving a ¼ inch at the top for them to rise. Pop a pecan on each one and place in the oven for 25 minutes until risen and firm to touch. Once cool enough to handle place on a cooling rack.

Coconut Caramel
100ml maple syrup
200g approx coconut cream from 400g tin of coconut milk – leave water part behind and set aside 50g for ice cream
few grinds of salt
Place ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil stirring often. Turn down to a rolling boil (fast simmer) watch it doesn’t boil over, for 20 minutes until it starts to go darker and thicken. It thickens as it gets cold. Set aside.

Banana and cashew ice cream
2 ripe bananas chopped and frozen
50g coconut cream
50g cashew butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

Process all the ingredients in your food processor until it looks like soft scoop ice cream – serve straight away or store in your freezer.