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I’m a big fan of a bake involving overripe bananas, but these gluten free banana and Nutella swirl muffins take it to a whole new level!
With a sweet banana base and swirls of delicious, rich Nutella, these muffins are my new favourite substitute for gluten free banana bread.
To make life even easier, this is a simple ‘all-in-one’, one-bowl cake recipe which you can mix up in just a couple of minutes.
Gluten free rice flour recipe
The inspiration for this recipe actually came from the numerous people messaging me asking what to make with rice flour!
With gluten free flour still hard to come by, many of you have been buying new flours and while this is exciting to play with, it can be a bit mind-boggling at first!
I always bake with the FREEE by Doves Farm plain and self-raising gluten free flours.
This isn’t a sponsored endorsement – I just find I get the best results from them AND they are, usually, available in all supermarkets.
As such, I haven’t really experimented a lot baking with specific flours like rice flour.
But when I saw my friend Laura’s success at making gluten free cupcakes with rice flour, I knew I simply had to try out the bag lurking in my cupboard!
What can you make with rice flour?
I had always used rice flour for thickening sauces (and one very unsuccessful attempt at a rice flour roti which shall never be repeated) and had been nervous of trying it in cakes.
A lot of gluten free flours behave differently to ‘normal’ flour and that’s why blends like the FREEE one, and others by the likes of Schär and Juvela, are so useful in every day life.
But it turns out that rice flour makes the best gluten free cakes!
These gluten free banana and Nutella muffins just came out so light and fluffy – I could even be converted to use rice flour in more of my bakes!
And because I based this recipe on my gluten free banana and choc chip mini loaf cakes recipe, I know it also works SUPER well with self-raising and plain gluten free flour blends too.
So whether you have rice flour, or ‘normal’ gluten free flour, you’re going to get the banana-ry, chocolate-y, swirly muffins of your DREAMS here!
How to make banana and Nutella swirl muffins
You’ll only need a few basic ingredients to make these gluten free banana and Nutella swirl muffins
And they’re a great way to use up leftover bananas!
There’s a full recipe and video tutorial below, but for the shopping list you’ll need:
- 3 medium ripe bananas
- 250g rice flour (see notes for substitutions)
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 125g unsalted butter (softened)
- 125g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g Nutella
For a dairy free version of this recipe, you can use a dairy free chocolate spread (there are some yummy ones out there!) as well as Stork baking block instead of butter.
If you don’t have rice flour then fear not! You can substitute this for ‘normal’ gluten free flour or gluten free self-raising flour.
Simply swap the rice flour, baking powder and xanthan gum for: 250g gluten free self-raising flour, 1/4 tsp xanthan gum and 1 tsp baking powder.
Or, if you’re using plain gluten free flour instead of rice flour, substitute for: 250g plain gluten free flour, 1/4 tsp xanthan gum and 3 tsp baking powder.
Making stuffed banana and Nutella muffins!
If you want to take these banana and Nutella swirl muffins to the next level, why not try stuffing them with some extra Nutella?
To do this, simply half-fill the cake cases with the batter, and then place around 1 tsp Nutella in the centre.
Cover this with another spoonful of cake batter (so that it covers the Nutella) and bake as per the recipe below.
You’ll find when you bite into the muffins, not only do you get the gorgeous Nutella swirl but this incredible, oozing Nutella centre too.
My banana and Nutella swirl muffins recipe
This recipe makes 12 gluten free banana and Nutella swirl muffins, and I know you’re going to LOVE them!
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!
And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.
Gluten free banana and Nutella swirl muffins
These gluten free banana and Nutella swirl muffins are a great way to use overripe bananas. An easy, one-bowl cake method which is super quick and easy to bake. This recipe makes 12 muffins and there's a handy video below showing you just how it's done!
Ingredients
- 3 medium ripe bananas
- 250g rice flour (see notes for substitutions)
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 125g unsalted butter (softened)
- 125g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g Nutella
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180'C / 160'C Fan / Gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cases and set aside.
- Peel the bananas and add to a small bowl. Using a fork, mash them until they are completely mushy - you can leave a couple of small lumps if you like.
- In another bowl, mix the rice flour, xanthan gum and baking powder together. Set to one side.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Next add the mashed bananas, eggs and flour mix. Finally add the vanilla extract. Use a wooden spoon to start mixing (to avoid any flour dust-clouds when you start the mixer!) and once there is no loose flour on top, mix with an electric mixer until fully combined.
- Spoon the Nutella into the mixture and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir until it swirls through the cake batter. Be careful not to over-mix or you will lose the swirl effect!
- Spoon the mixture evenly between the 12 cake cases (they should be fairly full) and then bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes until well risen and golden on top.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool before eating.
Notes
- This recipe can be made with gluten free self-raising flour instead of rice flour. Simply swap the rice flour, baking powder and xanthan gum for: 250g gluten free self-raising flour, 1/4 tsp xanthan gum and 1 tsp baking powder.
- If using plain gluten free flour instead of rice flour, substitute for: 250g plain gluten free flour, 1/4 tsp xanthan gum and 3 tsp baking powder.
- These muffins will keep for 3-5 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze them.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 315Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 137mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 2gSugar: 29gProtein: 3g
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Need some more gluten free baking inspiration?
If you want to have a go at some of the other gluten free baking recipes on the blog, why not give some of these a try? They’re perfect for baking away all of your troubles.
- Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread
- Gluten free 2-ingredient bagels
- Gluten Free Nutella Buns
- Pumpkin Banana Muffins
- My gluten free cherry bakewells
- Gluten free Mini Cheddars recipe
If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram.
And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!
Like this recipe? Pin these recipe cards below for later!
Hi can you substitute or leave out the caster sugar, seems with the banana it will be sweet enough. Would you need more flour if you leave it out?
Brilliant muffins, so moist & yummy will definitely make again 😍