Carob Banana Chocolate-Chip Cupcakes w/ Maple-Butter Frosting

Oh lordy! Prepare for the yummiest vegan cupcakes you've ever seen! I know they seem pretty elaborate, but every component plays its part and creates an amazingly scrumptious treat.

Jenn brought home some bananas that were pretty ripe, she bought them to freeze them but I insisted we bake with them instead. She agreed and we began to create with what we had in the kitchen. I remembered how good the Chocolate-Banana Muffins we made before were so I decided to do carob-banana cupcakes. I also remembered how much I loved the Lucuma-Chip Ice Cream, so we settled on a maple-butter-lucuma frosting.

I'm surprised how good these tasted considering I only used buckwheat flour, which is something I never do (usually I'd use a blend of buckwheat, gluten-free oat and brown rice) If you do make these make sure to use the lighter buckwheat flour instead of the grittier darker type for optimal texture.

Chippy chippy who's got the chippy?

Chippity chip chip chippity chip chip look at chippy go!

1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1/2 cup carob powder
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup banana puree
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Maple-Butter Icing:
1 tbsp sunbutter
3-4 tbsp water
2 tbsp lucuma powder
1 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine wet in another bowl. Add wet to dry then add in chocolate chips. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

To make icing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Allow cupcakes to cool and spread icing on. Top with some more chocolate chips.