cardamom coconut banana bread.

Happy belated Fourth of July!

I hope this post finds you lacking in the hangover department.

I don’t really drink (much), so my hangover is of the food variety. There were burned grilled hot dogs, corn on the cob, Stovetop Bacon Baked Beans, confetti marshmallow blondies (made with red, white, and blue sprinkles!), chips, and I made my Praline Smores Cake.

This cake blew my mind: buttermilk chocolate cake, graham cracker Italian Meringue Butter Cream, homemade marshmallow fluff, candied graham crackers, shaved bittersweet chocolate, and praline crumble. It took me two days two make it, but hot damn was it delicious!

I’d love to give you the recipe for the cake today, but that will have to wait. Instead, you get a muffin recipe.

Don’t feel cheated, guys.

Bananas plus cardamom and coconut? A nice break from “normal” banana bread. A little fancier, kind of like your momma’s banana bread is feeling all classy like – but still down to earth. Like eating brunch in your formal dining room….while wearing yoga pants.

There are a lot of spices that don’t seem to get much attention in the kitchen, cardamom being one of them. I’ve found myself usually incorporating it in recipes amongst a million other spices. It’s such a unique, warm flavor and I figured I’d give it a starring role this time around. They key with cardamom is to not use too much; it can taste soapy in excess.

I prefer to use oil in my quick breads. Generally, I have found that oil-based cakes and muffins retain their moisture and fabulous texture longer than those made with butter. This recipe was developed using olive oil, specifically, from Texas Olive Ranch.

Canola, coconut, or grapeseed oils are perfectly fine substitutes.

These muffins are awesome. A welcomed sight on a hung-over morning, whether from too many brews or just plain eating too much food (guilty).

I can only hope my pants zip up tomorrow morning.