What could be better than a batch of oven-warm banana bread muffins? Maybe a batch of banana bread muffins with a rich and tangy cream cheese swirl and icing on top?
Can you ever get enough banana everything? This Cream Cheese Banana Bread Muffins recipe will top your list! It’s a moist, intensely banana flavored muffin with a rich filling of cream cheese, an almond chocolate chip crunch on top and a drizzle of cream cheese glaze for a perfect finale.
Well, it’s certainly a sweet day over here—sweet with a touch of comfort. It’s the type of sweetness that you can’t get enough of. I don’t know about you, but for me—I can only take a tiny slice of a decadent dessert.
However, when it comes to a comfort treat like those banana bread muffins, well I can grab a couple with no shame or guilt. So yes, today’s muffin recipe is one of those irresistible things in life.
Why these Banana Bread Muffins with Cream Cheese Swirl are a must-bake:
These banana bread muffins are the perfect recipe all year round – perfect for breakfast IMO! But don’t be surprised if you find yourself making it your go-to banana dessert.
Think about the creamy dreamy tiny layer of cream cheese, the crunch topping, and the cream cheese glaze. It feels like the best of both worlds and I’ll tell you why.
Ok, it starts with the base—the banana bread muffin. If you haven’t made my whole wheat banana bread recipe, you’re seriously outrageously missing out!
When you try it, you’ll feel like that’s the one. It’s NOT a dense or oily banana bread for the record, it’s just utterly moist and tender with a slightly fluffy crumb.
For me, this is pure LOVE! And then comes the cream cheese swirl that just takes these simple banana bread muffins to a whole new level.
I have a weakness for cream cheese anything. From something as simple as the best cream cheese icing, to my decadent mini raspberry cheesecakes and this divine cheesecake streusel raspberry cake or these fresh berry citrus poppy seed bars!
How to make Cream Cheese Swirl Banana Bread Muffins:
Start by making my whole wheat banana bread batter.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the banana bread recipe and divide two-thirds of the batter into a12 regular size muffin pan leaving the remaining third aside.
Make the cream cheese filling/glaze by mixing all ingredients in a medium bowl and then divide this mixture into two bowls.
To one bowl add one egg and mix well.
Dollop a Tablespoon and half (more or less to your taste) of the cream cheese mixture over the banana bread batter in each muffin tin.
Take the remaining third of the banana bread batter and dollop it evenly over the cream cheese layer
I don’t want the cream cheese filling to take over the tender fluffy muffin experience, so I go with a really thin layer of cream cheese.
Finally that crunch topping. It’s a combo of almonds and chocolate chips with a slightly buttery crumb.
Top each muffin tin with a tablespoon (more or less) of the crunch topping and bake the banana bread muffins for 20 mins.
To the remaining bowl of cream cheese glaze/mix, add the milk while whisking it to gradually reach the consistency you prefer.
And then I drench my banana bread muffins with my homemade cream cheese glaze. BUT as I always say in my cooking classes, on this blog and everywhere—feel free to stuff your muffins with as much/little cream cheese as your heart desires. Believe me, you can’t go wrong either way.
When it comes to the cream cheese filling and icing, I use a simple trick by making a cream cheese, vanilla and sugar mixture. Then I divide that into two bowls, one of them for the filling (to which I add an egg) and the other for the icing, which I thin out with milk.
You’ll just need to make these banana bread muffins and see for yourself 🙂 So go ahead and enjoy!!
Tips for success:
- Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature to allow for easy blending.
- Add any nuts you want – a single kind or a mix of several.
- Store cooled muffins in an airtight plastic container.
Cream Cheese Banana Bread Muffins
What could be better than a batch of oven-warm banana bread muffins? Maybe a batch of banana bread muffins with a rich and tangy cream cheese swirl and icing on top?
Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread (made with whole wheat, white wheat or all-purpose flour)
For the glaze
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
Filling
- take half of the cream cheese mixture and add to it 1 egg
For the glaze
- take the other half of the cream cheese mixture and add to it 2Tablespoons to 3 Tablespoons of milk to thin it out
Topping
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans..any or a combo)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the banana bread recipe and divide two thirds of the batter into a12 regular size muffin pan leaving the remaining third aside.
- make the Cream cheese filling/glaze by mixing all ingredients in a medium bowl and then divide this mixture into two bowls.
- To one bowl add one egg and mix well. Dollop a Tablespoon and half (more or less to your taste) of the cream cheese mixture over the banana bread batter in each muffin tin.
- Take the remaining third of the banana bread batter and dollop it evenly over the cream cheese layer.
- Make the crunch topping by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl using a fork to roughly blend everything together.
- Top each muffin tin with a tablespoon (more or less) of the crunch topping and bake the muffins for 20 mins.
- To the remaining bowl of cream cheese glaze/mix, add the milk while whisking it to gradually reach the consistency you prefer.
- Once the banana bread muffins are out of the oven, wait for them to cool for about 10 minutes. Then remove the muffins and drizzle some glaze over each one of them, enjoy 🙂
Recipe Notes
- Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature to allow for easy blending.
- Add any nuts you want - a single kind or a mix of several.
- Store cooled muffins in an airtight plastic container.
- You can double/triple the cream cheese mixture to make the cream cheese filling layer thicker for each muffin.
Leave a Reply