When baking, I usually follow recipes to a T, because baking (unlike cooking) is very much a science where every ingredient, in just the right proportions and temperatures and pH's, has to react perfectly. That said, this banana muffin recipe is more forgiving than most--add in a handful of fresh blueberries for a burst of color, or a handful of chopped apple to add a bit of fall in your muffins, or a handful of chopped strawberries for a bit of tang.
And one note about baking with bananas: make sure to use tremendously overripe bananas for the best flavor. Merely ripe is not enough--the bananas should preferably be totally blackened. Note of caution: warn everyone who lives with you NOT to dispose of your rotting bananas (lesson learnt from many an occasion where roomies / roomies' visiting mom's threw out my precious bananas, blackened to perfection.)
Okay, enough prattle.
Banana Muffins (makes two trays)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- a generous shake of cinnamon/clove/nutmeg
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (I like to reduce this a tad, but it's a matter of personal taste)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 5 large bananas, maybe)
- a splash of vanilla essence
(1) Mix flour, baking soda, salt, spices
(2) Separately, cream butter, sugar
(3) Separately, mix eggs, mashed banana, vanilla
(4) Fold in everything together at once, stirring until BARELY combined
(5) Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 Fahrenheit
When cool, frost with favorite chocolate frosting or ganache. I prefer something with little to no sugar, for a bold, dark, rich, adult, chocolatey taste that complements the banana flavor, rather than overpowering it with sugary sweetness.
With love again,
The Bakerina