Sweet Treats
These humble muffins pack a big punch of flavour. The cinnamon and nutmeg make them warming, while the chocolate makes then comforting and slightly nostalgic. I find that I often have high ambitions of eating healthy when I buy bananas, and then promptly forget about them. While not exactly ‘healthy’, these muffins are a ‘healthy-er’ alternative to a mid-afternoon biscuit or chocolate bar. They also make excellent portable snacks.
Ingredients
- 9oz/250g plain flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1tsp bread soda
- ¼tsp salt
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1 egg
- 50g chocolate chips
- 40 walnuts, optional
- 2oz/55g dark brown sugar
- 2oz/50ml vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5. Line a muffin tin with pastry cases.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, bread soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the peeled bananas at a medium speed until they are mashed.
- Beat in the egg, sugar and oil until everything is just mixed.
- Slowly add the flour mixture, beating on a low speed. Once all the flour is mixed in, add in the chocolate chips and, optionally, the walnuts. Use a wooden spoon to fold everything together and evenly distribute the chocolate chips through the batter.
- Using a spoon or an ice cream scoop, spoon the batter into the pastry cases. They should not be filled all the way to the top, but leave a bit of room for them to expand when baked.
- Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick or knife comes out mostly clean. Let them cool in the tin for a couple of minutes before turning them out onto a wire cooling rack.