Banana bread muffins

Sweetened with ripe bananas, raisins and a touch of maple syrup, these vegan-friendly muffins make for a healthy breakfast on the go.

At home, I always have a glut of bananas in the fruit bowl. When I can’t eat them fast enough, I set a few aside as a reminder and use them as a sugar substitute in cakes or bakes.

The spottiest bananas tend to produce the best and sweetest flavour, which is a good excuse if you happen to leave a banana in your work or golf bag like I often do.

Here, I’ve used two bananas in these dairy-free muffins and throttled back on the sugar and butter by using a combination of raisins, maple syrup and yoghurt.

When combined with baking powder, the acidity in the yoghurt creates extra lift and adds a light, almost buttermilk-like tang that balances the hum of cinnamon and the sweetness of bananas in the batter. One is never quite enough.

How To Make Banana Bread Muffins

• Chef Catling’s recipe notes
• Recipe: Banana bread muffins
• What’s the secret to fluffy and perfectly risen muffins?

Tips & Notes To Know

• The riper the banana, the better: The skin should be spotty and/or brown in colour, to the point that the flesh is mushy in texture. This will help to produce the sweetest muffins.
• Make sure your baking powder is fresh: If it’s too old, the batter won’t rise properly and your muffins will be flat. To test whether it’s good to go, drop a teaspoon of baking powder into warm water. If it bubbles, it’s usable!
• Dress to impress: A few banana chips, perched on top of some icing, would be a good way to posh them up for an afternoon tea.

How Long Do The Banana Bread Muffins Keep For?

You can store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Any leftovers can then be wrapped individually in clingfilm and frozen for up to 3 months.

Banana bread muffins

Serves: 12 Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins 20 mins

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Ingredients

2 bananas, mashed
50g dairy-free butter
100ml Alpro oat plain yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple syrup
100g soft brown sugar
200g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
100g raisins
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Instructions

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200C and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper liners/cases.

Step 2
In a bowl, mix the bananas into the melted butter and stir in the yoghurt, vanilla extract, brown sugar and maple syrup. Beat until smooth.

Step 3
Sift the plain flour into a separate bowl and mix with the remaining dry ingredients. Add to the bowl with the wet ingredients and fold gently to combine.

Step 4
Divide the mixture equally between the 12 muffin cases and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.  

Step 5
Cool the banana bread muffins in the tin for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack. Serve warm or leave to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

What’s The Secret To Fluffy And Perfectly Risen Muffins?

1. Use room temperature ingredients
To get the best rise and texture, use room temperature eggs, milk and butter. Cold ingredients can cause the batter to seize up, leading to uneven mixing and a denser texture.

2. Don’t overmix the batter
Overmixing causes the muffins to be rubbery and dense because it activates the gluten in the flour too much. Keep the wet and dry ingredients in a separate bowl and carefully bring them together until just combined.

The batter is likely to still be lumpy, not smooth, so don’t worry if there are a few streaks of flour or lumps of batter visible.

3. Don’t overfill the muffin cases
Aim to fill each case about two thirds of the way full. Overfilling can cause them to rise unevenly, leading to a muffin top that’s too big or uneven.

4. Don’t open the oven door too soon
Resist the urge to check on your muffins too early! Like with Yorkshire puddings, opening the oven door before they have fully risen can cause them to collapse.

The muffins are done when a cake tester or skewer, inserted into the centre, comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs still attached. They should be lightly golden on top and have a springy texture when gently pressed.

5. Cool properly
Once baked, allow your muffins to cool in the muffin tin for around 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. This helps to set the insides and ensures the bottoms don’t get soggy from the steam.