Things I have been cooking lately #101: Banana and cinnamon muffins

I have a strange relationship with bananas. I have never been a fan of a fresh, raw banana. There is something horrible about the texture that has always put me off.  On the other hand I like banana flavoured things, dried banana and cooked banana (in South Africa toasted banana sandwiches are totally a thing). So when Emily and Oli, the friends that have been staying with us for the last few months before they moved to Australia, left behind a bunch of bananas I decided the best thing to do with them was to let them get really ripe and then turn them into muffins. The mashed banana makes these muffins really moist and the buttermilk ensures that they’re light and fluffy too.

Banana and cinnamon muffuns

Adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

350g flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon (plus extra for sprinkling)
160g caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
1 egg
375ml buttermilk or unset natural yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
70g oil (grapeseed, corn, groundnut or similar)
400g mashed banana (from 4 – 6 very ripe bananas… I find mashing them by hand very cathartic)

Preheat your oven to 180 and line 2 12 hole muffin trays with paper cases.

Mix together the flour, salt, baking power, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl/jug mix together the buttermilk (or yoghurt), egg and vanilla. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture a little at a time and mix in with a fork until just mixed. Add the the oil and mix again until just mixed. Stir in the banana.

Fill the paper cases to 2/3 full and sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon over each muffin. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of each muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the tray before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes 20 – 24 muffins