Banana-Chocolate Marbled Muffins

I know I’ve already done the banana-chocolate muffin thing, but even though my last recipe tasted good it wasn’t muffin-y enough for me, so I’ve done some research on the internet about the properties and uses of baking soda and have made a new, deliciously moist recipe.  And I decided to marble it because that always looks impressive (I think.)

To being honest (and because you’ll find this out anyway when you check out the pics below) I was a bit lazy when making these (plus I had a three year old ‘helping’ so I couldn’t get too complicated) so I did not make many normal-sized muffin.  I made one massive cake-muffin.  Still delicious, we’re eating it by the slice, but you may have to adjust the cook time.  Maybe, I don’t know.  It’s done when it looks done and passes the toothpick/knife test.

Banana-Chocolate Marbled Muffins

Ingredients:

• Batter:
• 125g/1 stick: butter
• 200g / about one and a quarter 6oz tubs: banana yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 150g/ a little over half a cup: white sugar
• 100g/a little under half a cup: brown sugar
• tsp vanilla
• tsp baking powder
• less than half a tsp baking soda
• 250g/2 cups: flour
• Marbling:
• 2 bananas
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp banana yogurt

Cook:

1. Pre-heat oven 170’C/350’F ish and grease or paper muffin pans
2. In a large bowl, mix the batter in the order listed
3. In a smaller bowl, mash the bananas and stir in other ingredients
4. Layer batter with marbling mixture in pans.  Run a knife through it for marbling effect  (Heres a video on how to. Skip to the 4:30 minute mark for the part on marbling.)
5. I baked my massive muffin-cake for 40 minutes and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Your mileage may vary.  I’d start with 30 minutes and poke the muffins every 5 minutes after to see how they are (thats what I did.)

-Ariel

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

I seem to have a thing for bananas; this is the second baked good I’ve incorporated them into in two weeks.  I put them in a little pan to yield more so that the kids could grab them and run, as they do.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

• 220g flour
• 160g sugar / about 3/4^th of a cup (I did half brown, half white)
• 1 stick of butter / 125g butter
• 200g cream cheese / 8oz package cream cheese
• 1 egg
• 3 tsp milk
• 3 tsp oil
• Tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 2 bananas, mashed
• Chocolate chips

Cook:

1. Pre-heat oven to 170’C/350’F
2. Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar together.  Add wet ingredients, then dry ending with the flour.  Fold in bananas and chocolate chips.
3. Pour into a papered muffin pan (about 3/4ths full) and bake 20-22 minutes (done when a knife, stuck in the middle, can be removed cleanly.)

I am quite proud of these little muffins, I wrote the recipe with only a vague understanding of what goes into muffin making -but please don’t let that discourage you from trying them out!  Everyone loved them (especially the kids) though I did think they were a bit thick for a muffin.  Does anyone have any tips on how I can make them fluffier?

-Ariel

Update: My grandmother says that by adding an additional egg the muffins will be fluffier.  I haven’t had a chance yet to give it a try, but as eggs do work as a leavening agent in cakes, it makes sense.  Why didn’t I think of that?  (Because I tend to think of eggs as binding agents as they are in cookies, probably.)