Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
If it doesn’t dome and if doesn’t crack, it ain’t a muffin! Of late I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes which promise the perfect “crack-free, flat top” muffins. Let’s get one thing right - A muffin is NOT a cupcake without frosting. While nobody has been able to clearly put the difference between a cupcake and a muffin, it is widely accepted that a cupcake is more “cake-like” and a muffin is more “bread-like”. A well-made muffin is light, tall, slightly denser than a cupcake and sometimes has a crunchy top. So a muffin is anything but flat-topped and crack-free.
Coming to these muffins, I have already told you guys about my ordeal with overripe bananas. This week again I ended up with two perfectly ripe bananas which were screaming “banana bread” (I should post this recipe soon, I know). That would’ve easily fixed breakfast for the next day, but it is winter and all that I’ve been craving this week is chocolate. A banana bread is the last thing I wanted to eat. So what do I do with these overripe bananas? Pair it with chocolate, of course! If you haven’t tried this flavour before, I must tell you, it’s a heavenly combo! It has the richness of a chocolate cake and the moistness a banana cake, making it irresistible. This is an old recipe from my recipe diary which has stood the test of time. To convert this into a breakfast muffin, replace half of APF with Whole wheat flour. So if you have overripe bananas on your kitchen counter right now, you know what to do! Whip up a batch, put on a kettle, Netflix and enjoy winter evenings!
P.S. In case you are looking for other options, check out Eggless banana cake and Whole wheat Oatmeal banana muffins.
INGREDIENTS
Makes 12 standard sized muffins
125g All-purpose lour
45g Cocoa powder
3/4 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
160g Sugar
60g Butter, melted
1 Egg
225g Mashed bananas
1 tsp Vanilla
60ml Buttermilk
90g Chocolate chips
60g Walnuts
METHOD
In a large bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl combine sugar, butter, egg, mashed bananas, vanilla and buttermilk.
Add this to the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.
Scoop into muffin tray lined with paper cases.
Sprinkle chocolate chips and walnuts on top.
Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
NOTES
You can replace butter with neutral flavoured vegetable oil.
To make it egg-free, replace 1 egg with 1 flax egg.
To make it vegan, replace butter with oil, egg with flax egg, buttermilk with nut milk / water and chocolate chips with vegan chocolate chips (1 for 1 replacement).
Store refrigerated, in an airtight container for upto 5 days.
