My thanks to Muriel in Perth, Western Australia for both the recipe and the title of this recipe – Muriel makes these tasty muffins in a hurry when they’re needed. And let’s face it, if we learned one thing from all those Lockdowns, it is that we’ve all got bananas hanging about..
Please note that it doesn’t have to be an emergency to make these delicious muffins!
Naturally, I’m incapable – you all know this by now – of leaving well alone, so I’ve added a few extra flavourings such as ground Cinnamon, and my own Vanilla Extract, for no reason, other than I could..
These easy, easy Muffins have a wonderful light, open texture – so delicious!
Like my easy banana cake https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/the-quick-and-easy-banana-bread/ – these Muffins are made by hand, in – virtually- one bowl! I’m loving it already..
It’s easy to clean up after too – always useful in my role as Queen of Emergency tidying… 😉
EQUIPMENT:
- A medium mixing bowl – or a large sheet of greaseproof paper.
- A dinner fork
- A sieve
- A large mixing bowl
- A hand whisk
- A spatula
- a Muffin tray, either well greased, or with medium-sized Muffin paper cases.
INGREDIENTS: Makes 12
- 3/4 ripe Bananas – about 250g peeled weight.
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract or paste – optional.
- 150g caster Sugar
- 30g Butter melted
- 2 tablespoons of Milk or Buttermilk
- 250g Self-raising flour
- Good pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons of Demerara sugar – for topping
METHOD: 
- Heat the oven to 170°Fan.
- Put the Muffin cases into the tray and leave to one side
- Sift the flour, salt and spices together into the medium-sized bowl/ sheet of paper
- Melt the butter
- Use the fork to mash the bananas in the large bowl
- add the egg, and beat together with the hand whisk
- Add the melted butter and whisk it in.
- Add the sugar, and whisk in.
- Add the Vanilla extract.
- Mix in the buttermilk or milk. Give everything one last good whisk
- Add all the sifted dry ingredients in one go – Switch to the Spatula now and mix until it all comes together. Don’t over mix it; when it’s done, it’s done. The mixture is quite stiff when finally mixed.
- Fill the Muffin cases 3/4 full only
- Sprinkle over the Demerara just before they go into the oven – I forgot to do that in these pictures..
- Pop in the oven for 18 -20 mins, until they are well risen and golden
NOTES:
- I was so annoyed with myself forgetting to sprinkle the Demerara over the tops before baking – I think it would add a lovely crunch.. Truthfully though, they’re delicious in any case.
- The texture of these is lovely – very open and soft. Muffins get tough if they’re mixed for too long (I read that somewhere 😉 )
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx