Prep: 20 min // Bake: 25 min
Overripen bananas? Waste not. The riper your bananas are, the sweeter they become. What's more, with all concerns circulating about the future of the most popular banana variety (read this BBC article) let's be grateful we still have access to this divine superfood fruit and make the most out of it.
Blueberry is a family favourite, especially in the summer where you can find it in abundance and tastes sweeter. However, this recipe works well with blueberries all year round as the blueberry is literally transformed into a sweet cherry-like, soft and silky in texture once baked into these super tasty and light muffins.
This healthy blueberry and banana muffins recipe was inspired by browsing Blanche Vaughan’s 'Egg' cookbook, which by the way I highly recommend you buy, it's a real gem!
Why these Banana muffins are healthy?
This recipe was altered in my kitchen to convert to a sugar-free banana blueberry delight! The ripe bananas give the cake a natural sweet taste and a moist texture, so I found out I don't need the extra sugars the original recipe called for. Instead, I added some honey (half the sugar quantity) just to top up the sweetness and add depth of flavour. The blueberry has this unbelievable property of turning sweet, juicy and purple when baked, making it look fun and interesting. Finally, the addition Greek yoghurt or any other unsweetened vegan alternative (coconut yoghurt) adds fluffiness, taste and is healthy too. This is now 'my signature muffin', a super flavoursome, light, low in calories, high in protein and suitable for babies (8-10 months). For babies weaning (6m+) maybe better omit honey and nuts to avoid allergens.
Equipment
2 Bowls, Electric mixer with dough hooks, Nonstick 12 Cup Muffin Tray
Ingredients (12 muffins)
250g Flour: 150g Spelt (or plain flour) and 100g coconut flour (or other tasty flour)
50g rolled oats (that's equal to 2 porridge sachets)
50g walnuts or pecan nuts (optional - omit for allergies)
100g Greek yoghurt or coconut unsweetened yoghurt (or natural yoghurt)
2 eggs and 1 egg white
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
450g very ripe bananas, mashed (around 3 large or 4 medium)
100g blueberries (frozen or fresh)
Zest and juice of half orange
60g unsalted butter
Optionally 60g good quality aromatic honey (thyme or pine) - or omit the honey if anyone is allergic.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170-180c (150-160 fan)
If using nuts, blitz them roughly in a food processor into fine pieces.
In one bowl place all the dry ingredients: flour, oats, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, soda and salt and stir them with a spoon.
In another bowl prepare the wet ingredients: butter, honey and vanilla extract and melt them briefly in the microwave. Add the orange juice and zest and mix with a ballon whisk
Add bananas to the wet ingredient bowl and mash well. Then break the eggs (and the extra egg white) and mix thoroughly and vigorously with the whisk (or maybe use an electric mixer) until smooth but not completely pureed.
Add the yoghurt, mix once again and then pour the wet into the dry, add the blueberries too and stir mildly with your hand to combine.
Line your muffin tray with plain cupcake liners (or colourful ones) and spoon the mixture into each case. Bake for 25-30 mins or until slightly risen and golden.
Substitutes
Now, pastry and baking can be tricky business and mistakes are rarely forgiven so be careful with substitutes. My suggestion is to stick with the ingredients and quantities that provide a well-tested texture and shape (e.g. flour, eggs, butter, sweeteners) and feel free to play around with all the flavourings to your liking. And remember, good quality products (like eggs and butter) will give you the best taste results.
Butter with Dairy-free vegetable butter (e.g. Flora) or coconut oil. Some are lactose intolerant, others vegans, and others simply with nothing else left in the fridge but veggie butter. These kinds of butter can be altered however the replacement can affect not only the taste but the structure as well. If you go for dairy-free butter and notice the mixture is too soft or watery add some more pinches of flour to reduce the moisture. Coconut oil, on the other hand, will slightly affect the flavour but as this bread has a tropical note, it can be a good replacement for butter. Use in 1:1 ratio.
Coconut Flour with other tasty flour. I like coconut flour as it is nutritious and gives a divine taste to my fruity bakes. In my absence, I use other flours like spelt or buckwheat which offer some nutty tones to the bake. Check some links to good quality flour brands at the end of this page.