Choco-nana muffins ...

In our house we very occasionally don't get around to eating all the bananas before they get over-ripe. Given a choice I prefer a slightly green banana. Too much time of the shelf, and they develop a chalky texture and cloying sugariness that I really can't be having.

When this happens I often peel them, put them in a sandwich bag and store them in the freezer for a batch of my Choco-nana muffins. With the sweetness of the over-ripe bananas there's no need to add much sugar, and the addition of some cocoa powder with bake-stable chocolate chips ups the ante to produce a really tasty muffin that can't be too terrible for the waistline ...

Just read on for my recipe:




Ingredients:

3 ripe to over-ripe bananas
100g soft dark brown sugar
140 g of salted butter left to soften at room temperature
225 g self-raising flour
2 large eggs
3 heaped tablespoonfuls of top-notch cocoa powder
100g bake-stable chocolate chips
1 teaspoonful of vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/ 400ºF. Line a muffin tin with papers. Depending on how generous you are at spooning the mixture out you should end up with between 12 and 16 muffins.
2. Cream the butter and sugar by mixing them together in your food mixer until they form a lovely smooth cream.

3. Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork. Add the mushed-up bananas to the butter and cream mixture, along with the eggs and the vanilla essence. Mix further to achieve a uniform consistency.
4. Sift the flour and cocoa powder, and add to the eggs and sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly, and then spoon the mixture into the bun cases. 

5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for around 20 minutes. The muffins will rise, colour and smell heavenly. Leave them to cool for a few minutes on the tray before removing them to cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy with a nice cup of Rosie Lee and some of your favourite people. 

All the best for now,

Bonny x