In anticipation of Bubba C’s arrival, I opted out of last month’s Secret Recipe Club and it’s a good thing I did because I think we were in hospital about the time my post should have gone live. I wasn’t going to miss out again though and thought joining in this month would be a good must-get-back-to-cooking-and-photographing push.

This month I was assigned to Spinach Tiger. I was pretty taken by her byline – food a woman will love and a man will marry her for. One peek around Angela’s Nashville-based blog and you might want to marry her too. You have got to pop over and visit her about page to read her entertaining story which may or may not involve grandmothers and boobies.

I have a bit of a theme with these posts, in that I always turn to the baked goodies and this one was no different. One thing I neglected to stock the freezer with pre-bubba was reasonably healthy snacks that I could grab for morning or afternoon tea. Gone are the days of having time to leisurely make something when I felt like it, now I have to grab it when I have the chance.

As usual my one-track mind goes to banana bread. When I spotted banana chocolate chunk muffins on Angela’s blog my mind went to the couple of kgs of bananas stashed in the freezer. The little man has had a bit of colic so I’ve been off chocolate but I thought it looked like the perfect recipe to make a little bit healthier and re-stock my freezer.

My version of the banana muffins has no refined sugar – just a little bit of maple syrup. I find bananas are so sweet they rarely need much help. Wholemeal flour instead of half the flour was my other ‘healthy’ swap. These are good muffins, seriously good muffins and they’re not bad looking either.

I loved the way they rose in lumpy little domes. Oh and as if they were meant to be made, I found the monkey cupcake cases in my stash. Totally a sign right? Enjoy!

‘);

Banana muffins

Name: Banana muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 1 cup plain (AP) flour; 1 cup wholemeal flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; ½ tsp salt; 2 very ripe bananas, mashed; 1/4 cup maple syrup; ½ cup plain Greek yogurt; ½ cup olive oil; 2 eggs; 1 tsp vanilla; 1/4 cup crushed walnuts

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup plain (AP) flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup maple syrup
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup crushed walnuts

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 160C (350) fan-forced and line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners (mine made 15 but my cases were a little small.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set it aside.
In another bowl, use a fork to stir together the banana, maple syrup, eggs, yoghurt, oil and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir them together just until combined.
Fold through the walnuts.
Bake the muffins for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool or gobble them up warm.

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16 Comments

My Kitchen Stories on March 13, 2014 at 9.48 pm
They look very nice Claire. They are a gorgeous golden colour….no sugar you say?
- Claire on March 14, 2014 at 8.51 am
  Nope no refined sugar just a little maple syrup!
Hotly Spiced on March 12, 2014 at 1.34 pm
I love how these have walnuts in them. I think adding nuts to a muffin always gives it great texture. I do hope the little gift for Bubba C arrived! xx
- Claire on March 12, 2014 at 3.20 pm
  Thanks Charlie! It sure did! Sorry to not acknowledge it. My thankyou cards have just arrived x
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on March 12, 2014 at 1.27 pm
Isn’t Angela great? I love her blog :)
chitchatchomp on March 11, 2014 at 1.53 pm
Great choice Claire – love the gorgeous little wrappers you used also!
- Claire on December 22, 2014 at 11.39 am
  Thank you!
angela@spinachtiger on March 10, 2014 at 11.56 pm
Oh by the way, I love those cupcake holders. So perfect. Pictures so cute.
- Claire on March 11, 2014 at 1.56 pm
  Thanks!
angela@spinachtiger on March 10, 2014 at 11.56 pm
You are first person to mention the funnies on my about page. I thought that would have taken off a lot earlier. It’s all true by the way. I hope you enjoyed the banana muffins. I like the idea of no refined sugar.
- Claire on March 11, 2014 at 1.56 pm
  So funny Angela! She sounds like quite a character. Thanks for the recipe.
Jane, The Heritage Cook on March 10, 2014 at 5.23 pm
Congratulations on the arrival of your new Bubba! These muffins look like the perfect snack to grab when you have a quick second. Beautiful photos!
- Claire on March 11, 2014 at 1.55 pm
  Thanks Jane!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef on March 10, 2014 at 3.38 pm
I love banana muffins and could cheerfully eat one every day for breakfast ! These look so good, Claire !
- Claire on March 11, 2014 at 1.55 pm
  Oh me too Maureen. Easily!
Sweet as Sugar Cookies on March 10, 2014 at 2.10 pm
Just looking at your pictures makes me feel so cheerful. It’s like spring has finally come!