Banana Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Topping

The best banana bread ever, hands down! Dump your other recipes folks because this is life changing!
I found this recipe on the Two Peas and Their Pod blog, I've made it loads of times since with variations such as mixing in glacè cherries or chocolate chip at the last minute- so try whatever you like  and let me know how it turns out! :)

*** BREAKING NEWS***

I accidentally added an extra teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter (along with the dry mixture) and it GREATLY enhanced the recipe!! Banana Bread 2.0 ;) Let me know in the comments if you'd prefer me to write out the whole recipe again, if necessary I will.

Don't question the two raising agents in this... they work!

For the cinnamon sugar, mix 1/3 cup of sugar with 1tbsp of cinnamon, yum yum!

The good news about this treat? It's packed full of potassium from the bananas, and with NO margarine (only 1/2 cup of olive oil) it's as healthy as you can get :)

Banana and Cherry Muffins

I wanted something a little more fruity last weekend so I whipped up these little beauties! They were scrumptious! Succulent even! ;)

I used the recipe from the original banana muffins (albeit with a few shortcuts), but concocted my own crumb topping. I'll definitely be using this topping from now on, it was delicious!

Some Notes:

• I was lazy and ommitted any other raising agent bar the flour. The original recipe called for both baking powder, and baking soda. But this was after a long day of baking, I had bananas to use up, and I was ravenously hungry so I forewent this step. On the brightside, my version is bite-sized, and this leads to no leftovers. :) I didn't think it affected the taste at all, and the not-so-massive muffins were still quite light.
• If you don't have overly ripe bananas (read Brown/Black!), the muffins won't taste as nice. Instead of letting them go another few days and run the risk of not having the time to bake these treats then, pop the bananas on a waxed baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 15-20 mins at about 180degrees Celcius.
• Make the topping first, this way you won't be so panicked trying to get the muffins into the oven. Preparing your work bench before starting to bake-no matter how excited you are, will most definitely lead to a much happier baking experience, trust me I've made the mistake too many times!

Muffin Ingredients:
1 and a half Cups self-raising flour
3ripe bananas
3/4 cup white sugar
1 lightly beaten egg
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup glacé cherries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 190degrees Celcius
2. Sieve flour into large bowl
3. In another bowl beat together rest of ingredients
4. Add this mixture gradually to flour while beating.
5. When just about combined, add chopped cherries and beat gently.
6. Spoon into cupcake cases.
7. Top with premade topping.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until an inserted knife/toothpick comes out clean.

Topping:
2parts light brown sugar
2parts packed dark brown sugar
2parts flour
1part cinnamon 
1part butter

1. Mix the dry ingredients together with your fingers in a small bowl. 
2. Add the softened butter and pinch between your fingers to make very dainty crumbs, finer than breadcrumbs.

Et, voila!

These muffins packed a fruity punch and would be a lovely mid-week healthy treat.

Talk to you tomorrow on sUCCulent 98.3 at 11-12!

Stay sweet! x

Banana Crumb Muffins

I love muffins. I also love bananas. When I saw three increasingly ripening bananas in our fruit bowl I immediately thought those babies needed to be baked!! Usually I’d make banana bread, but I didn’t have the time to grease tins, measure out a ton of ingredients and wait for the loaf to cool. Up until now I couldn’t find a straightforward banana muffin recipe that is until I asked old reliable, Mr. Google. He did not disappoint!

The recipe (found here) can be converted into metric quantities so it doesn’t take too much arithmetic for an Irish baker. These really are as simple to make as they sound. The mashed banana acts as a binding agent and is durable so everything else can be mixed in until batter is formed. Melting the butter is the crucial part, definitely a job for adults! It really does add to the flavour of the muffin though, so don’t skip the step!

I had never made a crumb topping before, but I had binged on crumb muffins in Boston last year and was looking for a good recipe everywhere since! Don’t skimp on the butter, as the crumb will be too floury and unpalatable.

All in all these muffins were delicious, absolutely scrumptious. Plus the guilt factor is lower, as you can justify the banana constitutes part of your twelve a day! 

I made these early on a gloomy July morning in Ireland, and they were the ultimate comfort food which made the day feel a whole lot better! 

They kept for three days in a sealed container (thanks to the moisture from the bananas).They are really impressive looking (the power of the crumb!), you’ll be deemed a domestic god/goddess after one bite! 

P.S. Recently I made these with the adition of chocolate chips! Milis ar fad! x