Tuesday 2 December 2014

BAKING AWAY THE BLUES...

Recipe: Banana Muffins

Time Taken: 1 hour
Ingredients: 3 bananas, 100g butter, 175g caster sugar, 225g self-raising flour, 2 eggs, a teaspoon of baking powder, a splash of milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Good evening readers!
Have you had a cracking Tuesday? I bet you have because Tuesday’s almost always an improvement on Monday. Except for me because last night, readers, I got to go to a 21st birthday party on a boat that sailed on the Tyne!! Apologies for not blogging guys but I was busy having such a magical evening!
So last night a big number of young gentlemen from Newcastle University were suited up and the ladies were dressed to kill in gowns and heels, and we made our way down to the Quayside in the night and onto a gorgeous boat covered with fairy lights, called the Fortuna. We set sail along the river and enjoyed a couple of hours partying on the boat. There was a bar on board and a disco dance floor. You could brave the chill and head out on deck to feel the wind in your hair. We got to watch the city disappear. And everyone had the opportunity to steer the ship! I actually wore a captain’s hat and stood at the wheel and steered a ship! The crew were lovely and everyone had a really special time. :)
However, there was a big, big amount of free wine on board. And I’ve felt terrible today! No regrets about last night but, bloody hell, I’ve suffered for it! 10am assessed presentation? Not a laughing matter. So today’s been a difficult one. What do you do on such a day, readers? You bake.
Now, I know this isn’t much an imaginative follow-up to my last blog post, but all I wanted to bake today was one of my banana loaves! It’s healing to bake one! So I got out my traditional Mary Berry recipe and set to work. And was struck by the idea to jazz up my baking by making muffins of the mix, rather than my usual loaf!
 
Here’s how to follow in my footsteps:
1. Preheat your oven to 180˚C.
2. Peel your bananas and pop them in a bowl. Use a fork to mash them to a pulp.
3. Chuck together all your ingredients in a mixing bowl. It doesn’t matter what order they go into the bowl in.
4. Stir them up! Put some good elbow grease in. You don’t want any butter lumps to be left.
5. Take a muffin tray and line with paper muffin cases.
ChefBeHere Top Tip: I only had 8 cases so I made 8 massive muffins and they sort of over-spilled the cases. I think this would make 10-12 sane-sized muffins.
6. Spoon your mix into the cases so that they’re each three quarters of the way full.
7. Safely transport your muffins into the oven.
8. Leave to bake for about half an hour. Keep an eye on them.
9. When your muffins have risen and turned golden brown, and a sharp knife inserted into the centre of one comes out clean, take them out of the oven.
10. Pop on a cooling rack to cool. Then feast! These babies should keep for a good few days in a Tupperware.

You should have whipped together a batch of muffins that look something like this!

 
What do you think to banana muffins??? Are they ok??
How’s the taste? Can you taste banana? And how’s the consistency? Has converting a loaf recipe into a muffin recipe come together or is it a bit of a weird one, do you think? Does it work? Should I make these a regular bake or stick to what I know and go back to making loaves?
I have to say I haven’t actually tried one of these little gems yet, because I’m still a hungover mess and I think I need to sort myself out with some serious carbs before I can properly appreciate a lovely muffin. But I promise to try one soon and let you know what I think. And I’ll gather feedback from the flatmates. I doubt they’ll mind trying a banana muffin for me. :P They’re so spoiled recently with banana-related baking. Love them, though.
Gosh, I hope next time I write you I feel better, readers. For now though, I’m going to go lie down.

Bake (and drink) safely,
Hayley


 

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