The second dozen of muffins I baked to celebrate my birthday at work was banana nut. I found this recipe on JoyofBaking.com and it turned out great. The only thing I’ll change next time is to increase the amount of walnuts and put some on top for more crunch. The amounts in grams mentioned in the recipe did not match the amount in cups. Since it is an American recipe I used the amounts as prescribed in cups and provide the correct conversion into grams below (as per my digital scales).
The basic recipe for muffins is very easy. Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, then fold them together until only just mixed, and bake until a tester comes out clean. If you prefer to use a stand mixer you can use the method I used for the almond poppy seed muffins.
Ingredients
For 12 muffins
200 grams (1 cup) walnuts
280 grams (1 3/4 cups) pastry flour or all-purpose flour
150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
115 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3 ripe large bananas (approximately 500 grams or 1 lb)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Put 200 grams walnuts on a clean baking sheet (or a not so clean one lined with parchment paper) and roast the walnuts for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly toasted.
Meanwhile, melt 115 grams butter and allow to cool.
Allow the walnuts to cool a bit as they come out of the oven and then chop them coarsely.
Combine the walnuts, 280 grams flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp ground cinnamon in a large bowl.
Whisk until homogeneous.
Combine 3 bananas, 150 grams sugar, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla extract in the bowl of the food processor.
Process until smooth.
Add the melted butter (which should be cool enough by now as to not cook the eggs) and process until incorporated.
Combine everything in a single bowl.
Use a rubber spatula until just mixed. It is okay if you see a bit of flower here or there. Do not overmix to avoid making your muffins tough.
Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
Divide the batter evenly among them.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Do not bake longer than necessary to avoid dry muffins.
Remove the muffins out of the pan as soon as you can handle them. A spoon may be helpful for this.
Allow muffins to cool. Store in an airtight container.
If you want a nice crunchy top (the best part of a muffin according to most), try and sprinkle a heavy layer of sugar right before you put them in the oven. Bake at 375 for the first 7 minutes to allow the sugar to caramelize, then lower the temperature.
That’s a good idea and something I’ll try next time, thanks!
Nice looking indeed. The American cup system seems totally daft to me. A cup of sugar is a different weight to a cup of flour. A cup of flour can be loosely packed and be one amount or tightly packed and be another amount. Butter comes in sticks. What am I missing?
Best,
C
You are absolutely right that specifying ingredients in cups is daft, especially for baking given the required precision. Another problem is that 1 cup chopped something is not the same as 1 cup something, chopped. With grams we don’t have this problem.
I love how Modernist Cuisine, an American landmark book, has everything in grams.
Agreed completely yet for some reason Thomas Keller, one of the movers and shakers in Modernist Cuisine, provides his recipe for Quiche Loraine (quiche alsacienne) in cups, tsp and Tbsp as opposed to grams. Of course, he was writing for an US audience, yet on other occasions he does use grams for the same US audience. Go figure. We are still the only major country using the English System of weights and measure as opposed to metric. Supposedly, even though the metric system is a better system of weights and measures, it is too expensive to change the signage, gasoline pumps, etc. to justify changing over with the rest of the civilized world. I personally think it’s because the parents would hate for their children to have to teach them new math and science.
Oh, and by-the-way, would someone explain to me why precious metals, gem stones and black powder use the Troy Measurement System?
In trading a lot of stuff is based on conventions. In some cases the interest on a loan or bond is calculated as if each month has 30 days. This came about when there were no calculators and thus it was a lot easier to calculate the amount of interest to be paid. Nowadays it actually makes it harder that way. Traders, like people in general, like to stick to what they are used to.
Using cups and tablespoons is fine for fluids, but for dry ingredients it is just not accurate enough. Especially for baking. It would be okay to use ounces though.
Nice post, Stefan.
Muffins are great in the morning and banana walnut are among the best. Your coworkers are very lucky to have you around, especially near your birthday.
Thanks, John
A classic…but always very good!
Happy belated Birthday!! I hope you had a great one.
I love banana nut!
Thanks