Every time we are left with ripe bananas, we think of only the banana walnut loaf, and it is not fair to the equally delightful quick breads made with banana. The quick bread in question here, is the delightful breakfast banana date muffin — a surprisingly soft, light and scrumptious muffin, that is packed with the goodness of bananas and dates, and tied in a spicy bow.
I say surprisingly soft because you don’t usually expect a muffin to be soft — it is after all, a quick bread, and they are denser than cakes. But what makes this muffin special is the banana, buttermilk, oil and dates. You’ll also find the dates to be pleasingly chewy. The mixed spice lends the banana date muffins depth of flavour and warmth, making it a great breakfast on those cold days, or a light supper on a cold evening when you want to curl up in bed. (Yes, this recipe uses buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, don’t worry, you can make your own buttermilk substitutions outlined here.)
These delightful breakfast banana date muffins can be made ahead and eaten during the week. I ate them for breakfast the following morn after I made them, and I was so happy I did. Why? 1. I didn’t have to make breakfast (and if you did, it’s really quite quick to make), 2. my breakfast was sweet (yes, both ways!), 3. they kept me going until lunch (well, errr, I did sneak one in some time before lunch), 5. I ate it with homemade orange marmalade, 4. I don’t have to make breakfast tomorrow either! Yes, muffins are usually eaten without a frosting or topping since we add stuff in the batter, but I couldn’t resist eating my muffins with a yummy dollop of homemade orange marmalade that I made the night before. I was so kicked!
So, the next time you’re left with ripe bananas you know what to do! Start baking banana date muffins! Ummm, if you haven’t first made the scrummy banana walnut loaf, do. And while I’m at it, let me urge you to try this delicate banana cake too. And do let me know what you thought of them, or one of them by commenting below or using the hashtag #notjustspice on Instagram or @notjustspice on Facebook.
- 300 g self raising flour
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 100 g brown sugar
- 460 g mashed bananas 3 large or 4 medium
- 160 g stoned chopped dates
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 80 ml vegetable oil
- 100 ml buttermilk
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Preheat the oven to 176ºC (350ºF).
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Grease your muffin tray(s) with cooking spray or some vegetable oil.
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In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk (by hand; you don’t need a machine for this batter) a while, say, 1 minute.
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Make a hole in the middle, and add the wet ingredients, and whisk gently until it is all combined well.
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Using two tablespoons (the ones you eat with), add spoonfuls of the batter into the muffin cups, filling up three-fourths of each cup.
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Bake for 20 minutes, or until slightly golden and a skewer when inserted comes out dry.
Related Links:
Cordon Rose Banana Cake (not just spice)
Scrummy Moist Classic Banana Walnut Loaf (not just spice)
How To Make Buttermilk Substitutions (not just spice)