Friday 22 February 2008

Do you know the Muffin Man...?


These muffins are based on a Banana Butterscotch Cake recipe that I tried yesterday and they came out perfect! The recipe comes from a Guardian supplemental on Baking which I've hoarded since last year.

I altered the recipe only slightly, using unrefined sugar (light brown moscavado) and reducing the quantity as I don't really like terribly sweet cakes. I used plain greek yoghurt in the recipe and find that it works well for a lot of cream substitutions and has a better texture than plain yoghurt which tends to be quite liquid. I also added a pinch of salt and used a lot more bananas as we had a whole comb around the house that wasn't being eaten in a hurry. The silicone cupcake "Tins" were from Daiso at SGD$2 per pair - Bargain! (Wish I'd bought more!)

Page 58 of Baking from theguardian supplement of the year (Nov. 2007)
Butterscotch Banana Cake

250g caster sugar
250g banana flesh chopped into 2cm pieces
1tbsp unsalted butter
2tsp vanilla extract
175ml sunflower oil
2 large eggs
150g plain flour
75g spelt, rye or wholemeal flour
2 level tsp mixed spice*
2 level tsp baking powder
1/2 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
50 ml plain yoghurt

(Transcribed and slightly short-handed recipe method)
Butter 20cm square tin lined with non-stick baking paper at the base.
Tip 150g caster sugar into fry pan with 25 ml water and bring to boil cooking till reddish caramel is formed. Add banana, butter and vanilla, simmering till banana breaks up in the caramel and the mixture thickens.

Spoon on to plate and leave to cool. Beat remaining 100g sugar with the oil and eggs till thick and slightly aerated, then beat in bananas and yoghurt. Sift the flours, baking powder, spice and soda together two - three times (throwing the bran back in), then fold this through the banana mixture.

Spoon mixure into the tin, heat the oven to 180C (160C for fan assisted) and bake for about 50 minutes or until inserted skewer comes out clean.


Noshlette notes
I used a small non-stick fry pan and left the ingredients to cool in the pan itself. 100g of sugar in the caramel and 50 g with the eggs works just as well. (Almost reducing sugar in recipe by 100g! However bear in mind I used a lot more ripe bananas which were already sweet by themselves)
*mixed spice is basically a blend of corriander powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg and ginger.