Banana and Blueberry Muffins

Banana and Blueberry Muffins

I try to bake for the family a couple of times a week. If nothing else, the aroma is a good way of tempting teenagers out of their bedrooms and into the kitchen.

In my experience, you can mess about in cake recipes with either the sugar or the flour but not both. These muffins are a good compromise. They get their sweetness from the bananas, blueberries and coconut oil but I made half of the batch pictured (purple cases) from spelt flour and the rest (green cases) from half spelt, half normal self raising flour. Both varieties were moist, with blueberries that burst in the mouth.

Family verdict: 
Harry: 'Delicious.'
Nora: 'Maybe not that sweet but still lovely'.
Robbie: 'The purple ones are thicker and the green ones have more holes in them.'

MAKES: 10-12

Time needed: 10 - 15 minutes to make plus 15-20 minutes to bake, depending on which flour is used.

INGREDIENTS

125g spelt flour (or half spelt, half self raising)
1.5tsp baking powder (1tsp if using the half and half flour)
1tsp ground cinnamon
50g melted coconut oil (takes about 30 seconds in a microwave)
2tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
3 ripe bananas
80g fresh blueberries

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 175 C (gas mark 4). Place 10-12 paper muffin cases in a cup bun tray.
2. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the baking powder and cinnamon.
3. Mash the bananas. Add the egg, melted coconut oil and vanilla essence to the bananas and beat until smooth and creamy. This takes a couple of minutes with an electric whisk.
4. Add the banana mixture and the blueberries to the dry ingredients. Mix with a metal spoon until well combined. The resulting mixture should be light and of 'soft dropping consistency' (i.e. if you scoop up a spoonful and tilt the spoon over the bowl, the mixture should fall off with a soft 'plop!).
5. Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake for 15-20 minutes. Denser flours such as spelt tend to take longer to bake. The cakes are cooked when they are lightly browned and slightly firm to the touch.
6. Remove the muffins from the bun tray and leave them to cool on a wire rack. The muffins may sink slightly while cooling.
7. Enjoy the interaction with your children as they hopefully follow their noses to the kitchen.