May 31, 2012

Coconut, chocolate and banana mini muffins


Do you ever just get that itch to bake something?  I do.  Often it's just a need to do something methodical.  I find that a bit of mixing and stirring, no matter how simple the recipe, gets me to a semi state of zen.  At times like this when my mind is wandering about, I like to stick to something simple and satisfying like these muffins.


I adapted this recipe somewhat and replaced the butter in the orignal recipe with macadamia oil.  This cuts out the saturated fat that I try to keep to a minimum without comprimising on flavour as macadamia oil works really well in baking.  I also didn't have any chocolate chips on hand but did have a full block of 70% dark chocolate at the back of the pantry so I made do by chopping the chocolate with a sharp knife into little chunks.  Finally, I replaced the regular caster sugar with the raw variety.  You may also like to replace the regular flour with wholemeal, however I had run out so used the regular kind.


These little muffins are moist and delicious.  The balance between the chocolate, coconut and banana for me is perfect and no one ingredient overshadows the other.  The muffin mix easily comes together in a matter of minutes and they are really quick to bake for a treat in a hurry.

Coconut, chocolate and banana mini muffins
Adapted from recipe by Mandy Biffin, delicious. - October 2005, Page 120
Makes approx. 30 mini muffins

Ingredients:
¼ cup macadamia or vegetable oil
½ cup raw caster sugar
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1tsp vanilla extract
1 cup self raising flour
½ cup desiccated coconut
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
4 Tbs of milk (or add a little more if needed to get a good consistency)
Oil spray

1.      Preheat oven to 200C.
2.      Combine the banana, oil, beaten egg, vanilla and milk in a small bowl.
3.      In a another mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, coconut and chocolate chips.
4.      Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well until combined.
5.      Lightly spray the holes of a mini muffin pan.
6.      Fill each muffin hole with heaped teaspoons of mixture.
7.      Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on your oven until the tops are lightly golden.
8.      Remove tray from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
9.      Carefully remove the muffins from the tray and place on a cake rack to cool.

11 comments:

Anne@FromMySweetHeart said...

Anna....these look lovely! I swear I will try to add coconut to most anything. But it looks like you've struck a nice balance of flavors! Thanks for the tip about macadamia oil. As much as I bake, I've never tried it! Your baking puts me into a zen state, too! : )

Anonymous said...

I love the coconut in this recipe!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Hehe I always get the urge to bake! In fact I did so today! :P These look delicious!

Stephanie said...

OOh these look wonderful. I love coconut and banana together. I made a cookie before with chocolate chips, banana, and coconut and they were great! How cute.

Eileen said...

Banana and chocolate is a standard around here--but I'm super excited to see the coconut! Why have I never thought to add it in? Thanks for the great idea!

Hotly Spiced said...

What beautiful looking muffins. And yes, they do look very moist. I could eat a few of those right now! xx

Cathleen said...

I LOVE the combination of ingredients you used! What a great mix, yum!

Asmita said...

I love the combination of flavors here. These muffins are a real treat!

Anna @ The Littlest Anchovy said...

I always get the urge to bake choc chip cookies. Always. Maybe next time I get the urge I will try this recipe!

marthameetslucy said...

I'm going to use some coconut oil to make these. Any other nut oil is too expensive for me to use unless its as a garnish.

Anna @ The Shady Pine said...

Coconut oil would be really lovely too...and there's no reason to not use butter either. The real star is the chocolate chips :)