Sneaky Chocolate Banana Muffins!

I woke up today full of the joys of Spring!

Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration.

I woke up today a little less tired than usual, which somehow, these days equals some kind of rapture inside - because a day not spent scraping myself up off the floor due to heavy, heavy tiredness is a day which should be celebrated.

Ah, the joys of kids!

I cleaned, I did the week's shopping (with toddler in tow!), I walked the dog, I got on top of my washing pile and then when I came across these old bananas, instead of carelessly ditching them in the bin because I was to tired to envisage actually being able to function well enough to do anything with them, I actually thought 'hey, let's do some baking!'

Check me out, I'm on a roll!

Manky auld bananas!  Yum!

I'll be the first to admit, it doesn't look promising, does it?

'Bananas! In pyjamas!'

Ethan was at home with me today, so of course he wanted to get in on the action.  If only to mooch around the kitchen and see what else he could get to eat and sing the theme tune from Bananas in Pyjamas.

They looked better once peeled!

I did Google for a 'Banana muffin' recipe, but once I did this I discovered that although I had the bananas and the will to make something awesome with them, I was slightly lacking on the ingredient front.  However, I'm not as green as I'm cabbage-looking, thus I was able to compensate with other ingredients I already had.

So!  Here's my recipe for Sneaky Banana Muffins (makes approx. 12)  They are sneaky because they look like awesome chocolate muffins, but the manky old bananas are hiding!! Ha ha!

You will need two bowls.

Bowl #1

2 manky auld Bananas (they mash better when they are brown and old)

50g Melted Butter

1 Egg (beaten)

A slug of Natural Yoghurt

Bowl#2

150g Caster Sugar

50g Chocolate Chips

135g Plain Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

20g Cocoa powder

Once the bowls are combined:

A slug of Milk (preferably full-fat)

Combine the ingredients together in their separate bowls.  Once thoroughly mixed, pour the wet bowl into the dry stuff.  Mix thoroughly.  Adda slug of milk to loosen the mixture to a soft, shiny consistency.

Ethan getting in with the spoon!

Stop for a well-deserved yoghurt break

I think these cooked for around 20 minutes - 30 minutes at 160 degrees, but between tidying up and arranging various things for Ethan, such as putting on Jake and The Neverland Pirates for the umpteenth time, I cannot be sure.  What I do know is that you can see if they are ready by sticking a sharp knife into the centre - if it comes out sticky then another 5 mins should do the trick.  Be aware however that the end result is slightly gooier inside than your normal muffin, so a wee bit off goo on the blade is o.k.

Warning - little helpers cannot resist temptation!

We baked them in lovely silicone cases too, which varied in size, so we got about 12 out of them, but I'm sure you could make smaller ones with normal-sized paper cases and get more for your money!

Serve with a delicious glass of cold milk - complete with curly straw, of course!

Ethan's verdict? Well, he had a sniff, he tasted it slightly, but it was a resounding 'no', much to my disappointment.  My mum however yummed one down as soon as she came in, and then Dave and Tom both gorged themselves after tea tonight, so I think they are a resounding success.  They are very tasty - crunchy on the outside and a bit softer and gooey in the middle.  Gorgeous!  Maybe if Ethan hadn't helped this one time, he wouldn't have see the bananas going in (I really do think this is why he didn't eat any) and they really would have been Sneaky Banana Muffins.

I shall duplicate this recipe soon when he is not around and let you all know!