These triple chocolate banana muffins are easy to make and perfect for baking with children. Not sure what to do with overripe bananas? Look no further. Don’t throw away bananas that have gone almost black as they’ll give you the best tasting muffins.
We’re banana fiends in this house, so when everyone was fighting over toilet paper and hand sanitiser just before quarantine started, we stocked up on bananas. Turns out you CAN have too many bananas, and quite a few of them were turning brown quickly.
Some of the overripe bananas went in the freezer for strawberry or chocolate ice cream. We kept others for banana bread, and since we’ve been confined in the house, we’ve made our triple chocolate banana chip muffins four times. That’s how much we love them (and how many bananas we had!).
We have made these chocolate-laden banana muffins five times since the start of lockdown last month and they are much nicer slightly undercooked than overcooked. You know when a muffin is a little fudgy and moist? Yes, that! If you leave them longer in the oven, they’re still lovely, but more like sponge and less chocolate fondant-like.
Possible substitutions and additions for the triple chocolate banana muffins
Our banana muffins are laden with chocolate chips and full of flavour as they are, but if you want, you can also add in 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or raisins. Just bake for a few extra minutes if you do.
Since some shops aren’t that well stocked at the moment and we’re all trying to use up what we have in our cupboards, here are a few substitutions you can make:
– I love dark muscovado sugar when I make banana bread, but any type of sugar works, really.
– Self raising flour also works instead of plain flour with baking powder.
– If you don’t have cacao powder, any type of cocoa powder or even drinking chocolate powder will work.
– For the chocolate chips, you can crush any type of chocolate. Just place your big chunk of chocolate in a plastic bag, seal and bash with a rolling pin. My kids love doing that!
– If you haven’t got any butter, you can use oil (sunflower or rapeseed).
– If you’ve run out of milk, you can use water.
– If you don’t have a muffin tray, you can use a lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes.
Can my children help me make triple chocolate banana muffins?
Absolutely! It’s a great recipe to get children involved. Toddlers (and any older children) can peel and mash the bananas. If they’re ripe enough, they will be so soft it will be easy peasy.
Since you’re separating the whites and yolks, children who want to be a bit more involved in baking can learn by doing this into a couple of bowls.
As you’re putting the ingredients together, you can teach them how to gently fold the whisked egg whites into the muffin batter.
When it’s time to separate the triple chocolate banana muffin batter into the muffin cases, you can get one of your little helpers to use an ice cream scoop to measure the amount needed in each case.
Do you know any taste-testers keener than children?
How long can I keep these triple chocolate banana muffins?
In our house, they barely have time to cool down before they disappear, but if you’re not as greedy as we are, here is what you can do:
- Once cooled, you can keep the triple chocolate banana muffins in an airtight container for a few days.
- You can also freeze them for later. They make the perfect ‘emergency lunchbox dessert’ when the cupboards and fridge are bare.
OK, so who wants the recipe for our triple chocolate banana muffins?
Triple Chocolate Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 medium free range eggs
- 2 overripe bananas mashed (200g)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- Pinch of salt
- 100 g softened butter
- 175 g dark brown muscovado sugar
- 175 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons cacao powder
- 50 g white chocolate chips
- 50 g milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 4 / 375ºF.
- Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases.
- Separate the eggs. Place the egg whites in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk until you get soft peaks.
- Cream the butter and sugar together. Add in the mashed bananas, egg yolks and milk. Mix to combine.
- In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and cacao powder. Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Gently fold the egg whites in to the cake batter until fully combined, then add in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the dough into the cupcake cases.
- To to get the perfect amount of cake batter every time, use an ice cream scoop. One scoop in each cupcake case will be just right.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when you press them lightly. They do taste even better slightly undercooked but if you like your muffins spongy rather than fudge-like insert a knife through the middle of one muffin. If it comes out dry, the muffins are fully cooked. If covered in batter, just give them another few minutes.
- Leave to cool and enjoy.
