Caramelized banana nut muffins

While I already have a tahini banana bread recipe on this site, I love all banana-flavored baked goods and am constantly searching for the right recipe that will bring the intense banana flavor. Basically, my mission is to capture the flavors of the cereal banana nut crunch in as many forms as possible–that means a strong, unmistakable banana flavor paired with plenty of nuttiness and some extra crunch. These caramelized banana nut muffins deliver in a big way–both on flavor and texture. They are light and soft and very banana-forward, with a richly comforting caramel flavor from the brown sugar and cooked bananas. The muffins are studded with toasted walnuts and topped with more walnuts and demerara sugar for a satisfyingly crunchy exterior.

I have spent an inordinate amount of time researching and thinking about these muffins. Here was my criteria and how I went about working through each one to create my ideal banana nut muffin recipe:

• Strong banana flavor: I hate the feeling of biting into a muffin or banana bread where the banana flavor is barely detectable. My goal was to squeeze in as many bananas as possible. The issue with this is that bananas add moisture and after adding a certain number of bananas, you can end up with a dense loaf. The solution was to caramelize the bananas first in a skillet with just a small spoonful of coconut oil. During this process, the bananas release a lot of their moisture, allowing me to pack extra bananas into the muffins (5 bananas for 12 muffins!) without adding too much moisture. As an added bonus, the caramelization brings out the bananas’ natural sweetness and gives them a warming, toasty flavor.
• Tall muffin tops: I don’t need my muffins to be towering but I wanted to avoid the pitfall of creating dense muffins or those that ended up quite flat and sad-looking. I want my muffins to spark joy when they emerge from the oven, both in taste and appearance. I tried two techniques I found online for this–one was resting the batter at room temperature for one hour before baking. The other was to first bake the muffins at a high temperature for 5 minutes and then reduce the temperature to finish the bake. Letting the batter sit out is supposed to allow time for the flour to absorb some of the moisture, thickening the batter and helping it hold its shape. I found absolutely no difference in my recipe, which might be because my batter was already on the thicker side. Baking at 425 for the first 5 minutes, though, worked like a charm to get nice domed muffins tops.
• Ingredients that resemble a muffin, not a cake: So many muffin recipes are essentially cake in disguise and contain loads of sugar and butter or oil. I have no issue with that but in the years when I was suffering from severe IBS, it was a vegan banana bread recipe that came to my rescue–something I could finally eat that tasted delicious and sweet but wouldn’t cause me immediate discomfort. I wanted this recipe to be one that you could realistically eat for breakfast and that would be friendly on my fellow weak-stomached friends. The extra bananas in the recipe help contribute to the moisture and sweetness of the loaf, which meant I didn’t need as much fat or sugar in the recipe. I also replaced a portion of the flour with whole wheat flour, which could absorb some of that extra moisture from the bananas and add to the muffin’s nutty flavor. Greek yogurt was another find that worked quite well–again contributing some moisture and fat, while helping to keep the batter relatively thick. I do have to credit the great Stella Parks for some of these tips.
• A crunchy top: Let’s face it–banana bread is a little bit mushy. So to contrast the softness of the muffin, I mixed a bit of demerara sugar with toasted walnuts. This added a nice crunch to every bite–a little bit of the demerara sugar also melted into the top of the muffins creating tiny pockets of caramely goodness, which I most certainly did not mind.

So with all of that background out of the way, I will leave you to baking your banana nut muffins! No special equipment needed–just an excitement for that nostalgic and comforting smell of banana baked goods.

Caramelized banana nut muffins

Recipe by MoniqueCourse: BreadDifficulty: Baking session

Yields

12

muffins

Prep time

40

minutes

Bake time

18

minutes

These caramelized banana nut muffins have an intense banana flavor, a toasty and nutty flavor, and a crunchy domed muffin top. By caramelizing the bananas, you’re able to pack more of them in by reducing the total moisture while also developing their flavor before they get folded into the muffin batter. It’s a small extra step but one that your future self will thank you for once you bite into that first muffin.

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts

• 5 very ripe medium bananas, fresh or frozen (mine were about 130-140g each with skin on)*

• 1/4 cup (53g) packed brown sugar

• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup (57g) whole wheat flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 3/4 tsp diamond crystal kosher salt (1/2 tsp table salt)

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup coconut oil (room temp-56g) or canola oil

• scant 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 tbsp demerara sugar (optional)

Instructions

• Add walnuts to a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally until fragrant and golden brown. Set aside. Slice your bananas into 1/4-inch coins. Add a teaspoon of coconut oil or small pat of butter to the skillet. Once melted, add the bananas (note: you may have to do this in two batches–the bananas should form a single layer on the bottom of the pan). Arrange the bananas in a single layer and let cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until they start to brown on one side. Then flip each of them and cook another couple of minutes until they have released their liquid, which has started to thicken and caramelize, and the banana slices are golden brown. Don’t rush this–the bananas may start to turn into mush, which is totally fine. Take off the heat and stir in the brown sugar. Transfer out of the hot pan onto a plate, mash with a fork and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 425F. In a mixing bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
• In a larger mixing bowl, add the two eggs and granulated sugar. Whisk vigorously for a couple of minutes until the mixture has lightened in color slightly and is nice and frothy. Then whisk in the oil until combined. If your bananas are still quite hot, mix them into the cold Greek yogurt first and then add both the yogurt and bananas to the mixing bowl, whisking to incorporate. Whisk in the vanilla.
• Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring a few times to incorporate. While you still have some streaks of flour, chop all of the walnuts (size is based on your preference!). Reserve about 1/3 for the top and add the rest to the batter. Finish stirring just until there are no more streaks of flour. Do not overmix.
• Grease your muffin tin. Dollop the batter in spoonfuls into the muffin tin, distributing evenly to make 12 muffins. Mix the remaining walnut pieces with two tablespoons of demerara sugar (or regular granulated sugar). Sprinkle generously on top of each muffin. Bake on the center rack for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350, and continue baking for another 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (it’s okay if there are a couple of little crumbs on the toothpick). Let cool completely and then remove from the muffin tin. Store extra muffins in an airtight container or in the freezer.

Notes

• If using frozen bananas, do NOT thaw before caramelizing. Slice them into coins while frozen and place directly onto the skillet. Frozen bananas will turn mushy more quickly but you should be able to still get some caramelization on them. When I made this, I tried all fresh and a mix of frozen and fresh bananas. For this banana bread, your bananas don’t need to be completely brown–just slightly overripe and very spotty will do.

WordPress Recipe Plugin by WPZOOM