I didn’t really make anything fancy this Easter, but sometimes nothing beats this humble classic: little banana bread muffins. With some chopped up walnuts, a touch of cinnamon and a ‘lazy’ buttercream on top.
It’s a classic and it’s easy to see why. As baking goes, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the hardest), banana bread is like level -1. It’s simple, quick, you just can’t mess it up. And unlike a lot of gluten free recipes which need some extra baking skills to prevent them from being dry and falling apart, banana bread is always soft, lovely and moist even when gluten free.
Just a tip: if you add buttercream, only decorate those you plan to eat right away. Store the leftovers plain and re-heat in the microwave before eating.
- 95g gluten free self-raising flour (I used Doves Farm/Freee Foods)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- Optional: ½ tsp xanthan gum (only if your flour blend doesn't already contain it - mine does)
- 40g sugar (I used half brown, half white)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 banana
- 40g melted butter (or oil of your choice)
- 1 large egg
- 30g whole milk
- Optional: chopped up walnuts (to taste)
- Softened/room temperature butter
- Icing sugar
- Vanilla extract
BAKING TIME: 25 mins
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F) and grease a muffin tray with butter, oil or cooking spray. You can also you use paper cases, of course, but funnily enough I find those without cases rise more.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- Mash the banana and add to the dry ingredients along with the butter (melted in the microwave first), egg and milk. Mix well with a spoon or spatula.
- Stir in the walnuts.
- Pour the batter into your muffin tray and bake on the middle shelf for about 25 minutes. To check if they’re cooked, poke one with a knife or metal skewer. If it comes out clean, it’s cooked. If not, cook them a bit longer.
- Store your freshly cooked banana bread in an airtight container or wrapped in foil to prevent them from drying.
- To decorate, spread the buttercream (just a mix of softened room temperature butter, icing sugar and vanilla – to taste) on top or use a piping bag for a perfect look. NOTE: make sure your banana bread muffins have cooled down before decorating or the heat will melt the buttercream. ? Also, only add buttercream to those you plan to eat right away and keep the leftovers plain (so you can re-heat them in the microwave).
I also have a full banana bread loaf recipe {here}.
Kimi x
I love that these little cakes are square shaped π Yum!