Recipe: Easy Sugar-Free Banana Muffins (Baking with Kids)

So, we recently harvested not one, but TWO hands of bananas from our garden... which left us with a whole load of bananas ripening at the same time! 

Since it's the school holidays, I decided to get the kids into the kitchen and make some banana muffins together. This recipe has been adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess cookbook - it's a stir and bake recipe; super easy and quick and perfect for kids! Furthermore, no sugar is added into this bake, making this a healthy teatime treat!

Easy sugar-free banana muffins

Please enjoy this short video starring BabySumoKids...it's great seeing them so confident in the kitchen! If you'd like to see more videos from us (especially from the kids), do support us by subscribing to our YouTube channel and liking our videos. Thank you! :)

Easy Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes 12-13

Ingredients
60g salted butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
12 small ripe bananas
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
A pinch of salt


1. Preheat oven to 190°C (no fan).

2. In a saucepan over medium low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the honey and vanilla bean paste and mix well. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes.

3. Peel and mash the bananas using a masher. Add the butter mixture from Step 2 to the mashed bananas and mix well.

4. In another bowl, mix the plain flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

5. Add dry ingredients (from Step 4) into the wet ingredients (Step 3) and fold gently until the ingredients are just mixed. Do not overmix.

6. Fill the paper cups until they are about 2/3 full and place into a muffin tray.

7. Place muffin tray into preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Leave in the pan to cool for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool for another 10 minutes.

Note: We used pisang mas (small bananas), which you can substitute with 4 large ripe bananas.

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Recipe: Lemon & Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

One ingredient we always have in our fridge are lemons. We especially love adding them to our drinks, and one week we had a surplus of them, so I decided to make muffins with the kids. We chose to make lemon and orange poppy seed muffins.

When life hands you lemons, make lemon muffins ;)

This recipe appealed to me, since we could mix everything by hand, which meant I could just supervise while the kids did all the work. (I only helped with zesting the oranges and lemons, and melting the butter). Recipes with cup measurements are best for young kids as well.

They're easy to make and smelled wonderful even before they went into the oven.

The resulting muffin is moist, tangy and delicious! I think they taste extra nice with some butter on top and the poppy seeds add a lovely texture to the muffin.

Lemon and orange poppy seed muffins
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
2 1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup soft brown sugar
3 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
115g salted butter
Juice and zest of 2 medium lemons
Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 210°C (no fan). Line the muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.

2. Melt the butter in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Once melted, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, orange juice, and orange zest and whisk until combined. Whisk in the the eggs. Add in the yogurt and vanilla and whisk well. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, add the flour, caster sugar, brown sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt  and mix well with a spatula. Pour in the wet ingredients (from Step 2) and gently fold until the flour is just mixed in. Remember not to overmix - lumpy batter makes light muffins ;)

4. Spoon the batter into the liners, filling them about 3/4 full.  Bake for 5 minutes at 210°C, then reduce the temperature to 190°C and continue to bake for a further 15-18 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

5. Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack. Store in airtight container up to 5 days.


Note: If you do not like muffins which are too lemony, you can use 1 lemon and 2 oranges instead.

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Recipe: Carrot Muffins with Walnuts and Cranberries

Our kids get lunch in school, but sometimes we would pack some biscuits or muffins for them to snack on. I would always make the muffins in cute cases as this gets them excited - simple things that make them happy! Sometimes, I would pack extra for them as their friends would also ask to share the muffins with them. :)

So, these carrot muffins are moist and packed with their favorite nuts and dried fruits. They're also pretty easy to make (except for the grating carrot part which takes a little time).  If you would like to frost your muffins, do check out these posts: lime mascarpone frosting or cream cheese frosting.

Carrot muffins
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20-22 minutes
Makes 15

Ingredients
250g self raising flour, sifted
A pinch of salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
150g soft brown sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
240ml corn oil
250g carrot, peeled and finely grated (approx. 2 medium carrot)
60g walnuts, chopped into small pieces
60g sultanas or dried cranberries, chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract


1. Preheat oven to 200°C (no fan). Line 2 muffin-trays with 15 cupcake liners.

2. Place the flour, salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl and stir in the brown sugar. Add the eggs and corn oil to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the grated carrot, orange zest, sultanas, chopped walnuts and vanilla extract.

3. Fill the cupcake-liners to 2/3 full and then bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-22 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool for at least 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container, they will keep for 4-5 days.

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Recipe: Moist Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips (Nigella Lawson)

A friend of ours passed us a huge bag of bananas over the weekend - I think there were at least 30 bananas in there! We kept them in the fridge to slow the ripening process, but we had to use them up quickly before they went bad. Hence banana muffins and cakes made an appearance almost everyday in our house this week.

Moist, Sugar-Free Banana Muffins

The first recipe that we tried was Nigella Lawson's banana muffins recipe from her "How to be a Domestic Goddess" cookbook. My daughter was tasked in making these muffins, and this recipe seemed apt since it's from the "Children" section in the book. Furthermore, these muffins have no added sugar as it is sweetened by the bananas and honey. We also sprinkled some extra chocolate chips on top. The bananas also keep the muffins very moist; you can store it in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They're great just eaten like that, or for a touch of luxury, we cut it in half and slather Bordier butter all over it!

Easy to make, healthy and delicious! My daughter made these a couple of times this week, and the whole family loves it. We also made sure that we gifted some of these muffins to our friends who presented us with the bananas. :D

Hubby also served it with warm custard one of the days. YUM!

By the way, in August 2014, I will be co-hosting "Cook Like a Star" with Mich and Zoe, and the chosen chef is Gordon Ramsay! Do join us by cooking your favorite Gordon Ramsay recipes :)




Moist banana muffins with chocolate chips
Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 23-25 minutes
Makes 14


Ingredients
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4 tbsp clear honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large, very ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark chocolate chips (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 190°C (no fan). Line a baking tray with 14 paper baking cups.

2. Put the butter, honey and vanilla extract in a pan over low heat, until butter is melted. Remove and set aside for a few minutes.

3. Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Mix the melted butter mixture with the mashed bananas, and then mix it into the dry ingredients. Don't overmix, just stir a few times until the flour is incorporated.

4. Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full of mixture. Sprinkle dark chocolate chips on top. Put in oven and bake for about 23-25 minutes,or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tray to cool for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Store in airtight containers. These muffins will keep well for 3-4 days.

Note: Your child can do all the steps in this recipe, however for younger kids, you may want to do Step 2 for them as it requires melting in a pot over a hob.

* I am submitting this post to "Cook-Your-Books #14" hosted by Joyce.

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Recipe: Banana Nut Muffins (Paula Deen)

It's very rare to find overripe bananas in my house, as my kids will usually finish them a couple of days after we buy them. This time, I hid 2 bananas in the fridge since I wanted to make muffins with them over the weekend.

Banana Nut Muffins

Since Cook Like a Star this month is Paula Deen, I searched for a banana muffin recipe and found this. I changed a few things, such as reducing the sugar from 1 cup to 1/3cup (bananas are naturally sweet) plus I substituted 1/4 cup of walnuts with chocolate chips (my kids love them in muffins!). I also used walnuts in lieu of pecans since I have them in the fridge. This is an easy stir-and-bake recipe, so my kids could do it with minimal supervision.

The muffins were moist, nutty and just right in terms of sweetness. Thank you kids for making them!

On a separate note, my blog has surpassed 4 million hits today... thanks again for all your support! :D

Photobombed by a cutie! :D

Banana Nut Muffins 
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Paula Deen
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 18-20 minutes
Makes 12-13

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup corn or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 tbsp  milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips



1.Preheat oven to 200°C (no fan) . Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, combine banana, oil, eggs, and milk. Add the wet mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just incorporated. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on wire rack.


Note: I reduced sugar from 1 cup to 1/3 cup and replaced 1/4 cup of walnuts with chocolate chips. You can also use pecans.

Loving my new mini mason drinking jar :)

I am linking this to Cook like a Star (Paula Deen and Deen brothers theme) organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe.


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Recipe: Super-Easy Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffin (Nigella Lawson)

Since the kids are on their school holidays, we did some baking last week on a weekday night. Baby C invited her friend over to join in the fun. I looked for an easy muffin recipe which the kids could do all by themselves (with minimal supervision), and picked this chocolate chocolate-chip muffin recipe from Nigella Lawson. Which kid wouldn't love chocolate?

Chocolate chocolate-chip muffins

The day has arrived for our first "baking class". I merely arranged the ingredients and equipment, and the kids did the rest, and followed instructions really well. A bit of measuring and mixing, and the muffins were ready for the oven. We watched as the muffins rose up high and tall.

The muffins were moist and chocolatey. The kids gobbled up two muffins each after their hard work. I could sense how proud they were of themselves. Fantastic job, kids! :)

Hubby decorated some of our bananas as cute minions from Despicable Me :)

Chocolate chocolate-chip muffins
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from FoodNetwork - Nigella Lawson
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 18-20 minutes
Makes 12


Ingredients
1 3/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp best quality cocoa powder
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk
1/3 cup + 2 tsp corn or vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For sprinkling

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (no fan). Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases.

2.  Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips into a large bowl. 

3. Place the milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract into a measuring jug.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until combined. Do not overmix, a lumpy batter makes the best muffins. 

4. Place the batter back into the measuring jug and fill the muffin cases, about 3/4 full. Alternatively, you can spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cases. 

5. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top and then bake for 18-20 minutes or until the muffins are dark, risen and springy.

Fresh from the oven

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Recipe: Asparagus and cheese muffins + Asparagus ends soup

After a few days of eating asparagus, I've gathered up quite a lot of asparagus ends (which I usually throw away because they're woody and fibrous).  I've always felt that it's wasteful to throw them away, so this time I will be making a soup with them.

To go with the asparagus soup, I've also made some savoury asparagus and cheese muffins. The original recipe uses Cheshire cheese, which I couldn't find in the supermarkets here, so I substituted with Cheddar cheese. These were really easy to make, a simple mix-and-bake recipe.

This is only my second time making savoury muffins, but we really enjoyed them. I was especially surprised that Baby D ate 2 whole ones (cheese-lover!). I like how the asparagus stems peek out of the muffins, which gives it an elegant appearance. These muffins were moist, with a lovely top crust and pretty substantial. They're best eaten warm with some cold butter.

For the soup, the asparagus ends are boiled with the chicken stock, and then pureed using a hand blender. This then needs to be sieved to remove the inedible fibrous bits. Using asparagus ends, the soup was pale green in colour (my head went "oh-no!") - I've made asparagus soup before with the stalks and it was a vivid green. I googled and saw other asparagus ends soup images which was a similar shade, so this colour is perfectly normal... phew.

Despite the colour, the asparagus flavours really came through. The soup was silky smooth, creamy and comforting. So next time, don't discard those woody ends... they make a good asparagus soup.

Asparagus and cheese muffins
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Good Food Channel
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Makes 9

Ingredients
9 asparagus, woody ends removed, stems cut into 1cm pieces, leave the tips a little longer
200 g self-raising flour
100 g cheddar cheese
62g butter
1 spring onion (green parts only), snipped
75ml milk
50ml natural yogurt
1/2 tsp English mustard
1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (no fan) and line a muffin tin with 9 cases.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the cheese. Melt the butter and pour into a jug. Add the spring onions, milk, yogurt, mustard and eggs into the melted butter. Mix well until combined and season generously with salt and pepper.

3. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the flour and cheese, and stir in the chopped asparagus stems. Be careful not to over mix and stop as soon as the mixture is combined.

4. Spoon the mixture evenly between the muffin cases and push an asparagus tip into the middle of each. Bake in the oven from 25-30 minutes until golden. Best eaten hot out of the oven, spread with a little cold butter.

Note: I halved the original recipe, to yield 9 muffins. I could not get Cheshire cheese here, so I substituted with Cheddar cheese.

Creamy asparagus ends soup
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
300g asparagus ends
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion, finely chopped
Salt
2-3 tbsp cream
A knob of butter

To serve (optional)
Asparagus tips
Parmesan cheese
Bacon


1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add onions and cook for 2 minutes until they have softened. Make sure that they do not brown. 

2.Then, add the chicken stock and asparagus ends and cook for 15 minutes until softened.

3. Remove from heat and use a hand blender to puree the asparagus ends. Pass the soup through a sieve to remove the inedible fibrous bits. Place back into saucepan, and season with salt and pepper, simmer at very low heat and add the cream. Serve immediately.

* I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up (May 2014: Milk) hosted by Tze of Awayofmind Bakery House.


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