Can you believe half a year has flown by already? It was just a few weeks ago, when the busyness, exhaustion and stress of the school term were at its peak, that I wondered if the holidays would ever come. And now, we have ushered in the June holidays! Finally! It really is a much-needed break for which I am deeply thankful. Don't get me wrong – I love my job (teaching), but it does drain a lot of my energy rather quickly, leaving me sapped and needing extended time to regain my strength.
One of the ways I recharge is by baking (obviously), which I have taken to doing last and this week. Initially, I wanted to write a post about (and recipe for) the chocolate espresso cookies that I was making, but they didn't turn out quite the way I wanted them to, although they were delicious. As such, I wanted to tweak the recipe a little before sharing it. However, I am, at the moment, tragically low on chocolate (gasp!). On top of that, I would be flying to China this very weekend, where my access to most social media would be restricted, so the post about the cookies would have to wait. Thankfully, I made Earl Grey banana oat muffins yesterday and they were a success! Hence, I am sharing these with you instead.
Banana muffins (or banana bread) are a bit of a comfort food for me. They are common and simple, yet delicious, warm and hearty. Throw in some dark chocolate chunks, Earl Grey tea steeped into the batter, and cocoa nibs for a nice crunch, and you have a winning breakfast or afternoon treat!
I also added rolled oats, because that makes these healthier (and more delicious, too!), right?
If you want a simple yet delicious treat and you have excess overripe bananas lying around the house, make these ASAP!
Earl Grey Chocolate Banana Oat Muffins
Inspired from various blogs, such as Half Baked Harvest
Yields 12 standard muffins
Ingredients
190 g (1 1/2 cup) flour
80 g (1 cup) rolled oats (not instant oats)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
70 g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
150 g (3/4 cup) milk
3 Earl Grey tea bags
1 egg
75 g (1/3 cup) oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed
115 g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
Cocoa nibs
Method
Add tea bags to the milk and heat over the stove top until almost boiling. Remove from heat and let the tea steep for at least 5 minutes.
Remove tea bags, taking care to press out as much liquid from the tea bags as possible. Set aside to cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F with the oven rack positioned in the middle.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, spices, salt, brown sugar and leavening agents. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in egg, oil, vanilla and Earl Grey milk.
Fold the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Stir in chopped chocolate. Do not over-mix.
Divide the batter into twelve lined cupcake tins. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Do not over-bake or the muffins will be dry.
Set aside to cool on the wire rack for 5 minutes. Enjoy warm or store in airtight containers when completely cooled.