Nigella Express: Banana Butterscotch Muffins (But Actually Dark Chocolate): [How To Make]

 

Date: 27/6/13

Background: We had some over ripe banana’s left over and so basically I decided rather than bin them or let my housemate have them with custard (I feel unhappy about this) I thought I would make some delicious variations on Nigella’s Banana Butterscotch Muffin recipe. PLUS I haven’t done a ‘How-To-Make’ blog post in ages!

What: Banana and Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 over ripe bananas
• 150mls vegetable oil
• 250g self raising flour
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 150g dark chocolate chunks (or Nigella suggests butterscotch morsels)
• 2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Mash the bananas in a bowl
3. Mix together the oil and eggs and combine with the mashed banana
4. Sift the flour, bicarb and baking powder
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients
6. Break the chocolate into little morsel sized pieces (or used ready made chunks) – I used a broken bar of dark chocolate and this meant a variety of sized chunks within the muffins
7. Add the chocolate to the muffin mix
8. Prepare a muffin tin and line with muffin cases
9. Using a dessert spoon/ice cream scoop, fill the cases with the mix
10. Heat in a preheated oven, 200C for 20mins, or until a cocktail stick/skewer comes out clean

What Was Good: How easy they were to make! I literally made them and baked them in half an hour! So speedy, so easy and If you are careful not much washing up either! And my goodness they tasted delicious! Warm they oozed melted chocolate and the cake was soft, light and fluffy, but if you had enough patience and willpower to let them cool down, and even better, wait over night, they develop their banana flavour even more and are just as tasty! And I bet they are even more versatile! Nigella recommends using butterscotch pieces which I think would be very tasty as well! Another bonus is that you will probably have all the ingredients in the store cupboard anyway! So you can whip them up at a moments notice!

Delicious Muffin Pictures VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

What Was Bad: Not even a criticism, but I plan on making them again (and again and again) but adding some chopped pecans as well for added flavour and texture! Oh and the mixture when you are making it does not look very appetising… But the finished product is divine

Would I Make Them Again: I am already planning to make them again this week

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Reference: Lawson, N (2009) Nigella Express. Chatto & Windus. I do not stake claims to this recipe I am merely reviewing it

You Can Never Have Enough Muffin!

 

Date: 13/11/12

Background: I had a somewhat not entirely interesting mandatory training session for 6 hours at work… And the only thing that got me through the day was the knowledge that a delicious pud was waiting for me just across the road for when I had finished!

What: Cherry and Almond Muffin

Where: Costa Coffee Shop, Queen Elizabeth Hospital- Birmingham

How Much?: £1.75

What was Good: It took so much willpower to not buy another Gingerbread Muffin I cannot even explain. But I NEED to try the whole delicious range of cakes and other sweet treats that Costa has to offer, so I chose upon the golden brown Cherry and Almond Muffin, garnished with sugar dusted toasted almonds. Classic case of eating with my eyes again!! The cake itself was slightly sweet, and had an aromatic hint of almonds within it. And what little sticky cherry jam there was in the heart, was very flavourful and intense!

What was Bad: I was entirely underwhelmed I am afraid! Apart from the jammy centre, there was no taste of cherry within the cake itself, and equally so with the almonds, there was only an aromatic after note! I mean don’t get me wrong, the texture was lovely, soft, light and  airy. Just the texture you would want from a muffin, but I was very sad about the muffin-y experience of today. I wanted a flavour sensation and ended up with a generic sponge flavoured sponge with some jam.

Would I Go Again: I most definitely WILL be returning to Costa! There are too many treats in store for me to sink my sweet tooth into! I just will not be having this muffin again!

Waffle-O-Meter:

Starbucks, you nutty little minx!

 

Date: 03/11/12

Background: My lovely buddy from back home, Michelle, and her boyfriend Michael came to Birmingham, and we met up with them to have a coffee, chinwag and a general get together!

What: Caramelised Hazelnut and Chocolate Chip Muffin

Where: Starbucks, Birmingham New Street

How Much?: I wanna say about £1.90 give or take

What was Good: It smelt nice! Sweet and nutty. Lol. And as I am sure you have picked up by now, I eat with my eyes first of all, and it looked really tasty! Rustic and basically decorated. Texture and flavour wise it was also a good muffin, with the crunchy chopped caramelised hazelnuts and sweet smooth chocolate chips within, and the all important crusty muffin top!

What was Bad: One thing I did not like was that the hazelnuts got stuck in my teeth… And that is when they tasted really bitter! I know this happens with a lot of nuts, but it kind of ruined the whole experience! I don’t think I will be choosing this muffin again folks I am afraid.

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Costa Coffee…. You Purveyor of Autumnal Cakey Deliciousness!

 

Date: 01/11/12

Background: “Pinch Punch, First of the Month!” Happy November Everybody! With it being half term, it is high time my Mum does her family Christmas shopping, and because Birmingham is a very good place to shop, her and my Pa came and we ventured to hit the town! Coffee time meant Costa, and I simply could not resist this delicious looking muffiny treat!

What: Gingerbread Muffin

Where: Costa Coffee Shop, The Bull Ring, Birmingham

How Much?: £1.80 (To take away is £1.50)

What was Good: It was so cute! Seeing the gingery muffin topped with a sweet caramel fondant and adorable decorative iced gingerbread man, really made me NEED to buy this muffin! I saw it, I wanted it! Naturally with good gingerbread, the cake itself was soft, moist, dense but not cloy-y, with a subtle spicy ginger flavour. The golden syrup heart was a wonderful surprise! It was sweet but tangy and smooth, but in my opinion was not much! The highlight of this confectionary wonder for me was probably the impossibly cute gingerbread man decoration!! I am definitely one of cuteness and kitsch and it involved me doing lots of high pitched squealing!

What was Bad: Maybe the icing was a little sickly? Maybe… and also maybe there should have been more ginger in it…. But I am being incredibly picky!! Generally speak this muffin was delicious and I cannot wait to return for seconds!

Waffle-O-Meter:

Apologies for the poor quality image!

Do you know the Muffin (Wo)Man? [How to Make]

 

Date: 9/9/12

Background: Basically, I posted a poll on my Blog to see what people would like to see me make/bake and review! Out of the selection Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins won by leaps and bounds! So yeah, here is my interpretation of a nice recipe I found on Nigella Lawson’s website posted by one of her contributors- comfondida

What: Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

How Much?: ~£5 give or take- depending on what ingredients you have in your store cupboard

Ingredients:

• 300g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 225ml milk
• 50g butter
• approx. 100g raspberries
• approx. 110g white chocolate
• (muffin cases)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200/gas mark 6
2. Half the raspberries and chop chocolate into large chunks.
3. Sift flour and baking powder into large bowl. Stir sugar into flour mixture.
4. Melt the butter (I find this easiest in microwave for approx. 30 seconds [see attached photo])
5. In separate bowl crack the egg, whisk in the vanilla extract, milk and melted butter. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture.
6. Fold in raspberries and white chocolate (Using a metal spoon is best as this avoids most damage to raspberries.) Be careful not to be too rough, as raspberries will be easily damaged.
7. Spoon the mixture into the individual muffin cases (I used silicon ones!). I used about 1.5-2 dessert spoons, to fill the cases to around 3/4s full
8. Cook for approx. 10 minutes at gas mark 6 (200) and then reduce to 150 for a further 20 minutes or until muffins are risen, firm and golden brown. 

To decorate

• Place a chocolate button on each muffin, place on a baking tray and warm in the oven (turned off and cooling) until the chocolate is melted.
• Once the chocolate is melted, place half a raspberry on top. Serve warm/cool

What was Good:

They were really pretty! Yes I sound like a proper girl, but I am a sucker for a pretty, aesthetically pleasing muffin. As a human species, we tend to to eat with our eyes. If we like the food we are about to eat, it can have a massive impact on how we enjoy the nommages we consume. They had a crispy crunchy crust, but were so so soft and fluffy on the inside. The raspberries had exploded like little sour/tart bombs within the muffin cakeyness and yet the chocolate chunks had melted and set, making a nice texture change as you bit through the confection. The muffins themselves were very moist but not soggy and were the perfect size to not overwhelm you or make you feel sick. Overall, I want to thank my readers for choosing Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins, I cannot wait for you to choose me another pudding to make in the next poll!

What was Bad:

The first batch we did we cooked at 200degrees for 10 minutes then reduced to 150degrees for a further 20mins. These were perfect and crispy and light and fluffy, just as described above. However, the next batch we cooked at 150degrees for 30minutes, and these did not have as nice a texture. There were a bit cakey and not quite as fluffy. Therefore, I advise following the recipe as given above .

Waffleometer

Hints and Tips:

- Because Vanilla Extract can be quite expensive, I bought Lindt White Chocolate with a Touch of Vanilla. I think it was just as nice! (Lindt Picture Courtesy of Friars of Keswick)

- If you like a sweeter cake, maybe use an extra 50g of caster sugar

- The temperature suggestion given in the “What was Bad” section

- Use silicon muffin cases as they are really easy to turn out after cooking and do not require a muffin tin to cook them. They are re usable, but the only problem is that you cannot keep the muffins in them- so you end up with case-less cakes!

- Try lots of different flavours! Chocolate chip, Lemon and Poppyseed, Carrot cake… The list is endless!

- If you melt the butter in the microwave for 30secs, as it suggests… Then I have found this happens (aka butter-microwave explosion!)  >>>>>>>>>

Too Sweet, Too Sickly :-(

Date: 24/8/12

Background: The last official day of our holiday in Porthmadog, my parents (Honorary Blog Contributors) still hadn't visited Cadwalader's, the Ice cream parlour franchise, on the high street. So we all went to relive the moment that “Did Somebody Say Pudding?” was born… which was yesterday .

What: Hot Muffin Sundae

How Much?: £4.50

What was Good?: It looks, and sounds divine! Who can possibly say that a hot muffin, piled with vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate fudge sauce and chocolate pieces, served with whipped cream and a “Cadwalader’s” wafer doesn’t sound simply marvellous? If you do not think this sounds stupendous then sadly I do not think we are on the same wavelength. The flavour of the sauce was nice and, as mentioned in our previous blog hot cake with a hot sauce and cold ice cream is usually a WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNING combination.

What was Bad?: As it turned out, this pudding was a big disappointment . As the title suggests, the final thoughts of it were that it was TOO sweet and TOO sickly. There was a vast quantity of the sticky sauce, and as it was slowly solidifying due to the copious amount of cold ice cream, it became more of a difficult task to actually consume the monstrosity. There was an almost bitter aftertaste, speculation perhaps but maybe these muffins were shop bought? They certainly did not taste home made. In our opinion you would expect for a pudding costing nearly £5 that the main muffin-y component would at least be home made. The worst part was that even for myself (Amy) and my pudding veteran parents, the sickly feeling lasted for a good 2-3 hours and was so sweet that it gave at least 3 of us a ‘sugar hangover’. It was a pudding that we all struggled to finish.

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