banana and mango muffins

What I like about baking muffins is that they are easy to make and are popular with adults and children alike.

The most important tip about baking muffins is that one has to be careful not to overstir the batter. When the wet ingredients have been added to the flour mixture, stir the batter until just blended. Do not worry if the batter is lumpy.

Another tip to be shared is that whilst some muffin recipes recommend that you bake the muffins at 200 degrees celsius for 20 to 25 minutes, I have found that many a time, the optimum baking temperature and time are 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes. Of course, much would depend on the oven that you are using. At the end of the day, by trial and error, you would be able to discover what the optimum temperature and baking time for your oven are.

Recently, FIL and MIL gave Da and me some cut slices of mango. I did not see the mango itself but from the thick slices that MIL had cut, my guess is that the mangoes must have been very large. I found the mangoes very sweet and hence, perfect for baking muffins and cakes.

I set aside two cups of cubed mangoes. One of the cups of cubed mangoes was blended in with the batter using the mixer. The other cup of cubed mangoes was added to the batter after I had stirred the batter till about 90% blended. This way, not only does the muffin have mango flavour, you can also taste pieces of mango as you bite into the muffins.

INGREDIENTS

210g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg (lightly beaten)
100g castor sugar
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp mango essence
1 large ripe banana (mashed)
2 cups mango (cut into small cubes)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Line the muffin pans with paper muffin cups. Set aside.

3. Sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Toss 2 tsp of the flour mixture with 1 cup of the cubed mangoes in a small bowl and set aside.

5. Combine the egg, castor sugar, sunflower oil, mango essence, mashed bananas and 1 cup of cubed mango in a mixing bowl using an electric mixer until well blended.

6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir using a wooden spatula until about 90% blended. Add the remaining cup of cubed mango and stir until just blended. Do not overstir.

7. Fill the muffin cups with the batter until 2/3 full.

8. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

TIP

Coating the mangoes with flour helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin as they bake.