Name: Coffee and Banana Muffins with Milk Chocolate Chunks
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 50g unsalted butter; 125g mashed banana - roughly 1 medium sized banana; 40g natural yoghurt; 1 large egg; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 50g sugar, either caster, brown or muscovado or a mix; ¼ teaspoon salt; 125g plain/all-purpose flour; 1 – 2 teaspoons instant coffee, to taste (I use 2 teaspoons); ½ teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda; 100g milk chocolate chunks – I use Cadburys; Plus an extra 50g chocolate chunks to decorate the tops of the muffins (optional)

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Soft and fluffy, buttery, coffee flavoured banana muffins loaded with chocolate chunks – wonderful for breakfast but a perfect treat at any time of the day. Best served warm, either as they are or simply with a little butter.

**Delicious with warm with butter**
(Picture is of a Coffee and Banana Muffin with White Chocolate Chunks)

Coffee sponge with chocolate buttercream is one of our absolute favourite cakes – these muffins are an homage to these flavours. Adding some banana into the mix, not only adds a new dimension to the flavours and ensures they are sweet, soft and moist, it also adds a delicious healthy element and means we can reduce the sugar without reducing flavour or texture. What better way to start the day?

You can freeze these muffins before or after baking

Freeze before cooking –

Based on my Banana Muffins – Core Recipe, these treats are very quick to whip up, and even better, can be made in advance to the point of cooking, then immediately frozen, whilst still raw, and cooked directly from the freezer. Hot muffins straight out of the oven at the drop of a hat – what’s not to like? For full instructions, see Recipe Notes.

Freeze after cooking –

They also freeze well for up to 3 months. Cover and put them in the freezer as soon as possible but make sure they have completely cooled before bagging. Defrost in the fridge overnight. If you are making packed lunches, freeze some muffins in individual bags – pop them, frozen, into a packed lunch in the morning and they will be defrosted and ready to eat by lunch time.

Make sure you use over-ripe bananas:

One of the key issues when making banana muffins is using bananas at the correct stage of ‘over-ripe!’. They should be so over-ripe you probably wouldn’t eat them, the skins will be brown and the banana flesh very soft – they will however be very sweet, full of flavour and perfect for baking. Timing is therefore key!

The good thing is that you can freeze over-ripe bananas if you do not want to use them immediately. Simply remove the skin, chop into 2 cm pieces, pop into a bag and freeze. Defrost before using in baking.

Alternatively, if you want to use up perfectly over ripe bananas, make up a batch of muffins and freeze, either before or after baking. See details above.

The brown banana below is perfect for cooking although it doesn’t need to be quite this brown! The yellow one on the left is very nearly ready!

How to make Coffee flavoured Banana Muffins with Milk Chocolate Chunks

Collect all your ingredients together:

unsalted butter
mashed banana
natural yoghurt
egg
vanilla extract
sugar, either caster, brown, coconut or muscovado or a mix
salt
plain/all-purpose flour
instant coffee
baking powder
bicarbonate of soda
milk chocolate chunks – I use Cadburys
Plus extra chocolate chunks to decorate the tops of the muffins (optional)

Suggested Accompaniments:

Butter
Honey/maple syrup
Yoghurt
Ricotta cheese
Fresh berries
Fresh banana
Nuts
Seeds

How to make these amazing muffins:

Place a microwave-save mixing bowl on some electric scales and zero the scales. Weigh the cubed butter directly into your bowl and melt the butter in 15 second increments in the microwave. Alternatively, the butter can be melted in a small saucepan and transferred to a mixing bowl.
Add the banana, broken into pieces and mash roughly with a fork.
Now, with the mixing bowl sitting back on the scales, zero them and weigh the yoghurt, egg, vanilla, sugar and salt directly on top of the butter and banana. Beat well with an electric whisk.
Put a sieve over the top of the mixing bowl and put back on the scales. Zero the scales and weigh the dry ingredients into the sieve – the flour, coffee, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Shake onto the mixture and then fold in gently with a spatula until very nearly mixed.
Fold in the chocolate chunks
Divide between 6 muffin cases in a muffin tin, and if you like, top with extra chunks of chocolate. (If you want to freeze any, do so now – See Recipe Notes)
Bake in the centre of the oven for 5 minutes, reduce the temperature and cook for a further 15 minutes or until cooked.

NB Cooking the muffins at a higher temperature for 5 minutes, quickly activates the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, ensuring your muffins are always light and fluffy.

This recipe is also delicious with white chocolate chunks.

Why not double the recipe and make half with milk chocolate and half with white chocolate?

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.

Coffee and Banana Muffins with Milk Chocolate Chunks

Course Any time of the day!, Breakfast, brunch, Snack, treat

Keyword banana, coffee, milk chocolate, muffins

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 6

Author Susan

Ingredients

50g unsalted butter
125g mashed banana – roughly 1 medium sized banana
40g natural yoghurt
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
50g sugar, either caster, brown or muscovado or a mix
¼ teaspoon salt
125g plain/all-purpose flour
1 – 2 teaspoons instant coffee, to taste (I use 2 teaspoons)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g milk chocolate chunks – I use Cadburys
Plus an extra 50g chocolate chunks to decorate the tops of the muffins (optional)

Instructions

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Preheat oven to Fan Oven 200°C/220°C/425°F/Gas 7
Place a microwave-save mixing bowl on some electric scales and zero the scales. Weigh the cubed butter directly into your bowl and melt the butter in 15 second increments in the microwave. Alternatively, the butter can be melted in a small saucepan and transferred to a mixing bowl.
Add the banana, broken into pieces and mash roughly with a fork.
Now, with the mixing bowl sitting back on the scales, zero them and weigh the yoghurt, egg, vanilla, sugar and salt directly on top of the butter and banana. Beat well with an electric whisk.
Put a sieve over the top of the mixing bowl and put back on the scales. Zero the scales and weigh the dry ingredients into the sieve – the flour, coffee, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Shake onto the mixture and then fold in gently with a spatula until very nearly mixed.
Fold in the chocolate chunks.
Divide between 6 muffin cases in a muffin tin, and if you like, top with extra chunks of chocolate. (If you want to freeze any, do so now – See Recipe Notes)
After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and cook for a further 15 – 18 minutes, or until cooked.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
Microwave safe mixing bowl
Whisk – electric or balloon
ice cream scoop or spoon to divide the batter
6-hole muffin tin and lined with paper cases

Freezing and Cooking from frozen:

Freezing the muffins – Before you start making the muffins, line a muffin tin with liners and place in the freezer to get as cold as possible
Make your muffins as normal, fill the muffin cases in the cold muffin tin and scatter over additional ingredients
Loosely cover with cling film and put back in the freezer immediately.
As soon as they are solid, take out of the tin and place in a freezer bag or container. Keeps up to 3 months.
NB – If your muffin cases are stuck to the bottom of your muffin tin when you take it out of the freezer, run some hot water from the tap in your kitchen sink – just 1 – 2 cms. Sit the tin in the hot water for 30 seconds or for long enough to release the muffins. You can now bag them and return them to the freezer.
To cook from frozen: preheat oven to Fan Oven 200°C/220°C/425°F/Gas 7
Put the frozen muffins back into a muffin tin and cook on the middle shelf for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4 and cook for a further 15 – 18 minutes.

Storing the muffins:

Best eaten on the day they are made. However, they will store well in an airtight container for 2 days, or up to 3 – 4 days, if kept in the fridge. If you are storing in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before eating.
These muffins freeze well after cooking as well. Cover, when cool, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Bananas:

125g mashed banana is equivalent to roughly 1 – 1½ bananas which will weigh 150 – 175g with their skins on.
One of the key issues when making banana muffins is using bananas at the correct stage of ‘over-ripe!’. They should be so over-ripe you probably wouldn’t eat them, the skins will be brown and the banana flesh very soft – they will however be very sweet, full of flavour and perfect for baking.
The good thing is that you can freeze over-ripe bananas if you do not want to use them immediately. Simply remove the skin, chop into 2 cm pieces, pop into a bag and freeze. Defrost before using in baking.

NB Cooking the muffins at a higher temperature for 5 minutes, quickly activates the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, ensuring your muffins are always light and fluffy.