These simple muffins are perfect for little hands to get stuck into making and are a good way to use up overripe bananas.
Crammed with natural fruit sweetness, they’re a really tasty treat. There are also no ingredients containing gluten or milk in this recipe, so you could whip up a batch for Allergy Awareness Week in May.
Ingredients
100g ripe mango OR canned mango in juice
60g soft brown sugar
110g dairy-freesunflower oil spread
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
225g gluten-free self-raising flour
100g sultanas
1 x 15ml spoon
gluten-free oats (optional)
Equipment
Weighing scales
Small muffin cases
2 x 12-hole muffin tin
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Can opener (if using canned mango)
Large mixing bowl
Electric hand whisk OR wooden spoon and hand whisk
Masher OR fork
Medium mixing bowl
Sieve
Spatula
Measuring spoons
Skewer
Oven gloves
Pan stand
Cooling rack
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan or gas mark 6. Place the muffin cases in the muffin tins.
- Prepare the mango (if using fresh) or open the can and drain away the juice (if using canned). To chop a fresh mango: use a sharp knife to slice off the side of the mango, getting as close as possible to the stone in the centre. Do the same thing on the other side. Using the sharp knife, cut a grid of 1cm cubes into the flesh of each mango half – being careful to get close to the skin without going through it. Using both hands, turn the mango halves inside out, so that the cubes pop up from the skin. Slice off the pieces.
- Weigh out the sugar and spread and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Cream together the sugar and spread until it is light and pale, using a wooden spoon or an electric whisk.
- Add the eggs one at a time, whisking the mixture until it is light and airy after adding each egg.
- Mash the bananas until soft and only small lumps remain. Carefully add to the mixture and fold in with a wooden spoon.
- Sift the flour into the mixture and gently fold it in.
- Add the sultanas and chopped mango and gently fold in. Make sure the fruit is evenly distributed.
- Spoon out the mixture into the muffin cases, half-filling each case.
- Sprinkle a few oats over each muffin (if using).
- Bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a skewer inserted to the centre comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool on a rack in their paper cases.
Skills used include:
Weighing, measuring, peeling, chopping, creaming, whisking, folding, mashing and baking.
Top Tips
- These muffins can also be made using ordinary self-raising flour and oats and/or ordinary unsaturated fat spread if you don’t need to make them without gluten or milk.
- Make sure you whisk in the eggs well so the mixture is full of air. This will help the muffins rise, which is important when using gluten-free flour.
- Your mixture should be of a dropping consistency. If it’s too dry you can add 1 x 15ml spoon of fresh orange or apple juice (to stay milk-free) or 1 x 15ml spoon of milk. Gluten-free flour often requires more moisture than wheat flour.
Something to try next time
- Try swapping sultanas for dried cranberries.
- For a delicious dessert, serve the muffins with reduced-fat custard or low-fat yoghurt.
Prepare now, eat later
- These muffins are best eaten warm from the oven or stored in a tin for 24–48 hours and then gently warmed for 15–30 seconds in a microwave before serving (timing based on an 800W microwave).
- Freeze the muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost for 1–2 hours before eating.
