I found myself with some rather overripe bananas in the house today and so I decided to bake something with them. I hate waste and don't like to throw anything away if I can help it.
I still have cake here from the weekend so cake was out. I thought maybe muffins would be good or a loaf of some sort. I have a great muffin book on my kindle. I used to have the physical copy in the UK, but can't afford to replace it yet.
The name of the book is Mad About Muffins, buy Diana Bonaparte. Its an excellent book. It is in British measures, but that's okay. I can easily cope with that.
I found a recipe in it today for Banana & Coconut Muffins that looked very promising and so I decided to bake them. I have adapted it here for you with North American measures.
One thing about the recipe which really appealed to me is that it only makes 7 medium muffins. I know, an odd number. But so be it. You can bake the 7th one in a ramekin.
I really love my ceramic muffin baker. It gives muffins a really nice crust. I don't like to use papers if I can help it. Usually half the muffin stays in the paper. I think this muffin pan gives a nicer, cleaner finish, but maybe that is just me.
Its anthropology but I bought it at The Bay online last year when I was still living at my sisters.
Another thing about these muffins which appealed to me was the fact that I had exactly the right amount and size of bananas to use. I also had the coconut available as well as the whole wheat flour.
I am sure if you don't have whole wheat flour you can just use plain all purpose flour, but they won't have the same nutty flavor that whole wheat flour imparts, or the fiber.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BANANA & COCONUT MUFFINS
Very simple ingredients. Deliciously put together.
For the muffins:
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 1/2 (250g) small very ripe bananas (unpeeled weight), mashed (a generous 3/4 cup)
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp rum extract
- 3 TBS hot water
- 3/4 cup (120g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- scant cup (75g) sweetened shredded coconut
To top/finish the muffins:
- 1/3 cup (30g) sweetened shredded coconut
- 2 TBS demerara (turbinado) sugar
My bananas were really ripe, in fact they were mostly black. Don't every throw them away. They are still great for baking. If you can't use them right away, then peel and freeze them!
The original recipe called for muscovado sugar. I can't get that here. It is a type of brown sugar with a higher molasses content. Soft brown sugar works well in its place. Muscovado is just less processed than regular brown sugar.
I know in the UK they basically just have desiccated coconut, or large coconut flakes. Use the desiccated but make sure it is sweetened. Here in Canada we have shredded.
The original recipe called for Malibu which is a coconut rum liquor I believe. I didn't have that. I just used hot water and some rum extract. It worked out beautifully.
The tops of the muffins are sprinkled with coconut and demerara sugar prior to baking. Demerara sugar is known as turbinado sugar here in North America.
In the UK, it is also known as coffee sugar. It is a coarsely granulated brownish sugar that a lot of people enjoy in their coffees.
HOW TO MAKE BANANA & COCONUT MUFFINS
Normally when making muffins you mix the wet and the dry ingredients separately and then fold them together just to combine. The method of making these differs a tiny bit from that.
You want to begin by preheating your oven and prepping your muffin baker. You can use paper liners or butter your muffin baker really well and lightly dust with flour, shaking out any excess.
Melt the butter in a large bowl (either in the microwave or over simmering water). Stir in the sugar and mashed banana, and egg, mixing well together. Stir in the vanilla and rum extracts. (Note: 250g of mashed banana is a scant cup, or a generous 3/4 cup)
Sift both flours together with the soda and salt. Add back any bran from the flour that might remain in the sifter.
Add half the flour to the wet ingredients, mixing well together. Whisk in the hot water and then stir in the remaining flour, stirring to mix well. Stir in the coconut.
Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.
Sprinkle the coconut over the top of the muffins, dividing it equally and then sprinkle with the demerara sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 33 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool somewhat before eating. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
These are probably the yummiest banana muffins I have ever baked, and I have baked a LOT of banana muffins in my lifetime!
The next time you have bananas that need using up, I can highly recommend this banana muffin recipe! I think this is my all time favorite banana muffin recipe.
Its not too sweet or too cake like! It has a lovely crunchy topping from the coconut and sugar, and the flavors are amazing. If you are looking for a good muffin to bake this week, you can't go really wrong with these!
Banana & Coconut Muffins
Yield: 7 medium muffins
Prep time: 12 MinCook time: 33 MinTotal time: 45 Min
Delicious served warm or at room temperature with beautiful banana and coconut flavors.
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 1/2 (250g) small very ripe bananas (unpeeled weight), mashed (a generous 3/4 cup)
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp rum extract
- 3 TBS hot water
- 3/4 cup (120g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- scant cup (75g) sweetened shredded coconut
To finish:
- 1/3 cup (30g) sweetened shredded coconut
- 2 TBS demerara (turbinado) sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/ 180*C/ gas mark 4. Line 7 muffin cups with paper liners, or butter and dust lightly with flour.
- Melt the butter in a large bowl (either in the microwave or over simmering water). Stir in the sugar, egg, and mashed banana, mixing well together. Stir in the vanilla and rum extracts.
- Sift both flours together with the soda and salt. Add back any bran from the flour that might remain in the sifter.
- Add half the flour to the wet ingredients, mixing well together. Whisk in the hot water and then stir in the remaining flour, stirring to mix well. Stir in the coconut.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the coconut over the top of the muffins, dividing it equally and then sprinkle with the demerara sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 33 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean. They should also spring back when lightly touched.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool before eating. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Thanks very much for visiting today. Do come again!
When I was at the Goucher's Farm Market with my sister one day last week, I noticed they had the most beautiful red potatoes. I could not resist buying myself a small bag!
They were beautifully red in color and just the right size for boiling. I adore boiled potatoes. But then again, I adore potatoes in any way shape or form! I am a potato-holic!
I don't share a lot of side dishes here on The English Kitchen and I am not sure why that is. I often think that the side dishes are the real stars of any dinner!
What is a great production in the theatre without the audience, and what is a tasty main dish without great support on the side lines. We need each other! Side dishes that complement the main are a very important part of any meal!
This was a first time for me making smashed potatoes. Oh, I have made roasted crispy smashed potatoes before. They are lovely.
All crispy edged and buttery. A real delight to eat, and adaptable to many flavors.
These smashed potatoes are of a different genre of smashed potatoes. These are like a smashed mashed potato, meant to be rustic and creamy all at the same time.
I have seen these before many times, but thought it was about time I tried them for myself, and am I ever glad that I did! These are fabulous!
To be honest I never thought that potato skins would work in mashed potatoes, or lumps. That is not the mashed potatoes I grew up with, although I have long had an affection for potato skins.
For me the skin is almost the best part of the potato, especially if it is buttery and crisp, but I wasn't sure about the skins in a pot of mash. I grew up thinking that if you had skins left in your mashed potatoes you had done a very bad job of peeling and mashing them! haha
Trust me when I tell you that in this fabulous side dish they totally work. Not only do they add color and texture, but they add fiber and nutrition!
This is quite honestly an excellent side dish that I would even serve to company or on a special occasion such as an Anniversary or even Valentines day! I adapted the recipe from an ATK cookbook entitle The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE RUSTIC SMASHED RED POTATOES
Its a very simple list of a very few simple ingredients. There is nothing outlandish here.
- 12 ounces (340g) small red potatoes, unpeeled
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
- 3 TBS cream cheese, softened
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 1 TBS minced chives or spring onion
I used the smallest potatoes in my bag of red potatoes. Not one was more than about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. I think these are the size which would work best in this recipe.
Why break the bay leaf in half? I was taught that this helps to release all the flavors of the bay leaf and imparts important oils into the dish you are cooking.
Because you will be using some of the potato water to flavor the potatoes at the end, making sure you eke out as much flavor from the bay leaf as possible is important!
HOW TO MAKE RUSTIC SMASHED RED POTATOES
It only looks complicated. Its really very simple, but if you follow each step in the order given and with exactness your potatoes will be exquisite!
First start off with really clean potatoes. Even though your potatoes might look clean, do give them a good scrub in some clean water, and pick out any eyes, etc.
Place the potatoes, along with 1 tsp salt and the bay leaf into a medium sized saucepan. Cover with water to top up by 1 inch. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring once or twice, until the potatoes are fork tender. (This will take 10 to 15 minutes.)
Drain well reserving 1/2 cup (120ml) of the cooking water. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Return the saucepan to the residual heat of the burner and shake the potatoes to dry them out. (About 2 minutes.)
- Whisk the softened cream cheese together with the melted butter and 2 TBS of the potato water until smooth and amalgamated. Stir in 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper along with the chives/spring onions.
Break the potatoes up with the back of a wooden spoon, smashing just enough to break the skins.
Fold in the cream cheese mixture until most of the liquid had been absorbed and chunks of potatoes remain.
If desired, you can add the remaining potato water, 1 TBS at a time to loosen them up a bit. I did not have to do this as mine were perfect just as they were. (Note, they will thicken upon standing.)
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Moist low starch red potatoes are the best to use in this recipe, although you can use white potatoes in their place. They will lack that nice pop of red color, but will still taste fabulous!
Try not to worry/mash the potatoes too much. You want to leave plenty of texture. Add the potato water helps to prevent the potatoes from becoming glue-like on cooling.
This is a real danger with small newer potatoes. I remember early in my culinary journey trying to make mashed potatoes with new potatoes and what I ended up with was a pot of glue. Not appealing in the least to make a long story short!
These are quite simply wonderful. I cannot imagine anything that they wouldn't go with, and in fact they are delicious all on their own!
I enjoyed them with a mix of grilled chicken and broccoli florets. Very yummy indeed. I can imagine they would be fabulous with a nice grilled steak for a special occasion!
I really hope that you will give them a go!
Rustic Smashed Red Potatoes
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min
These are quite simply delicious. Easy to make and a little bit special. They would make a fabulous side dish for Valentines day for those who are making a special meal for the one that they love.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340g) small red potatoes, unpeeled
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
- 3 TBS cream cheese, softened
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 1 TBS minced chives or spring onion
Instructions
- Place the potatoes, along with 1 tsp salt and the bay leaf into a medium sized saucepan. Cover with water to top up by 1 inch. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring once or twice, until the potatoes are fork tender. (This will take 10 to 15 minutes.)
- Drain well reserving 1/2 cup (120ml) of the cooking water. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Return the saucepan to the residual heat of the burner and shake the potatoes to dry them out. (About 2 minutes.)
- Whisk the softened cream cheese together with the melted butter and 2 TBS of the potato water until smooth and amalgamated. Stir in 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper along with the chives/spring onions.
- Break the potatoes up with the back of a wooden spoon, smashing just enough to break the skins. Fold in the cream cheese mixture until most of the liquid had been absorbed and chunks of potatoes remain.
- If desired, you can add the remaining potato water, 1 TBS at a time to loosen them up a bit. I did not have to do this as mine were perfect just as they were. (Note, they will thicken upon standing.)
- Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Thanks very much for visiting today. Do come again!
I picked up a small package of stew beef at the grocery store the other day because I had in mind to make myself a pot of stew. We've had some really nasty weather recently and I was really craving comfort food.
There is nothing quite like a nice bowl of beef stew on a cold winter's day for bringing comfort into your life.
There no shortage of stew recipes here on the blog. It is a real family favorite. Stew with Dumplings is a real winner. This is a recipe sized for two.
This Oven Braised Stew is also really enjoyed from time to time. We are also no strangers to delicious Lamb Stew. Stew has been bringing comfort and sustenance to my home for many, many years.
Like I said, I had in mind to make a nice stew with the beef, but then I spied this recipe on TOH for Tender Beef and Noodles for Two. It looked really appealing.
I decided to go with it. I had everything in the house, including the egg noodles. I didn't want to dig out my slow cooker however, so I adapted the recipe to cook it in my cast iron Dutch oven on top of the stove. It was delicious!!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TENDER BEEF AND NOODLES FOR TWO
Very simple ingredients. I am sure you probably have everything in your home to make this delicious entrée today! It looks like a long list of ingredients, but trust me when I tell you they are very simple things, and not a lot is needed of any one thing.
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) lean boneless stewing beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp canola oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 cup (240ml) water divided
- 1/3 cup (80g) tomato ketchup
- 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 cup (90g) uncooked egg noodles
- 1 1/2 TBS plain all purpose flour
Small amounts of a variety of ingredients combine deliciously to make a fabulously tasty gravy. It almost has a hint of BBQ, but at the same time is completely different than BBQ.
Its rich and sweet and tangy, all at the same time. Plus the dry mustard powder gives it a tiny bit of heat, which is most pleasant.
HOW TO MAKE TENDER BEEF AND NOODLES FOR TWO
Like I said, the original recipe was meant to be cooked in the slow cooker. That process would have taken five hours however, and I just didn't want to wait five hours!
And so I adapted the instructions, etc. in order to cook it in a pot on top of the stove. The main difference was the amount of liquid, and the flour used to thicken it at the end.
Cooking this in the slow cooker would produce much more liquid and so you would naturally need more flour at the end to thicken the gravy. I basically cut the amount of flour in half as I did not have as many juices and didn't need the same amount of flour to thicken what I have.
In fact, I thought the gravy was a bit too thick with what I used and so I thinned it out a bit with boiling water. Judge accordingly. You know how thick or thin you like your gravy.
Have ready a small flame proof Dutch oven. Prepare your meat and onions.
Heat the oil in the Dutch oven until hot. Add the beef and onions. Brown all over in the hot oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Add half of the water, along with the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and dry mustard. Give it a good stir, bring to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat is falling apart and very tender. Check periodically to make sure it is not boiling dry. You can add a bit more water if it seems low.
Whisk the flour together with the remaining water until smooth. Whisk into the meat, stirring constantly until the gravy thickens. Simmer over low heat while you cook the noodles.
Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain well.
Serve the noodles, buttered if desired, with half of the meat mixture spooned over top and a vegetable or salad on the side.
This was really good. I happened to have egg noodles on hand, but I think it would be good served with any kind of pasta.
Bow ties, fusilli, fettuccini, corkscrew pasta, even macaroni would be nice with this.
Of course, if you are not a fan of pasta or noodles, you could also serve this tender meat in gravy with mounds of buttery fluffy mashed potatoes, or even rice.
At the end of the day its all about what brings you personal joy. I like pasta myself and I especially love noodles, but this would be delicious no matter what carb you choose to serve it with! You just want something which is going to cradle that delicious meat and sauce.
I had some brussels sprouts which needed using up and so that is the vegetable I chose to serve on the side, but in truth any vegetable would go well. Enjoy!!
Beef and Noodles for Two
Yield: 2
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 15 M
Tender pieces of beef in a delicious gravy spooned over egg noodles. This makes for a fabulously tasty supper for two with a vegetable or a salad on the side.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) lean boneless stewing beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp canola oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 cup (240ml) water divided
- 1/3 cup (80g) tomato ketchup
- 1 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 cup (90g) uncooked egg noodles
- 1 1/2 TBS plain all purpose flour
Instructions
- Have ready a small flame proof Dutch oven. Prepare your meat and onions.
- Heat the oil in the Dutch oven until hot. Add the beef and onions. Brown all over in the hot oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Add half of the water, along with the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and dry mustard. Give it a good stir, bring to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat is falling apart and very tender. Check periodically to make sure it is not boiling dry. You can add a bit more water if it seems low.
- Whisk the flour together with the remaining water until smooth. Whisk into the meat, stirring constantly until the gravy thickens. Simmer over low heat while you cook the noodles.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain well.
- Serve the noodles, buttered if desired, with half of the meat mixture spooned over top and a vegetable or salad on the side.
Notes:
Optionally this can be cooked in the slow cooker. Brown the meat and onions as above, then put together with the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. Increase the flour to 3 TBS and whisk together with the water. Whisk into the meat mixture in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for a further 30 minutes until thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
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