When I got back home I was pretty tired and I didn't feel like cooking at all...but in my fruit basket there were 3 very ripe bananas (almost too ripe if I can say) and so I said to myself: "You'd better do something asap or you'll end up throwing them away"..Since I don't like wasting my food I decided to make some muffins: good, easy and quick! I found some coconut in my flour cupboard and without thinking too much I chucked it in the batter...et volià banana & coconut muffins...very very tropical!!
I used gluten free flour and xanthan gum as for the Lemon&Blueberry Muffone (=Big Muffin) and the result was really perfect!
BANANA&COCONUT MUFFINS
Makes 11-12 standard size
290gr Gluten free flour
1 ½ tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Xanthan gum
110gr Light brown sugar
3 Well-ripened bananas (about 320gr when peeled)
60gr Dessicated coconut (*)
1 Egg 130 mL Milk (**)
85gr Butter, melted (or 90ml vegetable oil)
(*) If you don't like coconut or you want vary, you can add 60-85gr choppend walnuts or plain chocolate chips.
(**) You can substitute it with water or a mix of milk and water.
Prepare muffin tin and preheat oven to 190-200°C. In a large bowl, sift together: flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and xanthan gum. Add coconut (or chocolate chips, if using). In another bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher until puréed. Stir in egg, milk/water and butter/oil. Pour all the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir just until batter is evenly mixed but still lumpy. No dry flour should be visible (add walnuts during final strokes, if using). Spoon into tins, sprinkle with some coconut and bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are lightly browned and spring back when pressed gently.
I couldn't resist and I tried a really tiny piece of a still warm muffin and these muffins turned out to be one of the best ones I ever made!
A tropical smile,
Diletta
PS. They don't need to be necessarily gluten free. You can make them using 280-290gr plain flour.
