My hubby and I are great fans for coconuts but our 6 year-old son is definitely not. Early this year, he tasted steamed nian gao (年高, a sticky cake served during Chinese New Year) coated with fresh coconut flakes for the first time. Within minutes, he threw up. Whew! that was scary! It made me wonder if the taste of fresh coconut flakes is really that terrible to him. Until now, I still couldn’t figure that out.
Beside this particular incident, my son still eats coconut if I play the “camourflage” game well. All of my previous recipes that include either coconut milk or desiccated coconut (such as power packed oat bars, coconut butter cookies, banana muffins and steamed pumpkin muffins) were well received by him. Not a bad achievement though. Maybe it’s time to stop the hiding game and take a bold step for a change. So for this recipe, I decided to double dare him with more coconuts (coconut milk plus desiccated coconut) and even topped the muffins with extra desiccated coconut. Will I succeed? You bet!
This muffin recipe was originated from Daily Delicious. As these muffins are super easy-to-make, I actually baked them three times within a week and shared some of them with my “external testers”. After taking into consideration their kind feedback, I made some slight modifications to the recipe to suit my personal taste bud.
Unexpectedly, the modified recipe yields a very satisfactory result! The muffins are absolutely awesome as they have the right balance of sweetness, texture and taste! It’s the kinda coconut banana muffin I would die for! They tasted unbelievably delicious and packed with strong aroma of coconut. The desiccated coconut toppings, when baked, add a lovely crunchy and fibrous texture to it. Another important ingredient that contribute to the success of this recipe is banana. It blends perfectly with coconuts in baking. Banana doesn’t only enhance the coconut flavour but also provides a moist texture to the muffins even if they are left overnight. When my picky eater first saw the coconut toppings on the muffins, he was quite reluctant to eat it. After much persuasion, he agreed to try a tiny bite. And the verdict is he loved it! After his first sampling, he even asked for more. “Coconut isn’t that bad after all.” he commented. Hooray!! One step closer to achieve my mission!
This recipe is using mixing method, so you can easily whip up these muffins by hands with the help of a balloon whisk and a spatula. As long as you pay close attention to the tips I mentioned in the recipe, I can assure you that your muffins will turn out great even you’re a novice in baking! They are great to be added to lunch boxes or packed to office as teatime snack. Why not treating your kids (and yourself) with some tasty coconut banana muffins!
Get the recipe with step-by-step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW.
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Lovely flavor and presentation — those cups are just too cute 🙂
Xiaolu: Thanks! 😉
I’ve heard somewhere that kids need to taste something 5 times before they learn to like it. Perhaps that is true for your son? One taste of these and I’d be in love!
Joanne: Yes, you’re right. We need to be very determined and keep on trying even though it is more than 10 times. Glad you like it! 😉
These look so cute LK! Love the muffin cups as well 🙂
Jen (SW): Thanks! 😉
Wow your muffins look great, got me craving for them. Love the blog, nice photo 🙂
Ali: Thanks for your wonderful compliment! 😉
can i use fresh coconut milk and grated coconut?
May: For coconut milk, you can use fresh one (but must be thick and not diluted). For desiccated coconuts, according to this link (his link http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/substitute-coconut-for-baking.html), you can substitute 1 tbsp desiccated coconuts with 1½ tbsp freshly grated coconuts. Since I haven’t tried it out myself, I’m not sure whether you will get a crispy and crunchy topping if using the freshly grated coconuts. You may need to do your own experiment. I would appreciate if you can share your outcome with me later. Happy trying!! 😉
Thats a beautiful and absolutely elegant muffins..
Priya: Thanks! 😉
Lovely! I am a great fan of coconut, I could imagine how tasty this combo is!
Lee Mei (MCH): Thanks! 😉
Wow! Those look tasty!
Squash Blossom Babies: Thanks! 😉
I love the combination of flavors and the shot of muffins and cups. 🙂
Ching: Thanks! 😉
Lovely presentation and I can almost sell the coconut and banana fragrant from here 🙂
Ellena: Thanks! 😉
As usual, your food styling is really great! It sure looks delicious.
The Sudden Cook: Thanks! Give it a try! 😉
Your efforts to make sure your kid accepts a variety of ingredients/food are worth commending! Yes, 5 times, 10 times and I have even heard 12 times!
Lovely photos and presentation too!
Tigerfish: Thanks for your wonderful compliment! I didn’t count and just never give up for sure. 😉
Hi,
Thanks for sharing the recipe! I made them yesterday, my toddler and hubby loves them 🙂 http://dreamersloft.blogspot.com/2011/10/coconut-banana-muffin.html
Meg: Thanks a lot for your kind feedback and the link back! 😉
nice picture with clear instruction. thanks for sharing!
MnYfoodtalk: Thanks! 😉
Wow! What a fabulous blog ~ so happy I discovered you. I love cooking with kids and I’m going to be a regular here!
Donna: Thanks for dropping and your compliment. Hope to see you again! 😉
They are so pretty! I’m hungry for one :p
Noobcook: Thanks! 😉
Coconut and bananas are a match made in heaven I love the little cupcake holders you used!
A Little Yumminess: Thanks! 😉
Yay, i have too much dessicated coconut leftovers and now I know what else I could make with it! 😀
I’m tempted to add some fresh mango juice to your recipe as coconut-banana-mango combination works great in popsicles 😀 I shall try your recipe first before tweaking it if I feel adventurous 🙂
Ling: I haven’t tried CBM combination before but it sounds interesting. 😉
Hi hi!
I just baked these muffins and they were good! I especially enjoyed the sweet, fragrant crust 🙂 Thanks for experimenting it first and then sharing it with us 😀
Ling: Thanks for your kind feedback! Glad it worked for you too! 😉
Me too, I LOVE coconut… however when I was small, I didn’t like that flaky texture at all. I forgot since when I started to love it. I really think the first photo’s food styling is amazing. Cups, spoon, muffins..everything is so balanced! LOVE IT!
Nami: Thanks for your sweet comment! 😉
What a coincidence – I also baked coconut cupcakes last Saturday.
Chris: I haven’t baked coconut cupcakes yet. Looking forward to seeing your post. 😉
Hi Foodie, Your Coconut banana muffins recipe has been selected to be featured in a Recipe Guessing Game. Please share the following link with your friends and fans. To play, go here: http://knapkins.com/guess_games/70?source=blog Congrats again!! 🙂
Christine: Thanks for informing. 😉
I’ll be attempting these tml, they look do yummy, I couldn’t resist!
Lyn: Thanks for your sweet comment. Happy trying! 😉
So yummy! Made these for my 18 month old, and she loves them as much as I do.
I used all white whole wheat flour, and you would never know!
Jennafer: That’s a very healthy substitution! Thanks for your kind sharing! 😉
Jennafer: Wow! It’s great to know that both your little tot and you love these muffins! 😉
I just tried these. Mmmm yummylicious! And easy to make. Thanks for sharing! I replaced butter wt virgin coconut oil. Give it a try, very nice! ;D
Grace: Thanks for sharing your kind feedback. I’m still looking for coconut oil. The one I found was quite a big bottle which I don’t think I can finish using them. Do you have any good brands to recommend and where to buy them? 😉
I got mine from an organic shop in KL.
http://shop.justlifeshop.com/mobile/default.aspx#P416
It smells and taste very good. I’ve been using it to make your pumpkin steamed muffins, this coconut muffins and granola bars, salads, drinks etc.
The shelf life is quite long.
Let me know if you need help to get from here?
Grace: Thanks for the info and your kind offer. I love Just Life Shop. Had been there for many times even before I shifted to SG. During my last KL trip, I saw a new organic shop at Bandar Utama selling cold compressed coconut oil. As it was in a glass bottle, I didn’t buy. Still searching for one over here.
Can you convert the metric measurements to US? We have a 4 year old and 2 year old. The 4 year old is picky and I want to venture out and introduce new creative foods, instead of the same staples he usually eats. Also what is “castor sugar”?
D: This website seems quite helpful to me – http://allrecipes.co.uk/how-to/44/cooking-conversions.aspx. Maybe you can check it out. Castor sugar is superfine sugar in US (Source: http://www.ochef.com/580.htm). Hope your little ones will enjoy this special treat!
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Very nice looking muffins indeed.
I’m a newbie to baking. So, I’m going to ask a really dumb question- How do you prepare the muffin cups?
Ee: Glad that you like my muffins! The muffin paper cups were bought from a local baking supply shop. They are ready for use. 🙂