Coconut banana muffins
RECIPE FOR COCONUT BANANA MUFFINS
Source: Adapted and modified from Daily Delicious
Makes: 11-12 small muffins (4cm diameter with 4cm height)
Ingredients:
115g cup all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
70g desiccated coconut/ dried coconut flakes (about 1 cup)
60g unsalted butter, melted *
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
50g castor sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg (about 64g with shell) *
80ml coconut milk (I used Kara coconut cream) *
4 tbsp milk *
2 medium sized full ripen bananas (about 175g with skin), mashed (see note 3)* – All these ingredients must be at room temperature
Methods:
- Preheat oven to 200°C for 15 minutes (see note 1). Prepare muffin cups.
- Cut butter into cubes and put into a small bowl. Transfer the bowl to a sauce pan filled with water. Heat up the sauce pan under medium low heat. Stir the butter occasionally. When it’s fully melted, remove the bowl from the sauce pan. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine and sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add in castor sugar and salt to mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix desiccated coconut with 1 tbsp brown sugar and 30g melted butter until well combined. Set aside 4 tbsp coconut mixture as topping. Then, add the remaining coconut mixture into the flour mixture (from step 3) and combine well.
- In another bowl, beat egg until foamy. Stir in coconut milk, milk and 30g melted butter until well combined. Then add in mashed bananas and mix well.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in wet ingredients (from step 5) to dry ingredients (from step 4) till well incorporated and no traces of flour. Do not overmix. It is fine if there are some small lumps in the batter.
- Transfer batter into a piping bag (see note 4) and pipe batter into the muffin cups until each cup is 80% full (see note 1). Alternatively, you can use a spoon to scoop the muffins into the cups.
- Use a small spoon (ie dessert spoon), scoop and spread the coconut mixture (from step 4) evenly on top of the batter. Lightly press the coconut mixture so that it will stick well to the batter.
- The batter should be thick, “spoonable” not “pourable”.
- Bake in the oven at 190°c for 10 minutes, then lower to 180°c for another 10 minutes or until the muffins have risen and turned slightly golden brown (see note 2). If your muffins show uneven colour, turn the baking tray 180° towards the last 5 minutes.
- After the baking time is over, leave the muffins inside with the oven door shut. Let the residue heat in the oven cook the muffins for a further 2 minutes.
Notes:
- To get a dome-effect muffin, you need to preheat oven at a higher temperature, and then fill the batter near to the brim of the muffin cup (80-85% full).
- The baking time and oven temperatures vary depending on the types of oven, size of muffins, or whether you are using a paper cup or muffin tray to bake. So use your own judgment to experiment. You will find more tips on how to make muffins on my early post.
- Use a fork or potato masher to mash your bananas as mushy as possible (without lumps).
- You can DIY your own piping bag by using a clean plastic bag and cut away a small corner.
- It’s best to serve warm. Keep extra muffins in the freezer for future consumption. Thaw them in the room temperature. To reheat muffins, preheat your oven/ toaster oven for 5 minutes and place the muffins inside for another 5 minutes (with heat off). You can also steam the muffins.
- You can find paper muffin cups at any local baking supplies stores. I bought mine from Phoon Huat (Simei branch) and Sun Lik Trading (33 Seah Street, opposite Bras Basah Complex as well as Raffles Hotel. Same road with Toy Muzeum).
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. 🙂