Sunday Sweets: Berry Banana Muffins

July Throw Back

My husband's birthday is just under a month away. For the past three years birthdays have been a bit of a "thing" for us.

In year 1 I remember his birthday two days before it happened. This might not have been such a big deal if we didn't live in an isolated rural town with exactly zero department stores and perhaps (stretching it) 2 places that could be considered "variety" stores that take about 2 minutes to walk the entirety of. I offered to make a "special dinner" that failed epically. I also attempted to make a cake that was fairly disappointing. Needless to say, year 1 did not work out so well.

In year 2 I thought ahead slightly and via ebay purchased a small number of items that I felt were practical. I also planned a weekend get away to Townsville. Apparently my husband hates practical items as gifts. He believes birthdays are a time for impractical things that you don't really need but really want. Also Townsville is...disappointing to say the least. We also got terribly lost on our trip home and ended up turning a 10 hour drive into 15 hours of scary, petrol-gague-staring, out-of-range off-roading. Year 2 epic fail.

In year 3 I started early. During the year when I heard him mention various items of interest I noted them down in my phone. I started purchasing things on ebay in June. I didn't think twice about how expensive things were or how practical they were. I made outlandish purchases like an iPad and a framed Joker photo compilation signed by Heath Ledger - yes I purchased the signature of the deceased. I also made this cake. Needless to say, I nailed it in year 3.

So here we are in year 4. We are living back in a world where there are like 15 department stores in short driving distance and the entire CBD of shops is a 20 minute train ride away. So I'm starting early. The restaurant it booked. Family invitations have been arranged. Pre-shopping questions have been asked.

This weekend the shopping began. Who'd have thought that living so close to shops would actually make things harder? The variety is the issue here. I've gone from having no options to too many. Also, I had such a good crack at things last year, this year I am left with fairly slim pickings. How do I top myself?

I have spent the weekend going from one huge mall to the next. I haven't gone to the gym all weekend as I have spent so much time running in circles and going from one end of shops to the other and back....and again.  So, this Sunday I decided that, after two long shopping days, I would make afternoon tea instead of dessert....for two reasons - 1. I need a sugar boost at this point in the day and 2. I am so tired I don't think I will even last to dinner let alone dessert.

These muffins came about by accident. I was going through the freezer yesterday when I discovered a whole bunch of bananas that I had frozen about 2 months ago. I know that sounds weird, but I did it for this very reason. Over ripe frozen bananas are magical things that make baked banana goods extra delicious. I also had a let over box of frozen blueberries so it all just made sense to me. They have come out looking kind of rustic which I really like. I am consistently disappointed with my flat, smooth muffins, these look like the kind of muffins I picture in my head.

Berry Banana Muffins
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
80 grams butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup blueberries
mashed bananas (I used 6 small very ripe and sloppy bananas - these provide the moisture for the muffins so over ripe is ideal)

Cranberry & Sultana Muffins

Gorgeous red ruby cranberries paired with plump sultanas folded into crispy topped moist dough.

Cranberry & Sultana Muffins
1 1/2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup sultanas

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare a muffin tray with paper liners.

Combine the flour, soda, oats and sugar. In a small bowl whisk the buttermilk, oil and egg and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix to combine and fold through the fruit.

Bake for approximate 25 minutes. These are great straight from the oven with a scrape of butter or left to cool and popped into a lunch box each day. They also freeze really well for use later in the week and to assist portion control!

Carrot Muffins

Mathematics is difficult. carrots are tricky things to plant,  you have to work the soil well to make sure there are no lumps so the carrots grow straight. Planning for teaching maths is like planning to teach Swahili. carrots originated in Afghanistan. I can never seem to concentrate long enough on one topic and the topics seem all over the place anyway. carrots never used to be orange, they were purple, red, white and yellow. Geometry. Chance & Data. Measurement. Number & Place Value. And what's the other one? the orange carrot we know today was invented to honour the Dutch Royal family, known as "The House of Orange". Patterns and Algebra, that's the one. The most horrible one of all. I think that you either have a maths brain or you don't. There's no halfway with maths like there is with English. beta-Carotene is the substance that gives carrots their orange colour. it is in a lot of different fruits and vegetables and if you eat too much sometimes your skin will start to glow orange....natural tan much. The tricky thing is, maths is exactly like learning a new language. If you don't get the basics you can't do anything else. people used to wear the leafy tops of carrots as hair or hat accessories. Trying to plan to teach something I don't enjoy is very challenging and makes me want to eat. one cup of carrots contain 52 delicious calories. I don't know much about maths. i know a lot about carrots and i know you should make these because they make planning to teach maths a little bit bearable. 

Carrot Muffins
1 3/4 cups wholegrain self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sultanas
1/4 cup walnuts
2 or 3 grated carrots
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil

Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius and line a muffin tray.

In a large bowl combine the flour, bicarb soda, sugar, cinnamon, sultanas, walnuts and carrots.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs, milk and oil. Tip the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine (don't mix the heck out of it, just gently fold it together).

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tray and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Once they have cooled slightly you might want to top them with cream cheese icing (30g butter, 80g cream cheese, 1.5 cups of icing sugar beaten and dolloped on top), I did this while mine were still warm and so the cream cheese became extra melty and delicious. They are also amazing served with butter and just on their own with a nice glass of iced chai tea.