Banana and Cinnamon muffins

This is my own recipe and is a great way to use up those forlorn looking, over-ripe bananas that I always seem to have in the fruit bowl. I've made banana muffins many times before, they're a great snack to go in the children's lunchboxes, but I've usually succumbed to their chocolate cravings and added at least chopped chocolate, and sometimes cocoa too. This time, though, I wanted the muffin to be all about the banana, but to give it a little extra kick, I added cinnamon. My (sometimes fussy) nine year old son declared them a success...I take that as the ultimate seal of approval.


Ingredients:

Makes 12

175g plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
half a tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsps ground cinnamon
125g unsalted butter, melted
150g soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 small ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE CRUNCHY TOPPING

1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsps demerera sugar


1. Preheat the oven to 180 degs C/170 degs C fan/gas mark 3

2. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb and cinnamon into a medium sized bowl and combine well.

3. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter and sugar, and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then the mashed bananas and vanilla.

4. Add the flour mixture and stir well.

5. Line a muffin tin with paper cases and fill each case with the mixture, until about two-thirds full, and sprinkle the tops with the sugary cinnamon.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out on to a wire rack. Enjoy!