Banana Chocolate Muffins for Bobby C.

It is strange how much can change in the turn of a year. I am one of those sappy sentimental types who loves to look back over the course of time and see the progression of my life, and the lives of those around me, at any given opportunity.
You should have seen me on New Year's Eve. I was a moist-eyed, messy haired maelstrom of emotion.
Anyway, the strangest things can transport me into reflecting over the year, and today it just happened to be the price of bananas.
Please, stay with me, I promise there is a point, a recipe, and some photos, very soon!
This time last year Brisbane was in the early stages of cleaning up after our horrendous floods. Every day there were new reports of the extent of the devastation and the millions of dollars of work that needed to be done to put people's lives back together. I won't deny that there are so many people still suffering the after effects, but there is still help available and still work goes on.

Shortly after the floods northern Queensland was severely affected by cyclone Yasi. Again, communities were leveled, whole lifetimes swept away along with houses and possessions and all the banana crops.
Here in Brisbane, in the areas not affected by the flood, such as where I live, one of the major symptoms of the natural disasters plaguing our state was the price of bananas. Such a silly thing, but here it is a type of barometer for our society. In Brisbane, that means that when bananas hit $15 a kilogram, something is wrong.
Sometimes in life it is those common daily objects and foods that we rely on to indicate normality and maintain consistency when all else goes awry. Over the past couple of months when there have been some major shifts in my life the rhythm of the everyday, the dulling, soothing regularity of household tasks has been a blessing. You just surrender to the familiarity, and you know that those everyday things, those simple parts of life, mean that when you look at the bigger picture, when you are able to, everything really will be all right.
Now, a year after the floods, and what a year it has been, I saw bananas at the market today for 29 cents a kilogram. 2012 might be a restful year after all. The banana always knows.

These muffins were made for my Dada, Bobby C.

Banana Chocolate Muffins for Bobby C.


I used a scale to measure all large quantities of ingredients, wet into one bowl and dry into another. It made for easier cleaning up! To convert grams to ounces simply use this handy little calculator.
Makes 20 medium sized muffins.


Ingredients
225 grams plain flour
115 grams brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

170 grams milk
3 small bananas, or two medium
Juice of one lemon
2 large eggs
50 grams rice bran oil (or other mild flavoured oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line two muffin tins with 20 paper liners, or spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl mash bananas with the lemon juice, you want them to be mostly liquid but a few banana chunks are okay and will caramelise slightly when baked.
3. Into the banana bowl weigh the other wet ingredients; milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla bean paste.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
5. Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir until mostly combined, then gently fold in the nuggets of dark chocolate.
6. Spoon mixture into prepared pans and bake for approximately 15-18 minutes, swapping trays between top and bottom halfway through the cooking time. 
7. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

It's All in the Timing

There they sat on the kitchen counter, ripely resplendent in their thick, soft skins, filling the air with their pungently buttery tropical scent. Slightly sad looking now they could be mistaken for being past their prime.
But, those softening, external cues are just the sign that these fruits are ready, they have reached the critical moment of perfection, wait any longer and the magic moment will have disappeared, conjured by time into a rotting mass only fit for the compost pile.
So I seize the moment. Let nature lead the way and pay attention to her timing. Step in when my part is required.
While we must take our destiny in our own hands, and be responsible for our fate; there are times when we can't force action, we must sit and wait our turn. Let the universe carry the load of our future for a spell. Then re-enter with renewed vigour and clarity that our decisions are leading the way to our hearts true fate.
A lesson in life, a lesson in banana cake.

Coconut Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Inspired by Ina Garten's 'Old Fashioned Banana Cake' as it appears in 'Barefoot Contessa: how easy is that?'


Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup rice bran oil (or other flavourless vegetable oil)
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 teaspoons coconut essence
Finely grated zest of one orange
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup dessicated coconut (this is the really finely grated kind)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup almonds

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line an 8 inch square baking tin.
2. While the oven is warming toast the almonds for about 5 minutes and then chop roughly.
3. Using a hand mixer, or a stand mixer, beat together the bananas and sugars until combined.
4. Add oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla essence, coconut essence and orange zest, and mix together on a low speed.
5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flours, almond meal, coconut, baking soda and salt. With the mixer still on low speed add the dry ingredients to the silky banana brew and beat until just combined.
6. Add the chopped, roasted almonds and stir gently with a bowl scraper.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and slide into the oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test readiness by inserting a toothpick. When it comes out clean, your cake is ready to come out of the oven.
8. Cool for about 15 minutes in the pan, then place on a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting


Ingredients:
180grams cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons dessicated coconut

Method:
Place all ingredients except coconut, into a medium size bowl and beat until smooth.
Spread on cooled cake, sprinkle with dessicated coconut.
Serve and enjoy the fruits of your labour!