Quick & Easy Banana Muffins - Simple Everyday Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins? ›

The recipe you have used simply has a very low hydration of the flour, which would contribute to poor texture. The low hydration encouraged overmixing, which developed gluten and created toughness.

If you are going to add bananas, we recommend adding no more than 2 mashed bananas and omitting the water, since the banana will add moisture. To prepare: Whisk eggs, then add in oil and mashed banana. Mix well.

Using a lot of bananas adds excess moisture, and there are two ways to get rid of it. You could either add more flour or increase the baking time. Add a tablespoon of extra flour at a time into the batter and give it a good whisk until its consistency starts to look right: thick but runny enough to fall off a spoon.

Using oil as a substitute for butter in muffins can result in a lighter and more tender crumb, but it may also produce a slightly different flavor, depending on the type of oil used. Applesauce can also be used as a substitute for butter in muffins, as it provides moisture and can help to keep the muffins tender.

If muffins are left exposed, the moisture starts to leak from them and they dry out. To store muffins up to 4 days, line an airtight container or zip-lock bag with paper towel and store the muffins in a single layer. Place another layer of paper towel on top of the muffins as well.

Depending on what ingredients you're using, the batter will range from runny (like thin cake batter) to very thick (like drop-cookie dough). As a general rule, the thinner the batter, the lighter the muffins will be when baked. But don't be afraid to bake thick, gloppy batter.

Eggs are responsible for giving baked goods structure, which means the amount you use directly affects the resulting texture. Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery.

Can bananas be too ripe for banana muffins? ›

Bananas can go from yellow with brown spots to totally black and still be okay to eat and use for baking. In fact, black bananas are some of the best for making banana bread because they have developed more sugar as they sit around and therefore taste sweeter. They may also be moister, which is perfect for baked goods.

Sprouts Banana Nut Muffins

The muffin has good, real banana flavor. It's a little on the drier side, but some people don't want their muffins to be super moist. For me, Sprouts makes the best banana muffins to eat on the go. They're not crazy big and they won't make too much of a mess.

Using too much banana could make your bread heavy and damp in the center, causing it to appear undercooked and unappealing. If you have bananas leftover, you can always freeze them for later use.

While it's okay if the banana peel is dark brown or even black, if the inside is too, then the fruit is beyond ripe and now on its way to rotten. Another sign that bananas have gone bad is if they start leaking any fluids. When in doubt, just toss the bananas out.

The best bananas for banana bread aren't yellow; they're black. Or they're at least streaked with black/brown, with just the barest hint of green at the stem. And again, the darker the better: there's no such thing as a too-ripe banana when you're making banana bread.

Recently I discovered that if I use sour cream in place of milk in a muffin recipe, I get a super moist, fluffy muffin! The switch is very easy. If a recipe calls for 3/4 cup of milk, I simply use 3/4 cup of sour cream instead. Occasionally, I need to add a bit more sour cream to moisten the muffin batter.

Vegetable oil is ideal because its mild flavour doesn't compete with the main flavour of the muffin. My recipes generally specify 100ml vegetable oil per batch of 12, which is only 1½ teaspoons per muffin.

Use a steamer

Steaming is a great way to add moisture to past-their-prime muffins. And according to a TikTok user, you should also be steaming your muffins when you bake them since the hot air and steam allow more time for the centers to rise, resulting in tender and airy muffins.

The best bakery-style crumb muffins start with cake flour

Cake flour is more finely ground and has less protein, which leaves the muffins with a fine, light crumb and soft texture. Using cake flour is an easy way to avoid heavy, dense muffins even if you end up stirring just a bit too much. What is this?