Caramelised banana and cinnamon muffins

I love to make muffins because they are so quick and easy to make and are a great way of using up fruit that is about to go off or bits and bobs that are lying about in your store cupboard. Whilst they are still heavy on the calories, they can be slightly better than a standard sponge cake, as you can get away with less butter and sugar! They are still a treat of course and I love to have them with a nice pot of coffee for 'elevenses' . White chocolate and cranberry, lemon and poppy seed and the good old blueberry muffin are all favourites of mine but here is a recipe for banana muffins, as I had a couple of bananas that were just a bit too squidgy to eat on their own. You can leave out the caramelising part, if you do want it a little bit healthier but it does make them a lot tastier and you could always go for a brisk walk afterwards.

Ingredients ( makes 12 muffins)

250g self raising flour

50g melted butter

25g butter (for caramel)

50ml water

10ml olive oil

150ml semi-skimmed milk

150g caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

2 large or 3 small bananas

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. First of all make the caramel by adding 50g of the caster sugar and 50ml of water to a small, heavy pan. Heat until the syrup starts to take on a golden brown colour then add in 25g of butter and stir gently, just until the butter is mixed in. Be careful not to stir too much as your sauce will become grainy. Add in your chopped bananas and cook until softened. The mixture will be very hot so please take care. Once softened take off the heat and allow mixture to cool whilst you make your muffin mixture.
2. Heat oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 4. Melt your 50g butter and allow to cool
3. In one bowl sift the flour and add the baking powder, cinnamon and sugar then mix.
4. In a second bowl beat the eggs and add in the milk, oil and melted butter and stir
5. Make a well in the dry mixture and add stir in the wet mixture until combined. Now add in your caramelised banana mixture and mix together, until you get a thick lumpy mixture
6. Line a muffin tray with muffin cases and top each case 2/3 the way, to allow room for a high rise. Cook for 20 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in the tray for 5 minutes then move to a wire cooling rack until ready to serve.