Banana Muffins

We all love parties. Especially when there's lots of food! Do you know the food blogosphere is having a party this week? A kiddie party at that! Dhanggit is hosting a party for her super-cute baby girl Mayumi, who is turning one! You're all invited to bring delicious party recipes to her Perfect Party Dishes blog event. :)



Here in the Philippines, a party is a family event. The whole family is usually invited - from the grandparents to the grandchildren. The party host then, has to prepare two menus, one for adults and another for the kids. Of course the guests can always "cross-over", if adults see something they like from the kid's menu, they are free to help themselves! :)

I wonder if Dhanggit will have kiddie guests because this recipe is usually for the kids at the party...

I chose to present the simple and humble Banana Muffins because (1) They are easy to prepare. With so many dishes to include in the menu, we have to choose those which can be prepared with ease or can be done in advance. (2) They are easy to eat. Specially for kids, the less messy food we present for them to eat, the better. We do not want the party site to be littered with sauces or drippings, do we? (3) I chose bananas because this will highlight baby Mayumi's cultural roots. Although Mango muffins would also be perfect! I have done a post on Mango Muffins here.



The muffins do not look good unbaked, right? They look like globs of goo... :) But they are already fragrant with the sweet banana smell... Anyway, the recipe is taken from Market Manila's Golden banana Cake. He, in turn got the recipe from Francois Payard's Sensational Dessert book. I have made this Banana Cake before. It was moist, fragrant, and flavorful. Daughter declared it to be the best Banana Cake ever. For the muffins, however, I had to adjust a little bit. I added the amount of baking soda and baking powder because I wanted fluffier muffins.



1 C all purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
4 large eggs
1/2 C ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1.5 T olive oil
2 ripe lacatan bananas, peeled, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare muffin liners.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda.

3. In another mixing bowl, using the electric mixer, mix butter, olive oil and sugar at low speed.

4. Add eggs one at a time and beat at higher speed until fully mixed.

5. Add mashed bananas. Add flour mixture and stop mixing soon after. Do not overbeat.

6. Fill each muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins come out clean. Cool and decorate.

** Double, triple or quadruple the recipe depends on how many guests you're expecting. This recipe makes 16 medium-sized muffins.



I do not know how to decorate a cake, or in this case, muffins, with any kind of icing, so I did a Rita and used colorful decorations instead. :)

Another tradition here is that after the party, guests get to take home some kind of sweets. For kids, it can be loot bags filled with candies, popcorns and lollipops. For adults, it can be a muffin or two wrapped up or boxed. I wrapped up each muffin in clear plastic, tied them up with a pretty ribbon... and here you go, a perfect adult "loot" bag :)

From Princess Penguin to Princess Mayumi, Happy Happy Birthday!!!