Last night, as I attempted to make my first ever overnight oats in a jar, I peeled the skin off the overripe banana, only to find that it was way too brown and mushy to be palatable. The perfect reason for baking with bananas.

Plain ol’ banana muffins are great for any occasion, but chocolate + banana? Heaven! It’s one of the yummiest flavour combinations, just like peanut butter and chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, maple syrup and bacon… Have you tried a Nutella + peanut butter + banana grilled sandwich before? It used to be my treat back when I didn’t give a hoot about my weight!

 I made a chocolate banana brownie years ago, and I got lots of praise for it when I brought it to the office. This time, I thought a chocolate banana brownie muffin would be perfect!

Banana Brownie Muffins

Adapted from: Food Equals Happy Me

Ingredients:

180g salted butter (unsalted is fine)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

2 overripe bananas, mashed

1 1/3 cup plain flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Firstly, add butter, sugar and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until creamy and no more lumps of butter remain.

Next, add eggs one at a time, and continue beating after each addition. Once the mixture is smooth, add the mashed bananas. Fold the banana into the batter until well combined.Then add sifted flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and fold until well combined.Spoon the batter into cupcake holders, or simply use a baking pan that you’d use for a brownie. Pop into preheated  oven.Remove muffins/brownies from the oven, about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins come out clean. Alternatively, if you want them fudgier, 15 minutes might do the trick!

Look at how moist these muffins are! The bananas make them really moist.A really easy, one bowl recipe that’s quick to whip up. Sure to satisfy your chocolate cravings! I’m really satisfied with this recipe 🙂

The disaster that happened when folding in the cocoa powder.

P.S. Remember to lick the bowl clean. It’s one of the yummiest batters I’ve ever tasted.

I was invited for a potluck yesterday and was deciding what to bring. I’d already decided on baked chicken, and I almost made cornbread muffins to go, thinking I could go all Kenny Rogers-style. To my horror, I found insects in my cornmeal! So I decided to make dessert instead. And to be safe, something chocolatey. You can’t go wrong with chocolate.

I have been using Martha Stewart’s brownie recipe for a long time and decided to try something new instead. I chanced upon Alice Medrich’s brownie recipe a while back and it has been on my to-bake list. Here’s my own adaptation of the recipe:

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Best Cocoa Brownies

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

In a large glass or metal bowl, combine the butter, sugar and cocoa powder.Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir until butter melts and combines with the sugar and cocoa.Here’s when I panicked. Usually, when I make brownies, the mixture is ganache-like, but this time it was a paste! I tasted the paste and it was grainy because the sugar crystals did not melt. But it tasted soooo good! So don’t panic! When it looks like this, remove the bowl from the heat and allow to cool until warm to touch.Next, stir in the vanilla extract, followed by the eggs. You don’t want the eggs to cook so stir quickly with a whisk or a wooden spatula. After the addition of the eggs, the mixture should look shiny, like a ganache frosting.When well combined, add the sifted flour and mix until no streaks of flour remain. Here’s the interesting bit: the instructions ask to beat the batter for 40 strokes.

I added the chocolate chips and chopped nuts as an afterthought and stirred until just combined. Spread the batter evenly in a prepared baking pan. The batter was thick and hard to spread, but be patient. A spatula should do the job. I used a 8″ x 8″ baking pan and I didn’t oil/flour-dust or use any parchment paper or baking foil because I forgot. But please do. It’s much easier to remove and to slice afterwards. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Alternatively, if you like your brownies fudgier or a little under-cooked, 18 minutes should be good.

The result: A perfectly crackly top brownie.As you can see, I used a fork to remove the brownies out of the pan, making sure not to scratch my baking pan. So please, use parchment paper or foil. The sides are especially pesky because they tend to be more harder and stick to the pan.Dense. Fudgy. Nutty. Moist. Chocolatey. I’m sold. If you’re a chocolate lover, then this is the recipe for you. Reminiscent of my Tunnel of Fudge Cake, it’s like the fudge centre of the cake (the best part)!

Best eaten warm, we heated the brownies up in the microwave for about 30 seconds and had them with ice cream from Island Creamery. Sinful, but totally worth it!