Super Moist Banana Muffins
A quick and easy recipe that makes really, really moist and fluffy walnut-topped banana sponge cake muffins, cupcakes or a whole cake. Topped with toasted walnuts for a delicious nutty crunch! Perfect as breakfast snacks and tea party treats!
I love to bake banana cakes and quick breads, so I’m always looking out for great recipes. Sometimes, I forget where the hidden gems are.
Save for Later:Banana Sponge Cake Muffins
Pin this on PinterestCountless untouched recipes in some of my earliest acquired cookbooks, sitting in cupboards collecting dust.
Like how it was with the recipe for these banana sponge cake muffins.
As a home baker, I do think I judge recipes by fairly high standards. Blame this on my perfectionist streak, unfortunately.
A lot of my recipes here, if not most, go through many tries, tweaks and testing, before I feel confident of their worth to all of you.
So imagine my delight when these banana muffins turned out perfectly!
As a whole cake or cupcakes if you prefer, these banana muffins are incredibly moist, tender and luscious. I would dare say that this is a great recipe, but that’s just me.
Banana sponge cake muffins
These banana muffins are more of an Asian sponge, meaning you can expect it to be very moist and soft with a fine and tender crumb.
Our Asian sponge cakes as well as chiffon cakes are popularly used as the base for light cream cakes. More so than heavy batter cakes like butter, chocolate or Madeira, which are popular choices in the West.
I don’t know why, but we just tend to enjoy light, airy cakes filled with fruit and cream a lot more!
Ingredients to make banana sponge cake muffins
Here’s what you need and thankfully, it’s a relatively short list of ingredients.
- Bananas. Over-ripe bananas are the best! Check out these tips on how to quickly ripen bananas.
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Salt
- Milk
- Plain flour
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Vegetable oil
- Raisins
- Walnuts
Using oil versus butter or margarine
The ultra moistness of these banana muffins comes primarily from using healthy plant-based oils in the cake batter, instead of butter.
Oils have 100% fat, while butter and margarine both have roughly 80% fat content with the rest being mostly water. Taste wise, butter does enhance the flavour of the cake.
Personally, I like to use canola oil or a blend of canola and sunflower oil. You can make your own substitutions like melted butter.
It’s not recommended, however, that you use strong flavoured oils like olive oil.
Instead, use healthier and light flavoured or neutral oils such as canola oil, safflower oil or grape seed oil.
These oils can be used interchangeably without affecting or altering the taste and flavour of the muffin.
Baking
I prefer to bake the batter in muffin moulds or soufflé paper cups. That way, I can have them baked as mini sponge cakes or cupcakes. It just makes my life a lot easier to grab one or two on the go, or to give away.
You can also bake the batter in a regular round cake pan. Baking times will be different, depending on the size of your pan.
Also, ovens vary a lot and can affect baking times. As a general guideline, baking a round sponge cake in an 8-inch (20-cm) pan could take 35 to to 40 minutes.
Generally, as muffins, mini sponge cakes, or cupcakes, baking times will be shorter, around 25 minutes.
So the next time you see your bunch of bananas getting a little too ripe for comfort, think of making these!
Over-ripe bananas are all the better for making these delicious banana sponge cakes.
Do bookmark this Asian recipe and give it a try. Your family and friends will love you for it. Don’t stop there either! Bake these for your bosses and office colleagues, and you’ll be sure to get compliments!
Here are more awesome sweet treats:
- Super Moist Rum & Raisin Banana Bread
- Banana Butter Cake
- Honey-Drizzled Golden Banana Fritters
- Banana Honey Cake
- Lady Bird’s Famous Lemon Cake
Tried this recipe? I’d love to see! Remember to share your pics on Instagram and tag @foodelicacy or #foodelicacy.
Save this recipe!
Banana Sponge Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 200 g caster sugar less sweet
- 250 g over-ripe bananas
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 90 g milk
- 250 g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 150 g corn oil (or use canola or safflower oil)
- 100 g raisins (or sultanas)
- 80 g walnuts roughly chopped
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F). Arrange 12 -15 (or more, if required) paper cups on a large baking tray, or lightly grease an 8-inch (20-cm) cake pan.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda and stir together until well mixed. Set aside. Mash bananas with salt, set aside.
- In a mixer bowl, using an electric or hand-held mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk eggs and sugar at high speed (speed 4 on my Kitchen Aid mixer) until pale and thick, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add mashed bananas to the whipped egg mixture, and whisk at high speed for 15 to 20 seconds until well incorporated.
- Add milk, whisk for 10 seconds or until well incorporated. Add flour mixture and whisk at medium speed (speed 3 on my Kitchen Aid mixer) until just well combined.
- Add in oil, and fold into the batter until well combined. Fold in the raisins, using light and gentle moves, until well distributed throughout the batter.
- Scoop out batter into paper cups arranged on a baking tray (or pour batter into greased cake pan), and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. Place baking tray or cake pan in the centre of the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a metal or bamboo skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcakes (or cake) emerges free of sticky batter.
