I'm on a baking kick this week, probably because the weather turned cool--in the 50s--and using the oven is more appealing than when it was 85 degrees or more. I also have items--like bananas and mango pulp--that need to be used up, so baking with them seems like a good idea. In fact, banana-mango muffins are a great change from the usual banana muffins or bread. The mango pulp provides extra sweetness and moisture and complements the bananas well. Because both fruits are sweet, I was able to cut back on the sugar with no problems. The muffins also get a healthy dose of whole grains from white whole-wheat flour and oats. Easy and quick to mix up, the muffins make a nice breakfast addition, snack, or even simple dessert. If you'd like even more tropical flavor, you can sprinkle the muffins with coconut before baking them.
Banana-Mango Muffins -- Makes 18-24
1 cup of mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
1 cup of mango pulp (I use canned Kesar mango pulp)
1/3 cup of dark brown sugar
1/3 cup of sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (optional)
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of rum extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup of quick oats
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 - 1 cup of coconut (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and coat muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray or use cupcake liners and spritz the liners with a bit of non-stick spray. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, mango pulp, sugars, oil, and extracts and beat them well. Add the eggs and beat the mixture until everything is well combined. Stir together the flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Add the dry to the wet mixture, stirring just until the dry mixture is incorporated. Fill the muffin tins with the batter. If you want smaller muffins, divide the batter among 24 muffin cups. If you opt for 18 muffins, you'll have larger muffins. If you'd like, sprinkle the top of the batter in each muffin cup with a little sugar and/or coconut. Bake the muffins for 22-24 minutes or until set and a pick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
