Day 154: something sweet

Every picnic needs something sweet - and, in addition to some gorgeously chewy Smartie cookies that my friends’ five-year-old made, it was Nigella’s Chocolate Banana Muffins that made the cut for this one. This is the last of the picnic picks for our Bank Holiday Picnic; I admit I’ve dragged this one out quite a bit, but it’s on with a scrumptiously new line-up next week.

Nigella’s Chocolate Banana Muffins

I feel quite proud that I now have a stock of frozen over-ripe bananas to hand, and am now positioned to whip up something moist and sweet at almost a moment's notice. I tend to freeze them in twos or threes, depending on their size. If I’m organised enough I’ll get a bag out the night before, if not then I’ll defrost them in the microwave; I think overnight thawing turns them a deep-brown colour and generates a lot of liquid, but I feel this adds to both texture and flavour of the finished bake.

I’m going to say these are my best-baked muffins yet. Obviously the banana adds a bit of resilience against temperamental ovens, but I think me and my oven saw eye to eye for this one. They were dense - but delicate - moist, well-risen and cooked right through.

Flavour musings

Moist mouthfuls of dark, chocolatey, bananary heaven. Continuing to bask in my new-found love of banana and chocolate, and Day 154: Nigella's Chocolate Banana Muffins. Here, in fitting Pride-themed tutus. (Donated by one of my besties - thanks Erin!)

This combination of flavour will forever remind me of this cookalong - and is a prime example of the reason I started it.