Recipe: Banana Muffins With A Crumb Top

Banana Muffins With A Crumb Top

Most banana muffin recipes seem too sweet to me. I want to taste banana, not overpowering sugar. This version is a composite of several recipes, putting together all the bits that we like (borrowing the most from this one at Allrecipes). Mini-me had a great time sprinkling on the crumb topping, which has a few flakes of sea salt in it.

By the way, how do you like that vintage Melmac serving plate? I have a few hundred pieces of the stuff, the remnants of an even larger collection from my post-college years. I think I'll start busting them out for more blog photos.

It occurred to me afterwards that caramelizing the bananas first to bring out even more of their flavor might be good. That or using some of the smaller, intensely flavored bananas that good stores carry these days. If anyone tries either of those ideas, please comment and let me know how it turned out!

Banana Muffins With A Crumb Top
Makes 10 muffins

    Dry:

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt

    Wet:

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 c. unsalted butter, melted

    Crumb topping:

• 1/3 c.  brown sugar (preferably something delicious like Muscovado)
• 2 T. all-purpose flour
• 1/8 t. cinnamon
• pinch or two of flaky finishing salt (like Maldon), optional
• 1 T. butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease or line 10 cups of a muffin pan
2. Mix the dry and wet ingredients thoroughly and separately
3. Fold the dry into the wet, without mixing any more than necessary to combine. Overmixing will make them tough. Fill the muffin cups.
4. Cut the butter into the rest of the crumb topping ingredients like you were making pie crust, and then sprinkle evenly over the batter.
5. Bake about 20 minutes until a tester comes out dry.

Recipe: Brussel Sprouts with Seeds and Toasted Coconut

By the way, check out my page on tastespotting.com for a visual index of all the photos from the site. And be sure and press the "*" button on the pictures if you like them, so other folks will find 'em too!

This is the season for great brussel sprouts, and I've seen lots of great recipes for them. I decided to take my sprouts in an Indian direction the other night. It is pretty simple, I just shredded them and pan fried them with black mustard, black caraway, and cumin seeds, and toasted coconut. This dish is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. I served it with basmati rice, aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry), cucumber raita (yogurt sauce) and papadums.

Mustard and brussel sprouts are both in the brassica family, so the seeds really complement the flavor. The key, as always with anything in the cabbage world is not to overcook them, otherwise you will bring out unpleasant sulfury flavors.

Fresh green chilis, ginger, garlic, or onions would all be welcome additions to this dish.

Brussel Sprouts with Seeds and Coconut
Serves 4 as a side dish
Vegetarian, vegan if you use oil instead of butter, and gluten-free

• 3 c. brussel sprouts, trimmed and sliced thin
• 2 T. ghee or 1 T. butter and 1 T. oil
• 2 T. urad dal (optional)
• 1 T. black mustard seeds
• 2 t. black caraway seeds (regular caraway is ok in a pinch)
• 2 t. cumin seeds
• 1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted to light brown (I'm sure fresh would be even better)
  
• 2 t. kosher salt
• 2 t. jaggery or brown sugar
• 2 t. garam masala
• fresh lime or lemon juice (to taste)

1. Microwave or steam the brussel sprouts for 4 minutes so they are nearly tender.
2. In a large skillet over high heat, melt the ghee or butter and oil
3. If you have ural dal (a type of Indian split pea) available, fry it until it starts to turn reddish brown (a couple minutes). This adds an additional crunchy element.
4. Add the mustard, caraway, and cumin seeds and fry until the mustard seeds pop for a few seconds
5. Add the brussel sprouts and stir-fry until cooked through (2 minutes)
6. Add the remaining ingredients, toss, and check seasoning

 

Cookbook Review: Tartine

Baking books are kind of a dime a dozen, right? And certainly recipes for brioche or banana cream pie are nothing extraordinary. If you want a basic recipe for pie crust or pastry cream, you don't need to look any further than Joy of Cooking, or recipezaar.com.

What sets a book like Tartine apart from the pack is the confident hand that you feel guiding you, whether through these fundamentals or more dramatic desserts like a Chocolate Souffle Cake or Panforte with Candied Quince. When I made the scones (pictured above) and the pumpkin tea bread (below), I just knew they were going to be first rate, not merely good.

In each recipe here, you aren't simply getting something that Joe from Poughkeepsie has made once or twice and is reasonably happy with. These are tried-and-true items that have been made hundreds or thousands of times at the bakery and carefully refined.

Most pages include a Kitchen Notes section to pass on tips for perfecting the technique or varying the ingredients. For example, one useful note tells you how to avoid lumps in your cake batter: don't scrape the flour off the sides of the bowl. Instead, lift batter up onto the sticking flour so it mixes in, and whatever is still sticking - leave it behind, and definitely don't scrape it into the cake pan.

The book has the thoughtful details that make using it much easier. Every recipe provides measurements both by volume (for convenience) and by weight (for accuracy), in both English and metric. The ingredients are separated out by component (i.e. one section for the custard, another for the crust), and set off visually from the instructions. A ribbon page marker is built in, and the cover is printed directly, without the usual paper dustjacket to be soiled and ripped.

As Alice Waters explains in her foreword, Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson first opened a bakery of their own at Point Reyes Station in Marin county. They later moved to San Francisco and opened Tartine in the Mission District, and folks have been lining up out the door ever since. I can see why, because the choice of recipes in the book really shows off the authors' point of view. The desserts are light on frills and big on seasonality and flavor. They have a rustic sensibility which appeals to most everyone.

Although I've only had time to bake the simple items pictured here, I'm very much looking forward to a chance to dive in deeper. Brioche Bread Pudding, Shaker Lemon Pie, Pastel De Tres Leches, Clafoutis, Lemon Bars on Brown Butter Shortbread... not to mention a few savory items like Gougeres, Pissaladiere.... time to preheat the oven!

Here's an a link to my Amazon store if you want to pick up a copy. I use the (minimal) profits from sales to pay for the blog hosting expenses.