I made these muffins on Monday evening and took them to work on Tuesday morning. They were a success. It is ‘Love Your Admin’ week in our Trust and this was my contribution to show my appreciation of the hard work they do for us (can’t wait for Love Your Doctor week – I suspect that somehow…). I was somehow quite excited about working with sunflower oil instead of butter. I have used it many times before with interesting and tasty results. This time was no different. I have never really cooked with figs before but I loved the sticky sweet seedy texture, it is truly wonderful. Yes, I had a lot of fun baking these muffins.

Ingredients

500g (1 lb 2oz) ripe mashed bananas (about 4 large bananas)

125ml (4fl oz) sunflower oil

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

125g (4 1/2 oz) crunchy peanut butter

1 egg beaten

350g (12oz) plain flour

125g (4 1/2oz) soft light brown sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

225g (8oz) chopped dates or figs

3 tablespoons mixed sunflower and pumpkin seeds, plus extra for sprinkling

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 180oC/gas 4. Line a muffin tin with 12 tulip muffin cases.

2. Mash the bananas in a large bowl with the sunflower oil, vanilla bean paste, peanut butter and beaten egg.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and raising agents. Add the chopped dates or figs and seeds and toss to coat.

4. Tip the flour into the banana mixture and stir until just combined.

5. Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cases and sprinkle with seeds. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Reference: Have Your Cake and Eat It – Mich Turner