Short and sweet today..after two macaron-making sessions in the last week, I have been craving an easy recipe. You know- something that you just basically stir together and bake. These muffins are easy as pie to make, little mess, no mixer needed and I didn’t have to separate a single egg. If you saw my kitchen after “Macaron mayhem” as I like to call it- you’d understand why I loved making these so much.
Ever since making Marble Pound Cake I’ve loved the idea of swirling a dark chocolate batter into my favorite Banana Muffin recipe to see what happened. The end result- was my new favorite muffin! Full of banana flavor with a twist of dark chocolate and a few melty chocolate chips on top. Not the healthiest breakfast maybe- but it has fruit so its totally OK. Right?
I used dark valharona cocoa powder in these, and I highly recommend picking some up before making them. Regular cocoa powder *may* be OK, but I’m really not sure of how it will react with the leaveners in the recipe. To be safe- get some dark chocolate good stuff!!
PS- Did you know you can ripen bananas in the oven? I wanted some really brown almost mushy bananas for this, and mine were pretty yellow to start. Just preheat the oven to 250- and bake bananas for about 30-60 minutes, keeping an eye on them in case it takes less time.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 bananas, mashed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup dutch process cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons boiling water
- chocolate chips for topping
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
- In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda
- In a large bowl, mix together bananas, sugars, egg and oil, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture into the banana mixture just until moistened.
- Spoon ⅓ of the muffin batter into another bowl. Stir the cocoa powder and boiling water together until smooth, and then stir the cocoa mixture into the batter that you set aside.
- Spoon a dollop of regular into each muffin well- just enough to cover the bottom. Follow with a dollop of chocolate batter, another small spoon of regular and then a small little spoon of chocolate, filling to a maximum of ¾ of the way.
- Use a toothpick or skewer to swirl all the batter together, and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Obsessive Compulsive Baking Disorder says
April 12, 2013 at 9:12 amOne of my favorite summer time things ever is sliting open a banana skin, and stuffing squares of dark chocolate in alongside the banana, before BBQ’ing it – SO good. Dark chocolate and banana are amazing together. Therefore this recipe looks scrummy and I am definitely trying it!
Thanks!
Leah x
Cassie | Bake Your Day says
April 12, 2013 at 10:15 amDark chocolate and banana are a match made in heaven. I love these, Audra!
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
April 12, 2013 at 10:47 amIs there any better start to a rainy Friday than these muffins?!! I have some over-ripe bananas just waiting to check smashed with some chocolate and baked!
Elisa @ Insalata di Sillabe says
April 12, 2013 at 11:07 amOh, I SO love muffins and am always looking for new flavor combinations! I’m not really a dark-chocolate lover but these look so good that I think I should give them a go! Oh, and thanks for the tip about bananas ripened in the oven…I totally didn’t know about it!
xo, Elisa
Tracey says
April 12, 2013 at 11:12 amYum, that’s my kind of breakfast Audra! I’ve made marbled a muffin batter before, such a great idea! Oh, and the banana in the oven trick is the best. You can even do it at a higher temp if you’re short on time :)
Tricia says
April 12, 2013 at 11:16 amthese look great audra. and i really like them so pretty without the paper cups! didnt know about the ripening. i think i will make these TODAY for my boys. love love love your blog so much. thanks for the constant inspiration!
Stella (Ex Libris) says
April 12, 2013 at 11:22 amI just made my own batch, and you were right it is super fast putting them together and even faster making them disappear lol :-) My only complaint is that my dough was a bit too thick and the layers didn’t mix well, I have a little swirl on top and a dark brown level in the middle. But they are delicious, thank you!
Audra says
April 12, 2013 at 12:58 pmWow you are fast!
Sorry you had problems swirling the batter. I didn’t have any problems, but maybe using a butter knife would be better!
Stella (Ex Libris) says
April 12, 2013 at 1:10 pmLol I was just looking for some dessert recipe with bananas when your post went live, so it was perfect timing :-D
Mimi @ Culinary Couture says
April 12, 2013 at 3:05 pmChocolate and bananas–the best combination! Making these for breakfast tomorrow!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
April 12, 2013 at 4:54 pmOh, yes! These look so scrumptious and I love how easy they are. Great recipe, Audra. Have a fabulous weekend!
Joanne says
April 13, 2013 at 8:26 amThat is SO good to know about the bananas! I never seem to have brown enough ones when I want them. I love the dark chocolate swirl in these…so good for a little bit of indulgence at breakfast!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
April 13, 2013 at 8:29 amI love how easy muffins are and the marble effect makes them seem “special.” And I always love the combination of chocolate and banana!
Julie @ Table for Two says
April 14, 2013 at 10:53 amI love chocolate and banana together! It’s awesome that this comes together so quickly! I love the tip about ripening bananas. I always have a ton on hand but whenever I’m in the mood to bake with them, they’re never over-ripe! haha
Wendy says
April 14, 2013 at 12:23 pmSwirling cookies and cakes always look special! Chocolate banana sounds delicious. :)
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen says
April 14, 2013 at 8:02 pmThese look so delicious and I love the swirls!
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
April 15, 2013 at 10:21 amEasy is always good. These mufins look delish!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets says
April 16, 2013 at 7:57 amGorgeous! I made chocolate banana muffins a couple weeks ago and am posting them next week! LOVE that you added chocolate chips to yours. Delicious!!
Kris says
April 4, 2014 at 3:13 pmI made these with regular cocoa powder and they came out great! Really soft and moist, thanks for the recipe. PS – the 1/2 tsp salt is in the ingredients list but missing from the instructions.
D says
September 26, 2015 at 1:50 amThe muffins were soft and fluffy, and had such pretty swirls. So easy to make too! Thanks for sharing.