baby birthday banana buns

I looked high and low on the internet for a birthday cake with no sugar. That's right no sugar. Yuk! You might think? Not so.

I found all sorts of recipes online, carrot cakes, courgette cakes, yoghurt cakes..... All had mixed reviews and as they were posted by readers there were no accompanying photos. And I do like a good photo. Some of them contained unusual ingredients or just slightly more 'exotic for a corner shop at 5pm the night before' sort of unusual and unattainable.

So after all that searching would you believe I found this recipe in my tried and trusted and flour spattered copy of Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess. I hadn't even thought to look there because Nigella not putting a vat of sugar/cream/lard into a recipe is a bit like Gordon Ramsay getting through a sentence without swearing....It just never happens, or so I thought, wrongly it turns out.

Anyhoo, these are good. Very easy to make.

I topped mine with a yoghurt coating and scattered blueberries on top. The recipe I used { 1 cup yoghurt :: ½ cup icing sugar :: 1 tsp vanilla extract - whisk together } was far too much for 12 buns so next time I'd halve it. Also should have used greek yoghurt as natural yoghurt was a bit runny although it set ok with some chilling time. Any left over buns will need to be stored in the fridge if they have the yoghurt coating on them as this will not last long in a warm room....As discovered!

Banana Muffins

30g unsalted butter
60g (two heaped 15ml tablespoons) clear honey
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 large very ripe bananas
150g plain flour
1 heaped tablespoon baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt (I didn't use)

12 bun muffin tin and papers ( I used 12 silicon cases on a baking tray)

Preheat oven to 190ºC/gas mark 5

Put the butter, honey and vanilla extract in a pan on a low heat to melt, then remove and set aside for a few minutes.

Mash the bananas and, in another bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and salt. Mix the melted butter mixture with the bananas and then mix that into the dry ingredients. Don't over mix: just stir a couple of times; you will have a not terribly attractive lumpy sludge.

Fill the muffin cases (paper or silicon) in the tray about two thirds full with mixture. Put in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Leave in the tins for about 5 minutes, then remove the muffins in their cases to a wire rack for another 5-10 minutes until cool.

I left mine in the silicon cases for serving.

Makes 12.

It's testament to how good these are and how well they were received by a small gathering of one year olds that I only have a photo of the empty cases and a dusting of crumbs to show you.

Or it's testament to the stressful morning I had with the birthday girl who refused to nap and insisted on screaming and emptying the kitchen cupboards, that I failed to take a photo before these were devoured!