In praise of the humble nutmeg
I really must declare that nutmeg is the official spice of winter. Right now, I am putting nutmeg in everything. Breakfast, dinner, dessert. Nutmeg wins.
{And yes, I know it’s not technically winter for another handful of hours, but it certainly feels like winter. It’s felt like winter for a good few weeks now. So winter it is. Since I appear to be in a declaring type mood anyway.}
So far, we have been much better about planning menus and buying food than we had been before, when we lived within walking distance of the grocery store. We now live within walking distance of a brilliant fruit and veg place, where I think I have discovered the Best Sweet Potatoes in the World Ever. Which, by the way, also taste really lovely with nutmeg.
But I did leave one poor little banana lingering. Everyone has their perfect banana time. I like them when they are still a tinge green, before no brown spots have appeared. The boy likes them when they are definitely yellow…a few spots are okay. But once they have started to reach more than half brown, they must be baked into something. So there is this little window of time where any bananas that haven’t been eaten have to sit on the counter going a bit more brown to be perfect for baking. Except how many recipes call for just one of those bananas? And usually we try not to buy so many that we will have lots leftover.
So here it is. A one banana recipe. With, of course, NUTMEG. Because it is winter (or it feels like it) and everything tastes better with nutmeg. Please do not get me started on combinations like nutmeg and spinach or nutmeg and porridge or nutmeg and cherry pie. Because it is all so good.
One Banana Cupcakey-Muffin-Things
(in other words, they should be cupcakes, but we decided we didn’t want icing because we have been living on a sugar high from various other Christmas-related snacks)
Makes 6 to 8 of a decent size for dessert or breakfast.
And as requested…trying to do both metric and imperial measurement!
1 stick//125g unsalted butter
1/2cup//100g sugar
1 large egg
1 cup//60g all-purpose//plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda//bicarbonate soda
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup//120 mL prepared custard (US-style vanilla pudding will also work)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 very ripe banana
Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line cupcake tray with papers.
With an electric mixer (or a spatula and a very strong arm), beat butter until soft and creamy. Add sugar and beat until even.
Stir in egg.
Throw in all the dry ingredients, give a stir by hand, then pour the custard and vanilla over the top and mix everything up until well blended.
Add the banana last and blitz until the banana appears to be pretty well throughout the mix. (If you are mixing by hand, mash the banana first. If you use the electric mixer, it should be able to mash it for you!)
Fill cups 3/4 full and bake for about 18 minutes or until a chopstick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place immediately on a cooling rack. This is a dense cake that will sink if left in the pan.
If you fancy icing, chocolate or cream cheese would be lovely. And have you checked out Chockylit’s Mother of All Icing Posts? I bet her Christmas buttercream would be fabulous on these as well. Though I think it needs nutmeg.
xlovesx
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20 December 2007, 07:27
Oooh yummy! Somehow i always end up with just one banana that goes brown and then gets waaaaay past its best and has to be thrown away. Now I know what to do with it!
I love nutmeg too, but just watch how much you have! Officially, nutmeg is a poison although you have to eat rather a lot of it. I was told by a pharmacist friend that a whole grated nutmeg is enough to kill an adult. Eeeeek!! Mind you, her other piece of information was that a cup of apple seeds contain enough arsenic to kill a toddler… so I’m coming to realise that some foods are just wierd!
Anthea
PS. If I don’t get to ‘post’ again before the big day… have a fantastic Christmas!!
21 December 2007, 11:53
In addition to my dearly beloved begging for my mince pies I will also be making spiced cranberry and orange cupcakes this Christmas. My Ma brought me some lovely candied peel from Croatia and it’s luscious in anything.
I also made some with candied peel and Maya Gold chunks. Mmmmm – so good! (But not so good for my Mum, who can’t eat chocolate, hence the cranberries).
22 December 2007, 18:04
howdy Shimelle. so fun reading your blog. I met you in a class at CKC Bellevue and so now I can actually hear your wonderful voice in my head as I read your commentary.
anyway, had a thought on the banana issue. sometimes when there is only one going brown, I cut it up in slices and throw it in the bag in the freezer with the other slices who are waiting for enough company to be baked into something. when they thaw they are a tad runny so I just adjust the liquid in the recipe a bit.
learned this great idea from one of my friends so I thought I’d pass it along.
Merry Christmas!
Koren
24 December 2007, 18:00
Sounds so yummy…I’m def going to make some!!
merry christmas
24 December 2007, 19:42
not so big a fan of nutmeg- but I LOVE banana muffins :) I am glad to see the cupcake resurface in a new form- i miss the cupcake days :)
Ho ho ho!
25 December 2007, 18:49
hi, just wanted to say Gleðileg jól (as we say here in Iceland) or Merry Christmas. Hope U had a good time over the hollidays:)
10 January 2008, 22:31
hi! I made these today along with the Christmas buttercream frosting you suggested (& I did indeed add nutmeg!) and just had to post to say they are so moist & tender and just a real treat. they are the fanciest cupcakes I’ve ever made & I’m so thrilled they turned out so beautifully!thanks so much for the non-metric measurements too!
you may have created a monster!
sending big hugs & best wishes for your 2008
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