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Chocolate Banana Muffins

by Nigella. Featured in KITCHEN

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Introduction

I think of muffins as a treaty weekend breakfast, but these look so darkly elegant, especially in their matching dark-brown, tulip-skirted party frocks, that they positively beg to be brought out with coffee after dinner. Certainly, while most muffins are at their best pretty well straight out of the oven, the bananas in the mixture make sure these beauties keep their moist, eat-me texture long after those less favoured have staled and lost their allure.

As featured in

KITCHEN

2010

Chocolate Banana Muffins — Photo by Lis Parsons

As featured in

KITCHEN

2010

Ingredients

Makes: 12 muffins

Metric Cups

3 very ripe or overripe bananas
125 millilitres vegetable oil
2 large eggs
100 grams soft light brown sugar
225 grams plain flour
3 tablespoons best-quality cocoa powder (sifted)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

3 very ripe or overripe bananas
½ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
½ cup soft light brown sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons best-quality unsweetened cocoa (sifted)
1 teaspoon baking soda

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with papers. Don’t worry about getting special papers: regular muffin cases will do the job.
Mash the bananas by hand or with a freestanding mixer. Still beating and mashing, add the oil followed by the eggs and sugar.
Mix the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb together and add this mixture, beating gently, to the banana mixture, then spoon it into the prepared papers.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be dark, rounded and peeking proudly out of their cases. Allow to cool slightly in their tin before removing to a wire rack.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with papers. Don’t worry about getting special papers: regular muffin cases will do the job.
Mash the bananas by hand or with a freestanding mixer. Still beating and mashing, add the oil followed by the eggs and sugar.
Mix the flour, unsweetened cocoa and bicarb together and add this mixture, beating gently, to the banana mixture, then spoon it into the prepared papers.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be dark, rounded and peeking proudly out of their cases. Allow to cool slightly in their tin before removing to a wire rack.

Tell us what you think

What 32 Others have said

Nice muffins, but next time, I will use a little bit more sugar.

Posted by Simona9 on 1st July 2017
I forgot to add the eggs (one of days, well weeks if I'm honest) but they turned out gorgeously fluffy! I actually preferred that batch to the next one, in which I did add eggs. Decide for yourself. And remember; my mistake made them vegan :)

Posted by WildCherry on 28th March 2017
Wonderful recipe! Super easy, once I have replaced the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour and oats and they turned out just as delicious! They are now a hit among my family and friends!

Posted by srushti on 26th October 2016
Best recipe, super easy and delish! I made these with the help of my toddler, we added chocolate chips and they turned out well. Both are resisting the urge to devour all twelve... Thank you - this is one of those 'love to recommend to others but at the same time love to keep the recipe a secret' and wow others each time I make them!

Posted by jheleine on 18th October 2016
WOW!!! these muffins were too easy to be this GOOD. i usually dont use all all-purpose flour in recipes. i used 1/2 c all-purpose, 1/4 cup organic whole wheat, 1/4 cup spelt, 1/4 cup rye, 1/4 cup mixture of seed meals (sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flax, brown sesame, hemp)

and with all this the muffins are light. and i may even add a couple tablespoons LESS sugar next time.

Used my hand mixer, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and added a pinch of salt.

thank you sooooooo much for this recipe, i will make these again and again and again.

Posted by CandiMom on 12th June 2016
I love this recipe for my overripe bananas! It never fails and everyone loves them. I add chocolate chips and walnut pieces when I make them and they can't be beat!

Posted by Katiekates on 18th May 2016
I made these with dark soft brown sugar as mentioned in another comment. I put all of the mixture into a square tin & sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. I cut into 9 square portions & they were fantastic. Thanks for the recipe, it's so easy x

Posted by gemandnat on 11th May 2016
Best muffins ever. I just made these and I love them. I did not add any sugar, just the bananas, I also used coconut oil instead of vegetable, and they were PERFECT. So fluffy, chocolatey, easy, heavenly. I LOVE Nigella's recipes, and I rarely change things in them, I will make these with the sugar next time for guests!

Posted by emseguin on 21st February 2016
I really wish I hadn't found this recipe. These are STUNNING and came out just like a photo in a magazine! Will just have to make them again and again : ) Thank you.

Posted by nik.jean on 31st December 2015
Like others, I have tweaked these: 125ml melted butter instead of the oil, 125g sugar just to up the sweetness a tad, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon vanilla, and finally 100 choc chips. Pretty much the perfect muffin, especially still warm from the oven

Posted by Maggiedon on 17th May 2015
While these are allready a treat, to posh them up another notch (and in credit to the last grisly days of rainy-grey-weather-comfort-needs) I thought about adding a rich, chocolatey Frosting with a hint of whisky..

Posted by Lilith-C on 29th January 2012
These, for want of a better word, are boring. Although visually appealing, the cocoa doesn't give the little muffins the oomph they deserve. I am working on stirring some dark choc chips or some melted 70% in to give it more of a chocolate bite... Or maybe as suggested above, some cinnamon would work too...

Posted by ohjonny on 19th December 2011