Jumbo Banana Blueberry Muffins
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Simple Pleasures
So many of my favorite things for breakfast in one single bite! Bananas, blueberries and almonds! These Jumbo Banana Blueberry Muffins have almond in the batter and are made with some almond flour as well. They’re so tender and crumbly! The top is crunchy thanks to a nice layer of Demerara sugar over them! You only need one bowl, a whisk and a wooden spoon, that’s it! NO mixer or special equipment required. And the cool thing with these is that you can make the batter the night before and just bake them the next morning.
When I wake up with that rush for making muffins, I know it’s going to be a nice, warm and slowly paced morning. I love the idea of taking a glance at different corners of my kitchen and being inspired to bake a fresh batch of muffins with what I already have. This morning I happened to have slightly over ripe bananas and blueberries in my fridge. The time finally came to make a combo I’ve been wanting for a while! The smell of the vanilla with the almond is so sweet, and when you add the bananas and the blueberries everything becomes pretty magical in the kitchen.
These muffins are really easy to make. In fact, you will only need one bowl to mix the batter and no mixer! Gently mixing the ingredients is what makes these super soft. The bananas, sour cream and the combination of melted butter and oil make these muffins super moist. The addition of sliced almonds gives them a sweet crunch and texture that’s impossible to resist. These my friends are just perfect!
You know I’m obsessed with making my muffins jumbo, resembling those of a charming bakery window. But even if I think it’s super fun making them this big, I always eat just half. You can make them smaller by baking in a regular cupcake pan, just reduce the baking time by 10 to 7 minutes.
How to Make High Rising Muffins
There are 3 simple ways to make muffins rise higher with a perfect dome on top:
Use a good recipe with a good proportion of dry and wet ingredients. Muffins are quick breads, so a proper muffin batter should be somewhat dense. You aren’t suppose to pour it but to scoop it.
Chill the muffins before baking at least 10 to 15 minutes. This chilling helps the dry ingredients to get hydrated and gluten starts to develop. Remember that gluten is what gives structure to cakes, and if we want tall and steady muffins, well, we need to have a nicely developed structure.
Start baking on a high temperature oven for 5 to 7 minutes. The high temperature will cause a shock in the chilled batter, making the rising agents (baking powder, baking soda or egg whites) rise quickly while the batter is still raw. Once you have the rising agents going on, you can drop the temperature 350°F or 375°F, depending on the recipe instructions. For these I dropped to 350°F.
Details for Making these Jumbo Banana Blueberry Muffins
Start by melting the butter so it cools down before adding to the batter.
Next, preheat oven to 425°F and prepare your jumbo muffin or cupcake pan.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I prefer to use bananas that are just slightly over ripe instead of fully black bananas. If you like that, or that’s what you have, by all means go with that!
The rest is as easy as mixing the dry ingredients and then the wet ingredients all in the same bowl. Yes, you’ll need just one large bowl! Start with the dry ones. Make a well in the center and mix the wet ones according to the recipe below, then incorporate everything.
When scooping the muffin batter into the muffin tin, don’t be shy and fill those all to the top, even a bit higher. That’s how you make sure they rise beyond the border, creating that mushroom-like top. Another super important thing? Make sure all the batter is spread all the way to the wall of each muffin well. You don’t want gaps of air between the batter and the wall of the pan.
Chilling the muffins before baking is another important step to ensure a high rise. It’s not super necessary but it’s a detail that makes an even-better muffin. And yes, you can make these the night before and bake them early in the morning. Just bake them a couple of minutes longer.
Add toppings after chilling and right before bringing the muffins to the oven. I always like to add nuts, so here I added more sliced almonds, sprinkled a course sugar such as Demerara or turbinado and added extra blueberries.
You need to drop down the temperature after 7 minutes of baking. The high temperature is just to help the chilled batter rise quickly by creating shock with the changes in temperature. After that you need to drop it down to 350°F so the muffins bake nicely golden without burning.
I know you can’t wait to finally eat these by now, but you need to let the muffins cool down after baked. Not only will you burn your tongue (ouch!!), but these muffins are so tender that they’ll crumble if you cut them while still hot.
How to store and reheat leftover muffins
I like to keep muffins outside loosely covered because the crust on top will keep getting crispier with the days and I absolutely love that on muffins. You can also place them in an airtight container and put them in the fridge.
To reheat, place them in a countertop oven at 350° and warm them for about 5 to 7 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn at top. Open oven door so they don’t become soggy and let them loose the heat for a couple of minutes.
What you’ll need:
A reliable kitchen scale. The tare function makes everything easier. This is the kitchen scale I use and it’s the best! The battery just goes on and on.
An ice cream scooper.
A jumbo muffins pan.
Some jumbo muffin liners.
3 recipes I think you’ll love if you’re loving this one:
Soft and Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Super Soft Jumbo Blueberry Muffins with Earl Grey Tea
Peanut Butter Coffee Cake with Homemade Blueberry Preserves
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I can’t wait for you to make these!! I know you are not going to leave any crumb behind! Warm with a cup of coffee they are simply priceless!
Remember to take a pic, share your success with everyone and tag me on Instagram @devamadeo or Facebook @DevAmadeo. Happy baking darlings!
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Jumbo Banana Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
◯ Butter - 4 TBSP, 57g
◯ Medium bananas, over ripe but not totally black - 3, about 207g
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour - 2 cups, 267g
◯ Almond flour (or almond meal) - 1 cup, 110g
◯ Baking powder - 3 ½ Tsp, 16g
◯ Fine sea salt - 1 Tsp, 6g
◯ Large eggs, at room temperature - 2
◯ Sour cream - ¾ cup, 170g
◯ Vegetable oil - ½ cup, 104g
◯ Natural granulated sugar - ¾ cup, 150g
◯ Brown sugar - ¼ cup, 45g
◯ Vanilla extract - 1 Tsp
◯ Almond extract or emulsion (optional) - ¼ Tsp
◯ Blueberries (if using frozen, take them out right before adding) - 1 ½ cup, 270g, mix with 1 teaspoons of flour
◯ Sliced almonds - about 1 cup, plus more for the top
◯ Demerara or turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top (optional) - about ¼ cup or 4 TBSP
Note: If not using a scale, spoon and level your measuring cup, never overpack it with flour.
Details
Yield:
7 jumbo muffins or 14 regular-sized muffins
Total time:
50 minutes
Active time:
15 minutes
Baking time:
25-30 minutes
Equipment:
large bowl, hand whisk, jumbo muffin pan or cupcake pan, liners
Steps:
Melt the 4 TBSP/57g of butter and let it cool down a bit. It can be slightly warm but not hot to the touch. Preheat oven to 425°. Line a jumbo muffin or regular cupcake pan with muffin liners.
Mash the 3 medium bananas until they just have small lumps.
In a large mixing bowl mix with a hand whisk the 2 cups/267g of flour, the 1 cup/110g of almond flour, the 3 ½ Tsp/16g of baking powder and the 1 Tsp/6g of fine sea salt.
Make a well in the center and drop the 2 eggs. With a wooden spoon or silicon spatula slightly beat them, without mixing with the flour. Add the ¾ cup/170g of sour cream, the melted butter, the ½ cup/104g of vegetable oil, the ¾ cup/150g of natural granulated sugar, the ¼ cup/45g of brown sugar, the teaspoon of vanilla extract and the ¼ teaspoon of almond extract if using. Mix the wet ingredients within the center, without incorporating the flour.
Add the mashed bananas and mix slightly with the wet ingredients. Now, mix incorporating the flour with a wooden spoon, just until there are still some streaks of flour. Add the 1 ½ cup/270g of blueberries and fold them into the batter. Add the cup/95g of sliced almonds and fold as well.
With an ice cream scooper fill each well slightly above the top. Chill for 10 to 15 minutes if possible but highly recommend.
Take out the pan and arrange sliced almonds through the edges of each muffin. Sprinkle Demerara or any course sugar on top. Arrange more blueberries on top as well if you want.
Bake for 7 minutes, then drop the temperature to 350° and bake for about 27 minute more, until a large toothpick comes out clean after inserted through the middle of a muffin. If you need more time after this point, cover muffins with foil, rotate the pan and bake an extra 5 minutes.
Let the muffins cool down before cutting or eating.
