FIFTY MUFFINS

by Sweetu
(Kolkata,India)

healthy muffins - an alternative to birthday cake

My hubby’s 50th birthday was approaching .I was thinking of an innovative idea to surprise him on his birthday. I consulted my daughter about how we should plan the party and what type of cake should be ordered. Then all of a sudden my daughter screamed no mama you should bake the cake, as it is a very special day for him. I was good at baking cakes and puddings. But the problem was my husband was very health conscious.

So I decided that I would prepare muffins for invited guests instead of a huge cake. Being his 50th birthday I decided to bake 50 muffins in batches. But this had to be done in his absence. My daughter pleaded with him the day before to go for an outing so that they can purchase clothes for the birthday. So it was very easy for me to bake these in 5 hours time.

We had arranged a small get-together for friends and relatives. Once everybody arrived we brought the muffins on to the table which was arranged in the letters “FIFTY”. Everybody was surprised as to which bakery I had ordered these muffins from. Everybody enjoyed the party and liked the muffins a lot. To date my husband thinks of this unique idea of making muffins and decorating it for his birthday. It was healthy as it had a good amount of oatmeal along with bananas. As the guests were leaving, my hubby announced that I made the muffins. They were taken aback. But I was the happiest of the lot.

The recipe for the banana muffins
6 bananas,
2 cups sugar,
6 eggs,
2 cups flour,
2 tsp baking powder,
1 cup mixed dry fruit (raisins, almond, walnuts, cashew nuts)
½ tsp vanilla essence
1-cup vegetable oil
1-cup oatmeal

This recipe serves 6 people.

Firstly mash the bananas and sugar together in a blender till smooth. Add eggs one by one and blend it well. Add the oil into the mixture and mix it thoroughly. Pour the contents of the mixture into a mixing bowl and keep it aside. Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Fold in the flour mixture into the banana mixture along with the vanilla essence. Do not mix for a long time. Pour the muffin mixture into the greased muffin molds and sprinkle oatmeal on top of it. Bake at 220 degrees Centigrade (about 400 degrees Fahrenheit) till done.

Allow it to cool down and then slowly remove from the mold. It turns out to soft and spongy.