Eggless Apple Banana Muffins

Till sometime back,I didn't know what made Muffins different from Cupcakes.Ignorant me thought both were the same and they probably differed only in sizes.Here,cupcakes are sold unfrosted and many shops showcase muffins the size of a doughnut,so you cannot blame me!

Only after I started baking and looked through several recipes I realized the difference.So if there are still people like me[I doubt!]who think muffins and cupcakes are similar,here is the real deal--"Cupcakes are small cup-sized cakes,often frosted with buttercream or whipped cream whereas Muffins are small versions of quick-breads which are fruit-based and often had as breakfast".

Having had plain cupcakes all my life,I honestly do not find any major difference between both.But yes,upon close watch you can make out a difference in texture.Cupcakes are soft and fluffy and muffins are often dense and chewy.


Well,enough cupcake-muffin talk,let's head straight to the recipe.The Sweet Punch time is here again and this month we bake Muffins.Ria chose this Strawberry-Banana Muffins from Joy of Baking but since Strawberry season is long gone here,I decided to substitute it with Apples.Worked just fine and I felt it tasted very similar to Dorie's Apple-nut Muffin cake[which apparently is a muffin recipe which Dorie converted into a cake!].

Apple-Banana Muffin


Ingredients


Butter - 1/4 cup
Egg - 1[I did not add egg]
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Bananas - 2,ripe
Apple - 1 cup,chopped
Flour - 1 1/8 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/3 cup+1 tbsp
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp


Method


Preheat oven to 180C.Grease/line a muffin tray.
Melt the butter and keep aside to cool.
Mash the bananas with a fork and mix in the sugar and vanilla and beat till the sugar blends well into it.Add the melted and cooled butter and give a good whisk.
Mix together flour,baking powder,baking soda,cinnamon,apple and salt.Mix the  flour mix into the wet ingredients with a spatula and fold it in just until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20-22 minutes or till the muffins have risen and become golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Dust with powdered vanilla sugar and serve.

Notes

• I halved the original recipe and got 7 muffins.
• The batter is quite thick[not a pouring one],so if you find the muffins browning too much on top,cover the pan with a buttered foil paper to prevent overbrowning.
• The original recipe calls for eggs,but I substituted it with a banana.
• I drizzled the muffins with some Strawberry crush for some extra punch and should say the pairing worked well!

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On another note,Easycooking got featured on Deccan Chronicle Kochi edition on August 5th.I was happy and overjoyed to say the least.I would like to say a BIG thank you to all of you whose support and encouragement made this feat possible.Thank you!!