Banana-Chocolate Streusel Muffins
(Adapted from Baking at République)
There are recipes you make because they’re trending, and then there are recipes that quietly become part of the furniture of your kitchen.
This one is the latter.
I’ve tried enough banana muffins over the years to stop looking. These are tender without being cakey, rich without feeling heavy, and the dark chocolate keeps them from wandering into cupcake territory. They’re the muffins I make when bananas have crossed the point of no return, when someone needs something tucked into a lunchbox, or when the kitchen feels like it ought to smell like brown sugar and cinnamon.
Like most recipes that stick around long enough, this one has changed a little over time.
I fold a little sourdough discard into the batter because The Mother always seems to have an opinion. The fresh banana slices on top became freeze-dried ones after I realized they kept the centers from staying damp. And I’ve quietly ignored the recipe’s suggestion to make enough streusel for two lifetimes.
Recipes should earn their place in a kitchen.
This one has.
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Banana-Chocolate Streusel Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Streusel (half batch)
70 g all-purpose flour
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
180 g packed light brown sugar
55 g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Rub together with your fingertips until pea-sized clumps form. Set aside.
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Muffins
210 g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
205–210 g granulated sugar
85 ml avocado oil
30 g sour cream
10 ml vanilla extract
100 g sourdough discard (100% hydration)
340 g very ripe bananas, mashed (about 3–4)
80 g dark chocolate (55–64%), chopped
12 freeze-dried banana slices
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Method
Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin.
Make the streusel by rubbing together the flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter until crumbly.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Slowly drizzle in the oil.
Mix in the sour cream, vanilla, and sourdough discard.
Fold in the dry ingredients just until no flour remains.
Fold in the mashed bananas, then the chopped chocolate.
Divide between the muffin cups (about 75 g batter each).
Top generously with streusel.
Bake for 12–14 minutes.
Quickly open the oven and gently press one freeze-dried banana slice into the top of each muffin.
Return to the oven and bake another 7–9 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.
Notes
Sourdough discard: Stir in 100 g of 100% hydration discard with the sour cream and vanilla. Reduce the oil to 85 ml and the sugar to about 205–210 g.
Banana topping: Skip the fresh banana slices. Bake the muffins for about 12–14 minutes, then gently press a freeze-dried banana slice into each muffin before finishing the bake.
Streusel: Half the recipe is plenty for one batch. Your freezer—and your future self—will thank you.
Chocolate: Hand-chopped dark chocolate creates little flecks and larger pools that melt differently. It’s worth the extra minute.
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From My Pantry
I almost never make these exactly as written anymore. A little sourdough discard finds its way into the batter because I always have some to use, and freeze-dried banana slices solved the perpetually damp spot that fresh bananas left in the center. Neither change is dramatic. They just make a good recipe quietly better.