Strawberry Banana Muffins

Happy holiday's everyone! 'Tis the season to eat all of the things.

Maybe it's because live in the tropics, or maybe it's because I was raised by a Zanzibari woman and spent most of my childhood in Zanzibar. But, I'm really obsessed with sweet and tart flavours. Be it drinks, snacks or desserts, I love flavours with a good twang. You know what I mean?

Tamarind, unripe mangoes with chilli, baobab fruit snacks, Zanzibar mix, coconut chutney; the flavours in all my childhood staples played around with the balance between sweet and sour. This is something I've experienced over the years to be a particularly East African Coastal thing. I've been enjoying delving in to the food history of it all; how East Africa’s food was to a great extent, influenced by parts of Asia and even South America, (and vice versa), and it's fascinating. But, I digress.

In between Christmas food comas, I tend to crave desserts that hit that delicious sweet and sour note. Strawberry banana muffins manage to do that for me—keep in mind that our strawberries, that grow in the much cooler Uluguru Mountains of Morogoro in northern Tanzania, tend to be a little bit more tart than their peers imported from South Africa... I wonder if it's the soil? Anyway, here's how I made these.

P.S. If you don't have strawberries at hand, you can replace them with any other berries, even gooseberries, they're delicious.

Makes 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds (or ground Flax seeds)

+ 3 Tbsp Water

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup oat flour (or substitute whole-wheat)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup smashed bananas

1/2 cup strawberries

1/4 cup sliced bananas, for garnish

Method:

1. Mix chia seeds (or ground flax seeds) with a little water and set the mixture aside. The seeds will absorb the water and change into a thicker, egg-like consistency.

2. Mix soy milk with lemon juice and set aside. It will start to curdle, don't worry, it's supposed to do that.

3. Sift oat flour, baking powder and soda into a large bowl, add pinch of salt, and whisk until combined.

4. In a separate large bowl, whisk sugar, vegetable oil, lemon zest, vanilla extract, smashed bananas and strawberries together, until well combined.

5. Fold your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients until they smoothly incorporated into a nice looking batter.

6. Grease up some ramekins or cupcake tins, then fill them up with the muffin batter. Add some sliced bananas on the top for garnish.

7. Bake at 190°C for about 25-30 mins, until risen and golden brown on the top.

8. Allow them to cool down a bit, then enjoy, and remember Christmas or holiday calories don’t count.

xoxo