Banana Bread Muffins

An absolute knockout! I felt it necessary to immediately share with neighbors. I literally walked next door and insisted they stop what they were doing and put these little gems in their mouths! (Conveniently, they are good friends and complied with the demand.) These are too good not to share the flavor and will certainly be a crowd-pleaser. The muffins are super moist with a buttery mouthfeel and a light crunch from the granulated sugar. And the chai whipped cream…wowzers!

As delicious as the muffins are, this spiced cream is the star and contains loads of potential for future applications.

The muffins are ready in under 30 minutes, which means you will repeat this treat again and again and again. After reading through the recipe, I initially made a double batch (so few mini muffins seemed like such a tease!) and they were honestly devoured in a day. And a double batch was baked the following day. (Don’t judge, we had to finish the whipped cream.) I have a freezer full of overly ripe bananas. I followed the recipe exactly. The muffins were ready in 13 minutes, with golden edges and puffed shapes. After 5 minutes or so, they were cool enough to top and eat.

If you can swing it, make the muffins a day ahead. Yes, instant gratification is always a good thing, but your patience will pay off with a deepened banana flavor in the muffins and a smoother whipped cream topping. Usually I prefer a bit of nutmeg in my banana muffins, but the whipped cream took care of that. Both muffin and chai whipped cream are fabulous on their own, and this cream would be just as fabulous slathered on spice cake, pumpkin pie, or just a spoon.

But if instant gratification is your thing, you’re in luck—one bowl and a few minutes are all it takes for a dozen mini muffins that are perfect for a quick breakfast. I used a heaping tablespoon to fill each mini muffin cup and baked them for the full 15 minutes. Because I made these in the height of a hot and humid midwestern summer, I refrigerated the baked muffins and whipped cream in separate containers. When I needed a fix, I swooped a muffin through the whipped cream. Perfect.

If you’re looking for tiny morsels of goodness, you’ve found it in these tasty banana bread muffins. These are not any ordinary muffins. These muffins are incredibly moist and have just the right amount of banana flavor. And the spiced whipped cream transforms a breakfast bite into a dessert treat by adding just the right amount of sweetness.

I kept the muffins in the oven for 20 minutes instead of 15. The extra 5 minutes saw the muffins go from pale, soft tops to rich, golden brown domes. The chai whipped cream had just the right amount of spice, and the cream still shined through.

I could see this cream on all the Thanksgiving desserts! And boy oh boy, can’t wait to have it on top of hot chocolate!

I love a recipe for a baked good that doesn’t require a boatload of dishes. This is a one-bowl recipe you can mix up with a wooden spoon. It takes about 10 minutes to mash and mix all the ingredients together. My mini muffins were not small but baked up light and good-sized. They were a lovely golden brown around the edges.

During the 13 minutes it took to bake the muffins, I whipped up the chai whipped cream. I used the whisk on my immersion blender, which made this a low-maintenance whipped cream. I tasted the whipped cream right away, and it was delicious—slightly sweet and not grainy or gritty from the spices. This chai whipped cream would be wonderful on chocolate cream pie or just right off the spoon! After the muffins cooled for 10 minutes in the muffin tin, I ran a plastic knife in between each muffin and the muffin cup. This loosened the muffins, so they came right out of the pan. I immediately topped one with a whopping spoonful of the chai whipped cream and popped it in my mouth. It was delicious!

The muffins have a full banana flavor, but the whipped cream takes the muffin to a higher level. It’s a good thing I could only make 12 at a time.

These mini banana bread muffins are a quick and easy treat. The muffin batter came together quickly, especially since the only ingredient that needed prepping was melting some butter. I was concerned with the lack of any spice or vanilla in the batter, but with the sweetness and flavor of the overripe banana, it didn’t need anything additional.

I used paper liners for the muffin cups instead of buttering a muffin tin. I used a 1-tablespoon scoop to measure out the batter. I baked the muffins for 14 minutes, at which point the muffins were puffed and lightly golden brown and a toothpick came out clean.

The chai whipped cream came together quickly. I refrigerated the cream for about 20 minutes while the muffins baked and cooled. I used 1 tablespoon granulated sugar instead of confectioners’ sugar since my daughter had used it all the day before while making frosting. But even with the granulated sugar, the cream was smooth and creamy and delicious!

The combination of the muffin and chai cream was delicious. The cream gave the muffins just enough extra flavor to transform a basic banana muffin into something extra special. My family loved the chai whipped cream when they tasted it and loved it with the muffin but thought it may be too overpowering for a pumpkin pie. They commented it would taste yummy on a plain latte or hot chocolate.

The chai whipped cream is what makes this recipe! It’s a fairly simple banana bread muffin recipe that comes together very easily with no mixer. But the chai whipped cream takes it to the next level!

The batter came together very quickly with minimal mess and dishes, which was nice, though it did seem to be a lot wetter than a typical muffin batter. The muffins baked for 15 minutes, at which time they were a nice golden brown; however, they were quite sticky to touch. Not such a big deal when you eat them in 2 bites, but if you were to make full-size muffins, it might get a bit messy.

The cream was fantastic. I felt that without the cream, the muffins tasted too much like bananas, but were perfect with the cream. On a side note, I made more of these banana bread muffins and froze them for my kids’ snacks. They freeze great, and my daughter actually thought they tasted better after being frozen.

What I like about these banana bread muffins is that the batter really did make a small batch of muffins. My yield was 16 mini muffins. I thought these were on the sweet side. I bet you could use the chai spiced whipped cream with pumpkin pie. I also think you could use pumpkin pie spice as a sub for all the individual spices.

This recipe was easy to make, and all the ingredients were easily available. The banana bread muffins tasted just like banana bread—no surprise there. It was the chai whipped cream that put this recipe over the top. I used a regular muffin pan, and the muffins were done after 17 minutes. My yield was 6 moist muffins.