Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Name: Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: PT-481110H58M15S
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 380g VERY ripe and mashed banana (3-4 medium bananas); 115g unsalted butter,; 100g light brown sugar; 100g caster sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 130g thick Greek yogurt; 1 tsp bicarbonate of sod; 180g plain flour; ½ tsp salt; 250g dark chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks

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These Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins are the next bake you need to make when you have overripe bananas. Baked in cute muffin cases, they make the softest, most delicious banana muffins, laced with rich dark chocolate that melts into them, creating little pockets of melty dark chocolate.

cross section of banana chocolate chunk muffin

I love a muffin of any form, they are the perfect bite-sized sweet treat and transport well. They also always end up very moist and rarely dry out, for which I find extremely comforting. Like these Chocolate Chip Muffins, they are squidgy with a great depth of flavour from the brown butter base.

Why you will love these Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins:

It's the perfect banana muffin recipe, simply because it's so tender and fudgy, with great depth of flavour from the brown butter.
These muffins are a great way to use up any bananas that are going bad in your fruit bowl - we've all been there! Or if you have any lurking in the freezer that you said you'd use one day but haven't quite got there.
They are super moist from the brown butter and the addition of Greek yoghurt. They are really just pillowy and soft, so good.

Ingredients:

Butter, to control the salt in the cake, use unsalted
Light soft brown sugar, which contains molasses so using it results in a softer yet denser cake as it retains moisture. It’s delicious here.
Granulated sugar, or caster sugar if you have it
Eggs, fresh eggs make the best cakes!
Banana, you will need around four very ripe bananas. When I have bananas going brown in my kitchen and I know they are past the point of being eaten as a snack, I throw them straight in the freezer. Just defrost when you want to bake and you have the ripe bananas you always need for a recipe like this!
Greek yoghurt, this keeps the cake bouncy and moist.
Flour, plain rather than self-raising.
Vanilla
Bicarb of soda
Salt
Dark chocolate, the dark chocolate in chunks rather than chips melts so much better into the muffin.

Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!

Substitutions and Variations:

Chocolate chunks: Obviously, the key part of this recipe (along with the banana) are the chocolate chunks. However, if you want to mix it up, I also love to mix in nuts instead of chocolate chips (or alongside). Try with chopped almonds, pistachios, walnuts or peanuts.

Greek yoghurt: You need a soured dairy product here, yoghurt is ideal and it is something people tend to have lying around. However, you could use sour cream, buttermilk or creme fraiche if you have those instead.

How to make brown butter for Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins:

Here's a step-by-step guide for what you need to do to make brown butter, but you can find the full recipe below for detailed instructions.

ONE: Melt the butter and keep over medium-high heat.

TWO: The butter will start foaming and bubbling. Keep stirring every so often as the milk solids will start to separate and you don't want them to burn on the bottom of the pan.

THREE: After a short while, the milk solids will be brown and toasty. It will smell nutty too.

FOUR: Keep stirring until the milk solids (the flecks) are dark brown but definitely not black. If they are black, you've burnt it and the banana bread will be bitter. Cool slightly before stirring in the butter.

Cooking Tips:

Brown Bananas: For this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, you will need around four very ripe bananas. When I have bananas going brown in my kitchen and I know they are past the point of being eaten as a snack, I throw them straight in the freezer. Just defrost when you want to bake and you have the ripe bananas you always need for a recipe like this!

Brown Butter: Don't be put off by this or think it's hard. It's super easy and the guide above has all the helpful tips and tricks to make sure you get it just right.

woman holding banana chocolate chunk muffin

Frequently Asked Questions

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is melted butter that has been taken just past the point of melted to “brown it”. When you melt butter, you tend to get a separation of the milk solids (the white specks) and the yellow liquid, the butterfat. When you brown the butter, you toast the milk solids so they turn a golden brown which gives the whole thing a nutty flavour. You also see this method in cooking, like in crispy brown butter gnocchi with sage.

Do these have to be muffins?

You could also bake this in a 9x5 inch loaf tin for around 1h15 minutes at 160c. Or an 8x8 square tin for around 35-40 minutes at 160c again. Make sure you check with a skewer, it should come out nearly clean with just a few moist crumbs.

Are Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins suitable for freezing?

Yes, they freeze well. Pop the muffins in an airtight tupperware or container and freeze for around 2 months. Defrost them at room temp when ready to serve, for at least a few hours. I like to reheat them in the oven at 160c for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Other recipes you might enjoy:

Baking is so soothing to me, I love it and for that reason, I have so many recipes for easy bakes. I love this Brown Butter Banana Loaf, it's fudgy, soft and easy. These Chocolate Chip Muffins are amazing, so squishy and filled with chocolate chunks, just like these Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins. For something a little different, this Creamy Coffee Tiramisu Cake is a great one. You soak the sponge in a creamy coffee mixture which makes the whole cake so moist. My Sprinkle Sponge Cake is a nostalgic classic too, and so so good. Finally, if banana is your thing, my Banana Tiramisu is one you have to try!

Made this recipe and loved it?

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