Banana-raisin Oat Bran Muffins

George Bernard Shaw once said,
"You don't get tired of muffins, but you don't find inspiration in them."

I certainly agreed with the first part of the sentence, but not the second...maybe, during those days, there were only a few types of muffins around?? Anyway, I like muffins...they are usually easy to make, with simple ingredients, always with fruits added, and are more healthy as compared to cupcakes. Thanks to my friend, who passed me some oat bran, I baked a batch of oat bran muffins last night. It was my first attempt to bake wholesome muffins. As a novice, I was not even able to differentiate between oat bran, rolled oats or whole bran!

While I was preparing the ingredients, my little one came along and eagerly offered his help. We had a good time baking the muffins together...just the 2 of us. It was really easy and quick...we took less than 15 mins to pop the muffins into the oven. I was a bit worried when the batter appeared to be rather dry and lumpy. I was only a little at ease half way thru the baking, when my whole kitchen was filled with this wonderful aroma of the sweet fragrance from the bananas.

The muffins were golden brown when they were ready. I was surprised at the coarsely texture...if not for the sweet aroma they were emitting, they certainly look ugly and unappetizing, sitting on the cooling rack. I couldn't wait for them to cool completely before biting into one. Well, the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover" applies to these muffins too. They tasted really good despite their look, the top maybe coarse, the centre was really soft, moist and fluffy. I shared it with my little one, and he asked for another one to go with his bedtime milk. My elder boy who missed out on all the actions, told me over breakfast this morning, "These muffins look really ugly, but they taste really yummy!"

I used to try out recipes based on the appealing photos of the bakes. I have now learnt not to judge a muffin by it's look.

Ingredients:
(makes 12 muffins)

120g plain flour
94g oat bran
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 box (net wt. 42.5g) Sun.Maid raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
100g sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 medium sized bananas, mashed

Method:

1. Mix flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda and raisins in a bowl.
2. Combine egg, sugar, oil, vanilla essence and mashed bananas in another bowl.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until just blended.
4. Fill muffin cups/liners till almost full. Bake in preheated oven at 200 degC for 20 to 25 mins.
   

This recipe is adapted from "The 250 Best Muffin Recipes, by Esther Brody".