Recipe - Strawberry Banana Muffins

Apologies for the bad pictures. As aforementioned in a previous recipe post, I sometimes like to make things late at night without proper lighting so pictures turn out badly/with flash. SO! Apologies! Anyhow, this recipe came about when a friend's birthday was coming up; I felt like making something so asked for a request. "Strawberry banana muffins" was the answer so I searched the brilliant internet for a recipe and came across this one here (muffin only; streusel topping is separate) I adjusted it just a tad bit and after making the muffins, have learned that there are some things to consider when making this. I will note them in my instructions.

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 12 muffins)
Topping

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsps butter, softened
• 3 tbsps flour

Dough

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2/3 cup bananas, mashed (approximately 2 large bananas)
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced/diced
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil
• 2 egg whites, large
• 2 cups flour

Step 2: Preparing the ingredients
I chose to dice my strawberries because I didn't want huge slices in the muffins. Do this in its own bowl and toss with the 2 tbsps of sugar you have. Leave to the side as you mash the bananas in another bowl. If they are too hard, you can microwave them a little bit to soften. In a separate bowl, put your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together.


Step 3: Making the dough
Using a hand mixer, thoroughly mix the bananas, remaining sugar, milk, egg whites, vegetable oil (less fat than using butter), and vanilla extract. Once that is nice and smooth, add in the dry ingredients. You want to make sure that it all is very smooth because banana tends to make dough quite hard when cooked. I learned this with the first batch I made because it wasn't nearly as fluffy as muffins ought to be. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Step 4: Making the topping
You can actually make this at any point before baking the muffins. Mix your topping ingredients together roughly until large pieces appear.


Step 5: Finishing the dough
Once your dough has been mixed thoroughly, gently fold your strawberries into the batter. To fold, place about one third of the fruit in the middle of the dough and using a flat spatula, "fold" the dough over the fruit from the bottom over so as to help create air pockets for a fluffy finished product.


Step 6: Completing the muffins
Pour your batter into a greased muffin pan or a muffin pan with muffin cups. I learned that the more pieces of strawberries I had in a cup, the more holes there would be inside because the fruit made the dough mushy and expanded. This would result in collapsible muffins which aren't all too fun to try and eat. Avoid it! Be conscious of the dough-fruit ratio. After you have poured the batter, put on the toppings and pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes. To check when they are done, stick a toothpick through the middle of one; if it comes out clean, they are ready.