Monday 11 March 2013

Nutella Banana Muffins


Now, who was it who introduced me to this intoxicating chocolate spread? Oh yes, it was Jess who waxed lyrical about how addicted she is to Nutella. That was last year and at the time, I was still a Nutella virgin. And then there was Cathleen who made Nutella Swirl Banana Muffins. And I couldn't take it anymore. Nutella has been around for ages and I had not tasted it yet. Blame that on my less than perky sense of adventure. I mean I've seen jars and jars of Nutella on the supermarket shelves and yet it never occurred to me to pick at least a small tub to sample.


Maybe I couldn't accept the idea of having chocolate on my bread. Or hazelnuts for that matter. So I went over to 99 Speedmart and purchased a small 200g bottle for RM7.95. At home that evening, I placed the precious Nutella on the counter and didn't touch it until some 3 weeks later. How's that for enthusiasm? If there was a little blue pill for people with a flagging sense of adventure, I will be at the top of the prescription list.

Before baking.
What motivated me to finally open the jar was the expiry date. In another two months, I would have to toss the jar out. And there goes my RM7.95. Accountants don't like to waste money and I am very cost conscious (read prudent, not kiam siap/kedekut/stingy). I unscrewed the top, pulled off the protective flap and took a tentative sniff. MMMMmmmmm!!!!! I breathed in a waft of chocolate and hazelnuts and what a heavenly smell it was. Then I took a teaspoon and scooped some of the oooey gooey stuff and had my first taste of Nutella. Whoah! This is what I have been missing all these years! A revelation indeed. No wonder Jess got addicted.

Out of the oven.
A few days after that, I bought a loaf of bread, something I have not eaten for a long time. It was Gardenia's Wheatberry or something like that. The bread was fresh and soft and I had a few slices with Nutella. My God, when you haven't had your favorite carb for a long time and you pair that with Nutella, you are in BIG trouble. And right now in my pantry I have 2 big tubs of Nutella and a small one that's almost empty. The small one is almost empty not because I pigged out on it, but because I used it to bake these fantastic muffins.

Look at that! Banana+Nutella = Pahwah!
For my first Nutella bake, I settled on Cathleen's Nutella Swirl Muffins but I did not follow her recipe. I sort of adapted the recipe from my Banana Chocolate Chips and Mixed Berries Muffins which was of course adapted from Joy of Baking. This time instead of buttermilk, I used plain yogurt. I was very satisfied with the result as the muffins turned out very moist and fluffy. 


One heavenly bite. Just one :(
If you have been following my posts, you must be wondering, isn't she supposed to be on a low carb diet? Aren't muffins on the banned food list? If you look at the muffin up there, I took only one bite. OK, it was a big bite and I made my partner eat up the rest before I gave in to my Nutella bloodlust. And the rest of the muffins? They were given away to kith and kin. So no temptations in the house :)











Nutella Banana Muffins
Recipe Source : Inspired by A Taste of Madness and adapted from here
Makes 12 regular sized muffins

Ingredients :
- 230 grams self raisng flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinammon
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or any neutral tasting vegetable oil)
- 135ml plain yogurt
- 3 medium sized ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 generous teaspoons of Nutella

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 160C
2. Line muffin pans with paper liners
3. In a mixing bowl add sugar, ground cinnamon, eggs, grapeseed oil, yogurt, mashed bananas and vanilla extract. Stir to mix.
4. In another mixing bowl, sift flour and make a well in the centre.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and lightly fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
6. Scoop batter into lined muffins pans and top each muffin with a generous teaspoon of Nutella.
7. Using a butter knife, swirl the nutella in the batter.
8. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.


I always check my muffins at the 20 minute mark and test by inserting a toothpick into the center of the muffin. For this bake, my muffins were done at 21 minutes. I was very pleased with this batch of muffins and they received very good reviews. I am sure you will love them too :)

70 comments:

  1. Mmmm... looks so delicious! I also bookmarked this recipe from few of a bloggers that I wanted to make months ago. My doing list is getting longer and longer... hahaa

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    1. Ann, these muffins are very delicious! But bake at your own risk hah! hah!

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  2. Hi Phong Hong,
    Welcome to the world of "Nutella"! Hahaha! Since you are on a low-cal diet, don't know whether discovering Nutella is such a good idea after all! HAHAHAHA! But then you would not want to miss out on something this yummy!
    Your muffins looks so delicious and very moist! Love the nutella swirls in it! Perfectly baked! You are quite a baker! Come and join our Bake-Along one of these days, it would be great having you baking along with us! :)



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    1. Joyce, discovering Nutella is like being between the devil and the deep blue sea! Hah! Hah! I LOVE it! Food blogging is making dieting very challenging. I am motivated to try new recipes but at the same time I have to make sure I don't fall into temptation. Haiyah, what to do? Thanks for the invite, I have been quite keen on your Bake-Along but it's just that sometimes I am pressed for time. But we'll see, I will try to take part :)

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  3. It looks definitely very tempting, eat first then exercise, haha

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    1. Hah! Hah! I will take your advise, Sem! But most of the time after eating, I can't move. LOL!

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  4. Hi Phong Hong
    These banana muffins looks really yummy! And it is so moist in texture...I bet with the Nutella it taste superb yummy, right?

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    1. Mel, Nutella makes the banana muffins extra, extra yummy! Aiyo, I can't describe it!

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  5. Hi Phong Hong,

    Tell me all about your latest addiction... *head nodding* We are a big fan of Nutella too and it will great if you can distribute some of your Nutella goodies to Melbourne :D

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, yah air flown Nutella muffins hah! hah! Don't blame me if you put on weight hee..hee...

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  6. Phong Hong, shake hand shake hand, I have a bottle of Nutella at home, I think in australia,almost every family has one, haha! These days, I like to spread it on my strawberry, yum! So, can I try your Nutella Banana muffin now?

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    1. Jessie, please go ahead any try my muffins but don't blame me if you get addicted hah! hah! Wah, with strawberries? Must try, must try!

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  7. Hmm! these look super delicious and i have never tried using nutella for my bakes. hope you enjoyed these

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    1. Swasthi, I enjoyed them a lot! You should try it some day :)

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  8. Hi PH! How was the feeling of losing your Nutella virginity? Were your taste buds in orgasmic overdrive? LOL!

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    1. tsk..tsk..tsk..Mr Alvin See! Now, now, young man, that was a risque comment! Your auntie PH is blushing from ear to ear! LOL! I must say that Nutella should come with a warning label like cigarettes. Hah! Hah! I totally LOVED it! Best discovery ever!

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  9. This look super yum. have never tried baking with nutella.

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    1. Sabeena, do try these Nutella muffins. I guarantee you and your family will love it!

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  10. Nutella and bananas are a match made in heaven. These muffins look so good.

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    1. Mich, heaven indeed! These muffins tasted very good, if I had my way I would have eaten a few. LOL!

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  11. Haiya!!!!macamana ni.....tk boleh tahan rasa nk mkn muffin yg enak begini...tp Cm sedang kawal mkn....dagu dah ada 3 lapis...uwaaaaa.........

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    1. CM, dagu 3 lapis takpe. Orang Cina cakap kalau aga dagu maknanya ada "Ong"! Yang PH pulak dagu gitu-gitu je, tapi perut ada 3 lapis wahahahaha!!!

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  12. Hi Phong Hong, Nutella has always been our nutty spread for our bread until the price keeps escalating and my hubby says to switch to others. We ended up with jam. These muffins looks really tempting and lovely. I'll probably end up doing the same thing as you if I were to bake them, hehehe! Going for blood test soon, maybe I'll bake some after the blood has be drawn and before the results are out...

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    1. Kimmy, hee..hee...eat first and worry later :) Yah, it is quiet expensive so it is to be indulged once in a while. I should do a blood test too sometime this year. It is good to keep track of our health.

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  13. Wow! Baked all those delicious muffins and only get to eat a mouthful! Very good control indeed lol! I know I can't stop at one so I don't buy nutella at all haha!

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    1. Jeannie, your approach if very sensible - don't buy, don't eat hah! hah!

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  14. i was planning to do this coming week :) delicious one..

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  15. Aiyo PH, i feel your pain in reading this post LOL, such torture not to be able to dive in with abandon and eat till your heart's content isnt it! Those of us who have to constantly watch the waistline (like me) have to bake, eat one bite and gave the rest away sigh. But never mind, good things are meant to be shared rite? :). Your muffins look really good, i love nutella too, but dont buy them now since i learned to make my own chocolate nut sauce, so i will use that in place of nutella and try your recipe, hopefully this weekend :)

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    1. Oh Esther, a kindred spirit...someone who understand my pain hah! hah! Eh, if you can make your own chocolate nut sauce then you should bake these muffins. I am just too lazy to make my own choc nut sauce even though I have a grinder that can make peanut butter.

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  16. Now thats wat I say blissful indulgence

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    1. Vimitha, total bliss! You try it, ok?

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  17. Replies
    1. Ola, if you are still slim like in your photo, you can enjoy as many muffins as you like!

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  18. enjoy this muffin with a cup of coffee, sure very good!

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    1. Sonia, kopi-O kaw-kaw would be nice with the muffins!

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  19. Haha we love Nutella too, my kids always have it on bread. I bet they would love these Nutella muffins! (PS I have a large 880g jar at home LOL!!!)

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    1. Whoa, 880g jar! Then you must bake these muffins soon :)

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  20. Nutella plus banana... I like this muffin very much, thanks for shating

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  21. Simply irresistible, the combination sounds divine. Bravo for keeping the temptations at bay :)

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    1. Well, last weekend I baked another batch. And I ate 1 whole muffin. Hah! Hah! Hah!

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  22. Wow!!! Banana with nutella sounds perfect!!!! Bookmarked and thanks for sharing!!!!

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    1. Esther, I look forwards to seeing your muffins!

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  23. Nutella and banana sounds so good!!!!

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    1. Francesca, it is a perfect combination. You must try it!

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  24. Oooo...looks awesome. Hmmm...Melissa said something about baking a banana cake that day. Maybe she can try this.

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    1. I will be sharing a banana cake soon! Melissa can try these muffins, easy and delicious.

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  25. Phong Hong, I had quit my nutella crave leh and now is your turn lol. I still have 1 giant tub of nutella, better go and check the expiry date. I really must salute to you, you can resist only bite one mouth? Just by looking at your muffins, I already eaten 3 at least in my mind hahaha...

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    1. Jess, you quit ah? So, what are you going to do with your giant tub? Hee..hee...

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  26. Hi Phong...bump into yours from Love's & follow you here...I really like reading your profile...it's funny. How much something is your forty something?

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    1. Hi Mas! Eh, itu rahsia..hee...hee...Thanks for coming!

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  27. Replies
    1. Thank you, Lizzy! It sure is very yummy :)

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  28. haha! luckily that jar of nutella is going to expire, otherwise you got to throw it and buy another jar again dont know when and perhaps after that, no longer interested in nutella anymore. It's a good and yet dangerous to discover the deliciousness of nutella! Your muffins do look delicious and i think nutella sales is going to shoot up by the next few weeks! hey, are you sure you only taken one bite only? dont bluff la! LOL!

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    1. Lena, if I didn't try I would have missed out on a wonderful ingredient! But I must be careful not to give in to temptation. Eh, really lah one bite only. But when I baked it the following weekend, heh..heh...I ate one whole muffin :)

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  29. Looks delicious! We all love Nutella too. Over here, we can buy Jiff's brand of Hazelnut Chocolate spread for cheaper price.

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    1. We only have one brand here, so no choice :( The organic ones are even more expensive, like eating gold hah! hah!

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  30. These cakes look seriously lovely! The only problem with nutella is that they dry out so fast once opened !
    I am here to get myself excited about Malaysian food because I will be making a foodie trip to Kukup/Pontian with hubby.

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    1. Thank you! Have a nice trip and I am sure you and your hubby will enjoy the food very much. And do blog about it :)

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  31. hi PH..looks tempting! kena cuba ni.. :)

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    1. Mesti cuba, kalau tidak rugi! Hee..hee..

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  32. Aw, I'm so honored that my muffins inspired these! I'm sure they're equally as good. I mean, with Nutella you can't go wrong :)

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    1. Cathleen, thanks to you I made these muffins. They were really good!

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  33. oh wow...they look so yummylicious

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  34. Looks so yummy. does it very moist

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    1. Azie, it is very moist and sangat gebu!

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  35. Hi Phong Hong... YUM YUM.... your nutella muffin sure look delicious and fluffy. Great to go with hot coffee.

    Me and my children anytime we scoop and eat nutella from the jar. So usually I keep stock at home. :)

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    1. Amelia, I think it will go well with banana cake too. Must experiment!

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