Blueberry Banana and Cream

Usually my mind is whirling with a million seems-so-brilliant ideas, and I’m brimming with inspiration to put them into action. 

And yet, there are those times when no matter how much I scout around, inspiration is elusive. Today is one such day, unfortunately.

Not even the promise of rain gets me in the mood. There’s this impending sense of loom I’m not able to shake away. My gut feeling tells me to pause, slow down the pace, take it down a notch.

Instead of spending too much time worrying, I’m going to breeze through this post, in between mugs of freshly brewed tea and sweet moments of repose.

Last week when it started to drizzle, I gave in to the urge to bake. Alas, the rain subsided even before I decided on a recipe. But, I was happy to finally embrace this fleeting and wonderful wet season.

With thoughts still lingering on overcast skies and evening walks in rain, I went ahead and made these delectable blueberry banana cream cupcakes.

The berry banana cake turned out amazingly good, not only by virtue of its look and ease, but the perfect moist texture and delicious taste. Compared to bakery versions, these cupcakes are definitely healthier, ready in less than an hour, and are really good even without the topping. In fact, I prefer cakes without any fancy frosting—to go with a cup of strong tea for breakfast or teatime. Topped with sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries, they are the perfect little treats for dessert.

Blueberry pairs perfectly with banana, and I was glad to make use of the bananas that were languishing in the fruit basket as they were too ripe to eat. Now when it comes to food, I’m particular about the presentation and design as much as the nutrition and taste. I baked a few cakes in these cute bake and serve silicone teacupcake moulds to the utter delight of my kids who gobbled them up in minutes.

The house smelled divine and kids form the neighborhood who popped in to say hello were curious to know what was cooking. A few of them even watched me play around with the food and click few shots.

And so, without further ado, here’s the recipe.

Blueberry Banana and Cream

Adapted from Marks & Spenser Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 12

Prep + cooking: 45 min

125g butter

½ cup (125ml) milk

2 eggs

1 cup (220g) caster sugar

1 large overripe banana (230g), mashed (I used 1 ½ medium bananas)

1 ½ cups (225g) self-raising flour

½ cup (75g) fresh blueberries

Topping

1 cup (240ml) whipping cream

½ cup (75g) fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon icing sugar

20 g vanilla powder ( I used al alali)

icing sugar, extra, for dusting

Directions

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan-assisted, and line 18 holes of two 12-hole muffin tins with paper muffin cases.

Sift the flour twice; set aside.

Stir butter and milk in small saucepan over low heat until butter melts; cool. Alternatively microwave butter and milk on high power for a couple of minutes until butter melts; stir to combine.

Beat eggs in small bowl with electric mixture until thick and creamy, this will take a couple of minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating until dissolved between additions. Stir in banana. Fold in sifted flour and butter mixture, in two batches. Divide mixture among paper cases, allowing room for them to rise.

Bake 10 minutes. Remove pans from oven; press blueberries into tops of cakes. Bake further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into cake comes out clean. Turn cakes onto wire racks to cool. Cool completely before you frost them.

While the cupcakes are cooking, prepare the cream topping, if using.

Whip cream; stir in icing sugar and vanilla powder. Top each cake with generous spoonfuls of sweetened whipped cream. Place blueberries on cream. Dust cakes with finely sifted icing sugar.

And now it’s time to enjoy this fruity, moist treat with a cup of tea, or glass of milk.

Happy Wednesday! Hope you have a perfectly beautiful week enjoying every single moment of this beautiful season before it fades away.

And oh, don't forget to check out the updated pictures of my old posts, strawberry rice pudding and mango sip.