Battling the Banana Bread Pandemic With an Allergy-Proof Muffin

Dorset – Never mind the obvious, and much more serious, impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic, social media users across the world are now having to deal with something more insidious and more delicious: A banana bread pandemic. 

From Munich to Morocco, banana bread is infiltrating the lives of millions of home-bound bakers. The flood of flourless, eggless, vegan, gluten-free, sustainable, inedible variants of the delicacy is impossible to ignore. How could I not accept the challenge?

Unfortunately for me, banana bread baking is a much more complicated and dangerous activity than it appears on Instagram. Faced with a one-year-old who cannot eat eggs, a sister with a gluten allergy, and a brother-in-law whom an almond flake could kill, the banana bread situation just got serious. 

For weeks, between nappy changing, battles with edible paint, and trying to finally finish that episode on Netflix, I tried, and failed, to find the solution to my predicament. Countless bananas, numerous bags of gluten-free flour, and several bottles of washing up liquid all had to be sacrificed to the cause. 

Finally, to the relief of my father who flatly refused to wash up another bread tin, after several disastrous experiments with chia seeds, flax seeds, extra bananas, yoghurt, and almost every other ingredient available in our local supermarket, I found the answer: A banana bread muffin.

So, if you too are battling against the banana bread pandemic, or simply want to try out a new recipe, follow these simple instructions for an allergy-proof banana muffin that the whole family can enjoy (or hide in their bibs).

First, you will need:

A muffin tray with 12 muffin cases

2 cups of gluten-free self-raising flour (it works with wheat flour too)

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of xanthum gum

4 large bananas

½ teaspoon of cinnamon

½ cup of melted coconut oil

Ready to start?

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
2. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or a heavy bottomed pan; then add it to a food processor with the bananas. Mix until completely blended.
3. Add all of the dry ingredients to the banana and oil smoothie.
4. Mix together with a spoon or in your food processor.
5. Spoon the mixture into 12 muffin cases.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing the muffins from the tray.