Glazed Banana Streusel Muffins
Soft, fluffy, and jam-packed with banana flavor, these Banana Streusel Muffins are the definition of delicious! These sweet little muffins feature a moist and flavorful batter that is incredibly easy and quick to make! The batter is then topped with a crumbly, buttery streusel topping that is melt-in-your-mouth good! The final Banana Streusel Muffin is drizzled lightly with a quick powdered-sugar glaze!
Tall Muffin Tops
The purpose of placing the Banana Streusel Muffins into a higher temperature oven and baking for 5 minutes, and then turning down the heat, is that it creates a taller muffin top without overcooking them. By placing the Banana Streusel Muffins in a super hot oven, the muffins rapidly rise up, creating a taller muffin. However, if we baked the Banana Streusel Muffins at this temperature the entire time, the bottoms and tops would likely burn before the insides were properly cooked – therefore the oven temperature is reduced to prevent burning and uneven baking.
HOLD THE GLUTEN, PLEASE
In making these Banana Streusel Muffins you do not want to overmix as you do not want to overwork the gluten either, because who wants a chewy muffin! Gluten in flour is activated by the presence of water, and strengthened by physical agitation. This is why you knead bread dough! While gluten development is important in some foods, in something like muffins, you want the gluten development to be absolutely minimal, ensuring a tender, soft muffin! So when adding the wet ingredients to the dry, it is crucial to only mix the batter until it just becomes smooth!
Making the Banana Streusel Muffins
1.Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
2. Whisk together the wet ingredients: In a separate large bowl or large measuring cup, add the eggs, sugar, oil, melted butter, mashed bananas, and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients together until they are well-combined and smooth.
3. Add wet to dry: Pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix the batter together until it smooth and well-combined, but be careful not to overmix!
4. Top with streusel and bake: Evenly distribute the batter into the cupcake pans, then sprinkle each muffin with streusel, then place into the oven to bake. Be sure to turn your oven down after 5 minutes!
HOW RIPE SHOULD THE BANANAS BE?
It is crucial in this Banana Streusel Muffins recipe, along with all other banana-based baked goods, that you use overripe bananas – they should actually be verging on black! Why you ask? Well because the texture is better and they are sweeter! The ripening process for bananas turns the starch molecules into sugar molecules, and the results of this are twofold. Most apparent, is that the bananas become significantly sweeter, but the breaking down of the starch structures also cause the banana to become softer and mushier, which is needed to achieve the right texture for your Banana Streusel Muffins!
Don’t have overripe bananas? Well, really, the only way to ripen them quickly is to put them in a brown bag and let them sit. The brown bag allows moisture to escape, while still trapping the ethylene gas in the bag, leading to faster ripening. This should quicken the ripening process by a day or two. Some people suggest that you can put the bananas in the freezer to ripen quickly, but sadly, this doesn’t work. Freezing the bananas will actually completely stop the ripening process in its tracks! Definitely not what you want. As well, some suggest that baking the banana in the oven until the peel turns black will also result in properly ripe bananas, but this doesn’t work either. Baking the bananas will get you the proper texture (mushy), but the process of baking does not turn the starch molecules into sugar, and as such you will not have the proper sweetness or flavor. So, sadly, there is no quick fix for unripe bananas, you must just sit and wait.
What is Streusel?
A streusel topping is a pastry topping that is made from sugar, flour, and butter! Other spices, such as cinnamon for example, can be added to enhance flavor, but at it’s core essence, a good streusel only needs those 3 main ingredients. Streusel toppings are slightly crunchy, buttery, and sweet in flavor. If you’ve never enjoyed a cake with streusel, then boy are you in for a treat! I actually prefer streusel toppings to frosting most of the time, as they add just the right amount of sweetness to the cake, without being overbearing!
Making the Streusel for these Banana muffins is a piece of cake! Simply throw the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl and whisk together to combine. Then pour the melted butter over top and mix well with a fork until the mixture resembles wet-sand – easy peasy!
Get the Recipe: Glazed Banana Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup (60g) All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 6 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter,, melted
Banana Muffins
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter,, melted
- 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla
- 3 Overripe Bananas,, mashed smooth
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- Dash of Nutmeg
Simple Glaze
- 1 ½ cups Confectioners Sugar
- 5 tbsp Heavy Cream
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- In a medium mixing bowl, add brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- Pour the melted butter into the dry mixture and mix with a fork until well combined, and the mixture resembles sand. Set aside.
Banana Muffins
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare a cupcake tin with liners.
- Meanwhile, add the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk mashed bananas, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl, and beat with a whisk until it has formed a smooth consistency.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined, then add this dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon, until combined, ensuring not to over mix.
- Evenly disperse the batter into the cupcake liners, then sprinkle the streusel topping on top of each muffin. Place into the 425°F oven, bake for 5 minutes, and then turn the oven temperature down to 350°F, and bake for an additional 16 minutes. Allow muffins to cool completely before glazing.
Simple Glaze
- Add both ingredients into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Lightly drizzle over each muffin.
