Eggless whole wheat banana muffins

I have been postponing to make banana based muffins for a long time for the simple reason that I don't like bananas. I thought its high time that I overcome this feeling. So I baked these healthy muffins following Stephanie's recipe and replacing eggs with apple sauce along with a couple of changes to the original recipe.. I actually need not have used apple sauce as banana itself is supposed to be an egg substitute.. I could have just increased the quantity of banana. As there was one apple lying in the fridge for so many days unattended, I used it in the recipe by converting it into an apple sauce.The muffins tasted better than I expected. In fact, it tasted very nice and the texture was very soft too with walnuts here and there while chewing....There was no raw wheat smell this time. The taste was a bit cinnamony as I added it a bit more in an attempt to remove raw wheat flour smell. Overall the muffins came out very good and it made for a healthy, filling breakfast..The breaking news is, my son too ate one whole muffin..Its kind of a record.. :-)

Ingredients to make 15 medium sized muffins

Whole Wheat flour: 2 cups(I used ashirvad aata)
Mashed Ripe Banana: 1 cup(Original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups.)
Baking Powder: 1 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda: 1/4 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Ground Cinnamon: 1/4 tsp(I added a bit more than 1/4th tsp)
Apple sauce: 1/2 cup(peel, deseed and chop the apples, microwave it for 8 minutes by adding some water, cool it and mash it in a mixer.)
Golden Syrup: 1/2 cup(Original recipe calls for maple syrup and I didn't have it.)
Brown Sugar/Demerra Powder: 1/2 cup(I powdered it in a mixer)
Milk: 1/3 cup(I used Nandini brand)
Refined Oil: 1/4 cup(I used Sunflower brand, original recipe calls for canola oil)
Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp
Almond Essence: 1 tsp(optional)
Chopped Walnuts: 1/4 cup(Original recipe calls for 3/4th cup)

Procedure

1. Pre heat oven to 180 degree C.
2. In a big bowl, mix all the dry ingredients except for sugar and sieve once.
3. In another bowl, combine the mashed bananas, apple sauce, golden syrup, brown sugar, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and fold lightly until the mixture is thick. I did this with the plastic spoon that comes with mixer. After folding, some wheat flour was lying without getting mixed, so I added 2 tbsp of milk and combined.(Do not over mix, otherwise it will result in a hard muffin)
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. I filled the batter in muffin liners almost till the top.
6. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Allow it to cool and serve either as it is or by frosting with whipped cream. I had mine with dark chocolate frosting that was left after using it in the eggless whole wheat cake.

Verdict: Everything about this muffin was good. I think, it would have enhanced the flavour if I had added maple syrup instead of golden syrup. Overall a must try recipe.

Note: I pureed one big apple which gave more than 1/2 cup of apple sauce. I guess, just 1/2 an apple is enough to get 1/2 cup apple sauce. It would be better to add 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana(as per the original recipe) instead of just 1 cup. Also, I think any variety of banana is OK as long as it is fully ripened. For the apple sauce, if microwave is not there, the chopped apple can be cooked in gas stove, until the apple becomes soft.

This is my second entry to Madhuram's Whole grain(Eggless) baking event.