Banana Walnut Muffins

Hey Folks!

Its a raining outside and I have a day to myself, so here comes a new muffin recipe which I made for Urmila and Jahnu Best's breakfast yesterday. These muffins are delightfully soft and fluffy especially considering that they are made with sprouted wholewheat flours. :-) Dhanvantari gave these a rave review, and since he is a picky eater I take that as the highest compliment! :-)

Ingredients:
Approx 2 cups almond meal (Trader Joe's)
Approx 3 1/2 cups sprouted wheat pancake and waffle mix (Arrowhead Mills)
2 heaped tsp baking powder
A pinch of sea salt
Approx 1 cup walnut pieces
Approx 1/2 cup orange flavored cranberries (Trader Joe's)
Zest of 1 big lemon

Mix all the above ingredients and set aside.

Juice of 1 big lemon
3/4 cup safflower oil
1 1/4 cup maple syrup
1 TBSP double cream
1 TBSP vanilla essence
2 banana's

Blend the above ingredients til smooth and mix with dry ingredients. Add approx 1/4 cup water to make a thick foamy batter. Spoon generously into lightly oil muffin trays, sprinkle with a dash of raw turbinado sugar and bake in a pre-heated oven at at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for approx 30 mins, or til dark golden and the indent springs back when you press muffin top lightly with your finger.

Allow to cool to room temperature or so. These muffins are soft and crumbly so removing them from the tray intact is a little challenging - and since I intended to open them up and fill them with a whipped cream cheese anyway - after a few unsuccessful attempts I didn't bother fighting the muffin tray anymore. I just carefully cut the muffin tops off level with the tray top - but be gentle to avoid breaking them - and set aside. Use a knife to loosen the edges and ease the muffin bases out of the tray.

Arrange muffin bases on a plate and dab a generous TBSP of whipped cream cheese on top. (See below. If you want them sweeter you can add a tsp of strawberry jelly on top of the cream cheese). Gently place muffin tops back over the filled the bases.

Voila! Your royal muffins are ready! :-) Delicious served with a side of fresh fruit and hot barley cup or herbal tea.

BTW, these muffins are also great plain if you don't want to use cream cheese! :-)

Filling:
1/2 pkg cream cheese
Approx 3-4 TBSP sour cream

I blended the above with a magic stick til smooth.

Optional additional ingredient: Strawberry jelly (jam) mixed til runny