When I was at university, my favorite breakfast was a giant muffin from the only café in our college town. This was back in the days before mega coffee shop chains took over, and this café had a real character—a mix of those trendy city coffee shops and a casual, welcoming charm. It was always busy, bustling with students heading to and from classes from early morning until late at night. These were also the pre-smartphone days, and it’s a shame I don’t have a single photo that captured the place.
This café was the kind of place I could have lived in. Tall glass cases filled with decadent cakes, cake stands lining up the countertop with muffins, coffee served in big, wide, thick cups and saucers, high-back chairs creating cozy nooks, and warm light streaming in even on the coldest of days (and it got really cold in upstate NY) from large windows facing the street.
But perhaps it’s for the best that I don’t have any photos. I can recreate the scenes and the times I spent there in my mind. There’s something comforting about revisiting warm memories like these; our recollections are often idealized, painting moments we enjoyed deeply even sweeter in our minds. Our memories are not as reliable as we think. But maybe that’s the point—those idealized memories are what keep us going, don’t you think?
Even though those memories are fading with time, I’ve created a muffin recipe that captures their essence. Thirty years later, my eating habits have shifted from wheat-based to mostly gluten-free, but the essence I seek in baking remains the same: that warmth you feel when you take a bite of a freshly baked treats. It’s cozy, comforting, and satisfying. Plus, this version of muffin is packed with flavorful flours like almond and oatmeal, uses less sugar and butter than conventional recipes, and is packed with fruits and yogurt, making it a perfect choice for breakfast, lunch, or a snack anytime. You can even take it on a picnic because it’s as delicious cold as it is warm.
This muffin combines three popular flavors into one: banana, oatmeal, and blueberry. The melt-in-your-mouth texture comes from oat flour, which you can buy pre-ground or easily make yourself in a high-speed blender or food processor.
Banana Oatmeal Muffin
Ingredients: Makes 6
1 small ripe banana, mashed (about 80g)
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup oil
1 cup blueberries
optional: 1 TBS butter for brushing and nutmeg sugar mixture for sprinkling
Instructions:
- Line each cup of your muffin pan with a liner. Preheat the oven to 180°C (or 350°F).
- Thoroughly mash banana in a bowl, to a puree like smoothness. Set aside. In a separate bowl, sift oat flour, almond flour, white rice flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. While sifting isn’t always necessary in gluten-free baking, it helps to achieve smooth consistency and delicate texture, especially w oat flour, which tends to collect moisture and may become lumpy.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg, add sugar, and mix thoroughly. Directly measure honey into the mixture. Add yogurt, mashed banana and oil, making sure that each addition is well mixed.
- Set aside about 2 tsp of the flour mixture. Add the remaining flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Reserve a few blueberries for topping; this step isn’t essential, but it adds a decorative touch as blueberries tend to sink during baking. Take the flour you set aside and mix it with the remaining blueberries. Make sure that each berry is coated; this helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom. Gently fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter.
- Divide batter evenly into muffin cups. Place the reserved blueberries on top of each muffin.
- Bake at 180°C (or 350°F) for about 18-20 minutes.
- If you like, melt butter, brush each muffin (don’t dunk!), and sprinkle nutmeg and sugar mixture. Berries and nutmeg are a perfect pairing, so definitely give it try if you like nutmeg.
人気マフィン３種（バナナ、オートミール、ブルーベリー）がひとつになりました。しっとりと風味豊かなマフィンです。
バナナオートミールマフィン（ブルーベリー入り）
マフィン６個分
A 粉類
オートミール粉 50g
アーモンドパウダー25g
米粉 25g
シナモン 小さじ½
塩 ひとつまみ
重曹 小さじ½
B
卵１個
きび砂糖20g
はちみつ10g
プレーンヨーグルト 50g
太白ごま油（米油）25g
バナナ（完熟をよくつぶしておく）80g
ブルーベリー 80g
C
仕上げ用溶かしバター 適量
砂糖、ナツメグ 各少々
- マフィン型にグラシンカップを敷いておく。オーブンは180°Cに予熱。
- 完熟のバナナはかたまりが残らないようにフォークで潰してピューレ状にする。
- 別のボウルにオートミール粉、アーモンドパウダー、米粉、シナモン、塩、重曹をふるいながら混ぜ入れる。
- さらに別のボウルに卵を割りほぐし、砂糖を加えて砂糖の粒が感じられなくなるまですり混ぜる。
- ハチミツを直接生地に計り入れ、ヨーグルトとバナナピューレ、オイルも加えて均一になるまでよく混ぜる。
- 粉類を小さじ2ほど取り分けておく。残りの粉を生地に加えてよく混ぜる。
- トッピング用に数個のブルーベリーを取りおき、残りのブルーベリーに取り分けた粉類をまぶしてから生地に加え、ゴムベラでやさしく混ぜ合わせる。
- 準備した型に生地を均等に入れ、トッピング用のブルーベリーをバランスよくのせたらすぐに予熱したオーブンに入れる。
- 180℃で10分、170℃に下げてさらに8-10分、きれいな焼き色がつくまで焼く。
- ラックに取り出し、仕上げに少量の溶かしバターを塗り、ナツメグと砂糖を混ぜてまぶす。
メモ
＊通常、グルテンフリーのお菓子作りでは粉をふるわなくても良い場合が多いのですが、オートミールの粉は塊ができやすいのでふるったほうが口どけの良い生地になります。
＊ブルーベリーに粉をまぶすのは、生地の底に沈むのを防ぐため。
＊ブルーベリーは沈みがちなので最後に載せることで見栄えよくします。
＊ベリーとナツメグはお互いを引き立てる最高の組み合わせです。
photos: Chie Uno
Kana's Place 