Metropolis Chapter 42 - AND - Mini-Banana Muffins!!!!

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A Nice Treat for a Kid with Allergies - Mini Banana Muffins

So here I go again diverting from my usual topic of comics and Sci-Fi.  Sorry.  I felt like I really had to share this.

Max has some allergies.  Not a lot, but he can't have eggs, milk, apples or strawberries.  That doesn't sound like much be it can be very hard to find food he likes without at least one of these.

For example: he loves loved President's Choice Organic Cereal bars.  He can no longer have them.

We used to make him these cute little banana muffins.  But we had to stop because there was egg in the recipe.  (I got the recipe from my friend Carmel)  I really liked these muffins because we controlled what went into them.  I really loved that they used maple syrup to sweeten them instead of sugar.

I found a way to modify the recipe so Max could still eat them.  In fact, they came out even better than normal.  The magic substitute: dessert tofu!

I use Sunrise Dessert tofu.  It comes in a variety of flavours including plain.  I've tried it with their banana flavour and the maple carmel flavour.  The former just adds to the banana flavour of the muffins.  The latter is good too but the muffins comes out the slightest bit sweeter.

You can see for yourself that it's a pretty healthy ingredient list.  You can try mixing the ratios of all-purpose and whole wheat flours.  I use margarine because Max and my wife can eat dairy, but you could use butter if you prefer.

Here's the recipe for the all-together-not-wholly-egregious, allergy-friendly mini-banana muffins for kids and dads and moms:

Dry
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cinnamon
1/4 tsp of salt

Wet
1 and 1/4 cup ripe bananas (about 2 or 3 bananas)
1/3 cup of maple syrup
2 tblsp of melted margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg of dessert tofu

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Mix all the wet ingredients together.  (I drain the water out of the dessert tofu but not completely.  It's OK to let some into the mix.)
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
4. Combine the wet and dry.
5. Spoon the batter into your mini-muffin tin.  Careful how much.  These things puff up large.  (Spray them with non-stick spray if necessary.  I do.)
6. Bake for 14-16 minutes.  (Leave them a touch longer if you like a slight crispiness to the outside.  I do.)
7. Let them cool.

I don't know how long to leave them in the oven if you are doing full sized muffins.

Good luck.

Enjoy.

UPDATE (9/7/14): After you combine the wet and dry ingredients, let is sit for about an hour in the fridge.  The muffins come out less spongy; if you like them that way.  I don't know yet what happens if you leave it for longer.  I'm tempted to see what happens if you leave it over night.