Banana Kaya Muffins

I went clothes shopping again. Not that I am a clothes horse but because I have to. I am one of those women who do not enjoy shopping. Joyce left a comment on my previous post saying that she does not enjoy shopping for clothes and only does it when she needs to. Are we a rare species?

I went up to the women's department at Aeon and browsed for long pants. I found a section of pants. They looked quite nice and I scanned for one to try. And there it was, a gem in my eyes - XXL. Ah, I found another one in a different color. Might as well resign to the fact that I am no longer an M and no point picking up an L only to be insulted in the fitting room. I was in luck as there was a fitting room free right in front of me. Time for some tugging, pulling and heaving. No wonder I don't enjoy clothes shopping. As I pulled up the pants, I realized that the waistband was way too big. At least 2 inches bigger and there was some room around my thighs. Tis the season to be jolly! At least Aeon has the good sense to cater to aunties like me with ever expanding girths.

I went back out to get L and too bad there was only one in the color that I liked. Well, well, it fitted with about 1/2 inch extra room around my waist. I also grabbed another pair of pants know as Jeggings. I am a bit out of touch with fashion and the like and I can only guess that Jeggings is a hybrid of Jeans and Leggings. I tried it on but ughh!!! It clings to the body and made me look like a wrapped up "nangka" (jackfruit). That will not do! 

Just to sidetrack a bit, I was at another outlet earlier looking for long johns. I had bought a pair (size M) about four weeks ago and decided to get another one. The sales girl told me that they were all out of M and my only options were S or L. This was what she said to me verbatim "Ms ah, I think you take S because you are skinny". What? What? Say again? Skinny? I almost gave her a hug. Tis the season to be jolly indeed! No lah, I am far from skinny. My baggy T-shirt fools them all the time. Either that or what the sweet young thing meant to say was that I am not that big. So I settled for the L.

And this morning, I baked Banana Kaya Muffins. Which is not helping me in any way to get back to my pre-XXL heydays. But who cares. The muffins were delicious as bananas go very well with kaya (coconut jam). I used the original flavor kaya as I find that pandan kaya does not taste as good with bananas. But that's just me, you might like it. As with my previous muffin, I left out sugar as the overripe bananas are very sweet and so is the kaya.

Banana Kaya Muffins

Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

- 230 grams self-raising flour

- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

- 113g butter, melted

- 1 tub plain yogurt (135ml)
- 200g bananas, mashed
- extra sliced bananas for topping (optional)
Note : Sugar left out intentionally as bananas and kaya are sweet enough.

For filling :

- 12 teaspoons kaya (cold from fridge so that it is firm and easier to handle)

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 160C.

2. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

3. Sift flour into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

4. In another mixing bowl, add yogurt, butter, eggs and mashed bananas. Mix well.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour.

6. Using a spatula, gently mix the batter until just combined.

7. Half fill all the muffin liners.

8. Add a teaspoon of kaya into the middle of the batter.

9. Fill up the muffin liners with the remaining batter to cover kaya.
10. Top with sliced bananas (if using).

11. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean.

12. Let the muffins cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.