Make Ahead

Put the Lime in the Coconut Muffins

May 20, 2013
0
0 Ratings
  • Makes 16-18 regular-sized muffins, or 54 mini-muffins
Author Notes

There’s nothing complicated about this recipe, and nothing onerous about these ingredients. There is only the happy marriage of coconut, lime, and banana, each flavor in a supporting role. If you live somewhere as rainy and gray as New York is right now, I hope these muffins will put you in mind of a beachy, tropical cocktail. —Cristina Sciarra

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Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 1.5 cups golden sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 teaspoons lime zest
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 cup coconut cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • the juice of 1 lime
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 350F. Grease your muffin tins with softened butter, and then dust with flour.
  2. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the golden sugar for 2-3 minutes. (Use the beater attachments on an electric mixer. If you’re beating by hand, go a little longer. The idea is to thoroughly blend the sugar into aerated butter, to achieve a soft and lovely crumb.) In a small separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Slowly add them to the bowl with the sugar and butter, mixing as you go until incorporated.
  3. Meanwhile, unwrap the bananas from their peelings. Move them to a bowl or plate, and use a fork to mash them into mush. (It should be cathartic.) Add the bananas to the batter bowl, along with the coconut extract and the lime zest. Mix until just combined.
  4. Sift the flour together with the baking soda and the salt in a medium bowl. Then, alternately add the flour, the milk, and the coconut cream to the batter, until just combined.
  5. Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 of the way to the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes for the mini muffins, 25-30 minutes for the regular muffins. You are looking for a golden cake top, and for a knife to come out clean.
  6. Allow the muffins to cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze: whisk together the confectioner’s sugar with the lime juice, and 1-2 tablespoons of water. After 20 minutes, remove the muffins from the tins and use a spoon to drizzle glaze on top of each. Enjoy warm, or move the muffins to a sealed container where they will keep for up to 4 days.

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Cristina is a writer, cook, and day job real estate developer. She studied literature, holds an MFA in Fiction Writing, and completed the Basic Cuisine course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She lives in Jersey City with her husband--a Frenchman she met in Spain--and their sweet black cat, Minou. Follow her writings, recipes, publications and photography at theroamingkitchen.com.

3 Reviews

These look wonderful! What's golden sugar? Light brown sugar?
Cristina S. May 20, 2013
Thanks! Here is the golden sugar I use: http://www.indiatree.com/Detail_Page.php?Category=Baking&Subcategory=Baking_Sugars&Name=Golden_Bakers&ID=55&ID2=61. But you could just as easily use light brown sugar, or even white sugar!
Thanks so much!