A chocolate-filled banana muffin is two things at once. The outside is a soft banana muffin with a fine crumb. The middle is a spoonful of ganache that stays gooey because you fill it after baking, not before.
That order matters. If you bake chocolate chips inside the batter, they sink and burn on the pan floor. Here the muffins bake plain, then you push a hole in each warm top and spoon in ganache made from semisweet chips and hot cream.
The bananas need to be nearly black. If yours are still yellow, bake them at 300F for 15 to 20 minutes first. That step is the difference between a muffin that tastes like banana and one that just tastes sweet.
Tips & Tricks
- Bake your bananas at 300F for 15 to 20 minutes if they aren't ripe yet. Let them cool fully before you mash them.
- Stop mixing the moment the flour disappears. Overmixing develops gluten and gives you a tough, tunneled muffin.
- Push the hole in each muffin while it's still warm. The crumb is soft then and won't crack.
- Chill the filled muffins for at least 1 hour. Warm ganache runs out the moment you bite.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Heat the oven
Set the oven to 300F (150C). Line a baking sheet with parchment if your bananas need ripening.
2. Ripen the bananas
Bananas not yet black? Bake them on the sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins darken almost completely. Don't push past that or they split and leak.
3. Cool and raise the heat
Let the bananas come to room temperature. Turn the oven up to 350F (180C).
4. Mash the bananas
Peel them into a large bowl and mash with a fork or hand mixer until mostly smooth. A few lumps are fine.
5. Beat in the wet ingredients
Add the egg, oil, sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until the mixture looks even.
6. Add the dry ingredients
Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat just until no dry streaks remain, then stop.
7. Fold in the sprinkles
Use a rubber spatula to turn the chocolate sprinkles through the batter gently.
8. Fill the pan
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray. Divide the batter evenly among the cups, about three quarters full each.
9. Bake
Bake 20 to 25 minutes. The tops should be lightly browned and a toothpick pushed into the middle should come out clean.
10. Make the ganache
Put the chocolate chips in a heatproof measuring cup. Pour the hot cream over them, wait 1 minute, then stir until smooth.
11. Hollow out the muffins
While the muffins are still warm, press a hole into the center of each one with the back of a wooden spoon. Let them cool to room temperature.
12. Fill with ganache
Spoon the ganache into each hole, filling it to the top.
13. Chill to set
Refrigerate at least 1 hour, until the centers firm up. Serve cold or at room temperature.
How to Store Chocolate-Filled Banana Muffins
Refrigerator
Keep in a sealed container in the fridge up to 4 days. The ganache stays set and the crumb stays moist.
Freezer
Freeze unfilled muffins up to 2 months. Thaw, warm slightly, then fill with fresh ganache. Filled muffins freeze poorly because the ganache weeps.
Reheating
15 to 20 seconds in the microwave brings back the soft center. Any longer and the ganache turns to liquid and runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do I need to chill the muffins after filling?
The ganache is liquid when you spoon it in. An hour in the fridge sets it so it stays in the middle instead of soaking into the crumb.
Q: Can I use chocolate chips instead of making ganache?
You can push chips into the warm holes, but they won't melt into that smooth center. The ganache is what gives the gooey result.
Q: My muffins came out dense. What went wrong?
Usually overmixing. Stir only until the flour disappears, then stop. Old baking powder can also flatten them.
Q: Do I have to ripen the bananas in the oven?
Only if they aren't already very ripe. Skip that step and the banana flavor is much weaker.
Q: How do I know the muffins are done?
A toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and the tops are lightly browned. Start checking at 20 minutes.
Chocolate-Filled Banana Muffins With Gooey Ganache
Soft banana muffins with a hidden pocket of silky chocolate ganache in the middle. Bake a dozen, chill them, and bite into a gooey center.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1Heat the oven — Set the oven to 300F (150C). Line a baking sheet with parchment if your bananas need ripening.
- 2Ripen the bananas — Bananas not yet black? Bake them on the sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins darken almost completely. Don't push past that or they split and leak.
- 3Cool and raise the heat — Let the bananas come to room temperature. Turn the oven up to 350F (180C).
- 4Mash the bananas — Peel them into a large bowl and mash with a fork or hand mixer until mostly smooth. A few lumps are fine.
- 5Beat in the wet ingredients — Add the egg, oil, sugar, milk and vanilla. Beat until the mixture looks even.
- 6Add the dry ingredients — Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat just until no dry streaks remain, then stop.
- 7Fold in the sprinkles — Use a rubber spatula to turn the chocolate sprinkles through the batter gently.
- 8Fill the pan — Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray. Divide the batter evenly among the cups, about three quarters full each.
- 9Bake — Bake 20 to 25 minutes. The tops should be lightly browned and a toothpick pushed into the middle should come out clean.
- 10Make the ganache — Put the chocolate chips in a heatproof measuring cup. Pour the hot cream over them, wait 1 minute, then stir until smooth.
- 11Hollow out the muffins — While the muffins are still warm, press a hole into the center of each one with the back of a wooden spoon. Let them cool to room temperature.
- 12Fill with ganache — Spoon the ganache into each hole, filling it to the top.
- 13Chill to set — Refrigerate at least 1 hour, until the centers firm up. Serve cold or at room temperature.
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