Oven Marvelremembered

Banana walnut muffins in the spirit of the shop

Before it was Oven Marvel, the shop was called Delicious Muffins. Banana Walnut was one of the flavours reviewers named. Here is a muffin with the crisp top and moist inside they described.

Makes
12 muffins
Hands-on
20 min
Oven or stove
23 min
Start to finish
55 min

Written by the home baker behind ovenmarvel.comPublished Updated

A banana walnut muffin with a crisp, nut-studded top beside two chocolate muffins on a cooling rack
not itit!
7/10 closeness to memory, my gut, not a measurement

Quick answer

For crisp-topped banana walnut muffins, mash very ripe bananas, mix with melted butter, brown sugar, egg and milk, then fold in flour, baking soda and baking powder until just combined with chopped walnuts. Fill the cases to the top, scatter more walnuts and sugar, and bake at 200 C for 5 minutes, then 180 C for 15 to 18 minutes.

Home recreation This is my own attempt, guided by published descriptions of the shop's pies. Oven Marvel never published its recipe. It is one of my Oven Marvel recipe recreations, and the recreation log shows how each one got here.

The recipe

Ingredients

Wet

Dry

Topping

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200 C (fan 180 C). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

  2. Mash the bananas well with a fork, leaving a few small lumps. Whisk in the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, milk and vanilla.

  3. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Tip into the wet mixture with the walnuts and fold with a spatula until there are no dry streaks and no more. Lumps are fine; overmixing makes muffins tough and peaked.

  4. Divide the batter between the cases, filling them right to the top. Scatter over the extra walnuts and the demerara sugar.

  5. Bake at 200 C for 5 minutes to set a domed, crisp top, then lower the oven to 180 C (fan 160 C) without opening the door.

  6. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes more, until risen, deep golden and a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

  7. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then move to a rack. The tops are crispest in the first hour.

Why is there a muffin recipe on a chicken pie site?

Because the shop began as a muffin shop. In January 2009 it traded as Delicious Muffins (ieatishootipost, 2009), and muffins stayed on the menu right to the end, alongside the pies and curry puffs. Reviewers between 2018 and 2020 named Banana Walnut, Apple Raisin, Orange Peel, Choco’Wanna and Double Chocolate Chip (Burpple), at roughly S$2.20 to S$2.80 each (SETHLUI.com, 2020). They described the muffins as baked fresh, crisp on top and moist inside (Burpple). That description is what this recipe is built to deliver. The recipe itself is mine.

How do I get a crisp, domed top?

Three things, all standard bakery tricks.

  1. A hot start. Five minutes at 200 C makes the outside of the batter set and rise fast, forming a dome before the inside catches up. Then the oven drops to 180 C to bake through without burning.
  2. Full cases. Fill each case to the brim. A half-filled case gives a flat muffin with no room to dome.
  3. A sugar crust. Demerara sugar scattered on top caramelises into a thin, crackly shell.

Why melted butter, not creamed?

Melted butter gives a denser, moister crumb, closer to a bakery banana muffin, and it means the whole thing takes one bowl and a fork. Creaming butter and sugar gives a lighter, more cake-like muffin. Both are good. For the moist inside that reviewers mention, melted wins.

How ripe should the bananas be?

Very. Heavily speckled, nearly black skins, soft inside. Ripe bananas are sweeter and more fragrant, and they make a moister muffin. In Singapore, bananas ripen fast on the counter; a bunch bought green on Monday is often perfect by Friday. Overripe bananas freeze well in their skins; thaw them in a bowl, as they release liquid, and use the liquid too.

How should I store them?

Muffins hate a humid fridge, so do not refrigerate them unless your kitchen is very hot. Cool completely, keep in a container lined with kitchen paper at room temperature, and eat within two days. They freeze well for up to two months; reheat from frozen in a 170 C oven or toaster oven for 8 to 10 minutes to bring the top back to crisp.

Can I make the apple raisin version?

Yes. Apple Raisin was another of the shop’s named flavours. Replace the bananas with 200 g of coarsely grated apple (skin on) plus 60 g of extra milk, swap the walnuts for 90 g of raisins, and include the cinnamon. The batter will be a little looser; bake for the longer end of the time.

For the shop’s other favourite, see the double chocolate chip muffins. For the story of the name, see the curry puff and the muffins.

Questions people ask

Is this Oven Marvel's muffin recipe?

No. The shop's recipes were never published. Reviewers named Banana Walnut as one of its flavours and described the muffins as having a crisp top and a moist inside. This recipe aims for that texture.

How do I keep muffins from going soggy in Singapore humidity?

Cool them completely on a rack before storing, then keep them in a container lined with kitchen paper. Eat within two days, or freeze them. A few minutes in a hot toaster oven brings the top back.

Can I make apple raisin muffins with this recipe?

Yes. Replace the bananas with 200 g grated apple plus 60 g extra milk, and the walnuts with 90 g raisins. Add the cinnamon.

Sources for this page

  1. Oven Marvel (formerly Delicious Muffins): hotel quality homemade puff pastryieatishootipost (Leslie Tay). First posted 11 January 2009, updated 20 March 2015.
  2. Oven Marvel at Sunshine Plaza: reviewsBurpple. Reviews dated 2014 to 2021.
  3. Oven Marvel: chicken pies at Sunshine PlazaSETHLUI.com. Updated 21 April 2020.

Every source we used, with notes on what each one says: sources and further reading.

More from the recreation kitchen