These muffins are full of banana flavor with a soft custard center. They are one of the few recipes I’ve invented in my life, and the result of a lot of trial and error.

Makes 9-12

For the custard:
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. all-purpose (plain) flour
1 1/4 cups heavy (double) cream
4 egg yolks
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the muffins:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 small banana, halved lengthwise and sliced
1-2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large bananas, mashed well with a fork
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp. vanilla

For the garnish:
12 large and round banana chips

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C degrees. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin.

Whisk together sugar and flour in heavy saucepan, then whisk in remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When bubbles appear, keep stirring until mixture gets very thick. (Don’t worry if it gets lumpy.) Remove from heat and whisk occasionally while you make the muffins.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, banana pieces, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, cooled melted butter, and vanilla. With a wooden spoon, gently mix this mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring only until just combined. Do not overmix. Batter will be thick and chunky.

Spoon a little bit of batter into the tins. If you want 12 muffins, spoon in only a tablespoon or two. If you want 9 muffins with muffin tops, fill the cups about halfway.

Gently spoon about a tablespoon of custard into each muffin, then fill tins with remaining batter. (Tip: When filling with the remaining batter, start by dripping a circle of batter around the custard to prevent the custard from seeping to the sides. You want it to stay in one big dollop in the center. Then cover with the rest of the batter.)

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are a nice golden brown. Immediately after removing them from the oven, gently but quickly insert a banana chip upright in one of the cracks of the muffin. Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.