I have just made Nigella's banans muffins and they were a disaster....

[MarthaFarquhar]

...there was not enough mix to make the suggested amount, they were practically burnt after less than the suggested cooking time, and frankly a bit "meh" even after the burnt bit have been removed. I am far from a novice baker, so thought a recipe designed for children would be well within my powers, but I have failed.

anyway, I now really, really want to bake something nice and banana-y. Does anyone have a good recipe that might prove a bit more reliable.

Ta!

Funny how recipes work differently for different people isn't it? I disowned Delia after making the flatest, least squodgy brownies ever with her recipe, and have almost never failed with a Nigella cake recipe! I haven't made the apple and walnut as not keen on walnuts, but have made the original Torta di Mele from Anna del Conte, on which the other recipe is based, and love it!

Did make her banana bread, actually, and it was horrible, but I'm just not sure I like banana bread at all! Seem to recall DH ate it.

Nigella's chocolate brownies recipe works for me every time. I did make a dessert of hers for Christmas lunch a couple of years ago and it was a complete disaster. I agree about Gary Rhodes recipes although his smugness annoys me when he is on television.

I hate Gary Rhodes so much that I can't bring myself to use any of his recipes

Cyteen! Ditto!

I hate Gary Rhodes too, but his warm chocolate cake and chocolate treacle sandwich cake are yummy.

I've heard bad things about those muffins from friends...just a crap recipe?

In her defence, though, I've made her rhubarb-polenta cake several times and it always turns out great, and is a favourite here.

Oh I so agree about Nigella - I love the glossy books and beautiful people in them but her recipes NEVER NEVER work for me. Ditto Delia, A fab book for muffins is called Muffins, Simply Delicious by Susan Reimer. Loads of ideas, book is about a fiver and they work every time

Sorry, meant ditto that Delia is reliable not that her recipes don't work!!

Well I love Nigella. Have never had a disaster with any of her recipes. I have had several of Delia's recipes end up in the bin.

thanks for all the recipes. we are now eating a home made Victoria sandwich whilst I stare at the bananas and wait for them to ripen enough for more baking.

Nigella's pear and ginger muffins (from Nigella Express) are fab and work every time for me - tried her banana ones and they were a disaster.

The best banana bread/cake I have ever made I got off the interweb and goes as follows:

Makes 1 huge loaf or 3 1lb loaves.

Preheat the oven to 180c

Ingredients #1
4-5 tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 eggs
2-3 very ripe bananas
1 cup natural yoghurt (I use greek yog as that's what I tend to have in)
2 3rds cup sugar

Use a fork/potato masher to squidge the bananas into goo. Add the other ingredients and mix together.

Ingredients #2
2 cups plain flour
0.75 tsp salt
0.5 tsp bicarb
0.25 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp cinnamon

In a separate bowl mix together these ingredients. Combine wet & dry ingredients and mix until blended

Ingredients #3
1 cup chocolate buttons

Add any extras you fancy at this point, like choc buttons, glace cherries, chopped nuts etc. I like it with choccy buttons.

If using 3 small loaf tins, bake for 30 mins. If using 1 large tin (think roasting pan), bake for 50 mins.

Utterly wonderful, moist and lush. A very thin drizzle of water icing on top if you have a sweet tooth is also nice

Just wanted to add I made the Nigella banana muffins & they were also a disaster, they were awful! Also flapjacks must be error in the ingr's as not enough moisture in them thay turn out crumbley! I have made the snickers muffins & they are delish! but also made a chocolate cake of hers that turned out a disaster too and I am a fan of hers but I do have success everytime with Delia.

I love Nigella I've never had a disaster with anything from Domestic Goddess.

If you have a look at Nigella's website they have a list of all the corrected mistakes in the recipes so that the amounts are correct. This might help.

definitive muffin book

Mary Berry - definitive source for all other cake recipes

(that said, I do like some of nigella's recipes, especially the butter biscuits which work well with fancy shapes)

stealthsquiggle, that first one is the book I have and it is wonderful. Works every time.

A warning to anyone considering making Nigella's Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding - don't. I made it a few weeks ago, and it was a pretty much inedible, soggy lump. Even DP couldn't eat much, and that's really saying something. Having looked through the blogosphere, quite a few others agree that it was a sugary, damp mess.