Baking subscription April

So this was banana caramel muffins.

Remember how I'm always saying how these baking boxes can be a bit of a faff when it comes to finishing off.

Well this month, first you made the muffins

After that you made caramel

So while I appreciate that might not be the best caramel you have ever seen it was a case of third time's the charm, because my previous efforts have resulted in hot sticky messes with no relation to caramel at all. This might have been a tad grainy, but it was, nonetheless, caramel. (Incidentally since the ingredients did nothing for ages when I first put them on the hob I suppose I have now learned that when the instructions say 'medium heat' what they mean is 8. Out of 9. Because on what I would call a medium heat ie 5, they just sat there looking at me.  It was reminiscent of the l-o-n-g lemon curd stir ...)

Anyway, after that you cut holes in the top of the muffin and spooned caramel into them, then put the plugs back in. Then you made caramel buttercream. The instructions were to put the buttercream in a piping bag, and pipe a swirl of it onto the top of each muffin. Regular readers will know that the odds of that happening were infinitesimal. The way I see it, who needs a piping bag when they have  a small palette knife? 

I put the buttercream on the muffins and swirled them round with a palette knife. And decorated them with the dried banana chips. And then, you are thinking, they were finished. Do not be misled. Ther e was still one step to go, but it was step too far for me. As a result it was the OH who melted the chocolate and drizzled a little of it over the top of each muffin. 

And the final result looked like this

except there were twelve of them. We have given some of them away, twelve is too many in a household where one person is supposed to be avoiding sugar and the other one fat!