Baby’s banana mini muffins

If there's a speckly brown banana sitting in your fruit bowl right now, this one's for you. These little muffins are soft, squishy and naturally sweet from the banana, with no added sugar. They're the perfect size for little hands, brilliant for nursery bags and park trips, and they freeze beautifully, so you can batch bake on a Sunday and thank yourself all week.

A few dark chips make these feel like a treat for the whole family, especially hungry toddlers. Leave them out for younger babies less than 24 months.

Suitable for babies from 6 months as finger food, just leave out the choccy chips or swap to a handful of fresh berries like raspberries or blueberries.

Makes: 10-12 mini muffins, depending on the size of your tray.

You need

• 1 large ripe banana (the riper the better), mashed with a fork

• 125g self-raising flour / ~1 cup

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 2 eggs

• 125ml milk /~½ cup

• 60ml olive oil / ~¼ cup

• Optional: a small handful of dark chocolate chips

To make

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and grab a 12-hole mini muffin tray. Grease it lightly or pop in some mini cases.

2. Add the flour and baking powder to a large bowl.

3. Separately, whisk together your eggs, milk, olive oil and banana.

4. Add to your flour and stir gently until just combined. A few lumps are fine, so don't overmix or your muffins will be tough.

5. Stir through the chocolate chips now, if using.

6. Divide the mixture evenly between the holes of your tray.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen, golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.

8. Leave to cool in the tray for a few minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Top tips

• Ripe bananas are key. The browner the banana, the sweeter your muffins, so this is the perfect use for the sad ones nobody wants to eat.

• Freeze them. Once cool, pop them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature.

• Storage. Keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

• Chocolate chips. Totally optional, but a few dark chips make these feel like a treat for the whole family. Leave them out for younger babies less than 24 months

• Allergens. This recipe contains egg, milk and wheat (gluten).

• Milk ladder: these muffins contain 12.5mls milk per mini muffin. Two of these mini muffins contain the same amount of milk as 1 large muffin from step 2 of the iMAP milk ladder for mild non-IgE milk allergy. Discuss this recipe with your dietitian before using.