Banana poppy seed muffins with almond streusel topping

Last week I had a sudden urge to eat banana cake, but it was a busy Sunday and I would not have enough time to make the cake and then wait for it to cool. Stephanie Alexander's muffins, topped with Thomas Keller's streusel, turned out to be a delicious and very fast alternative to my cake cravings, and they turned out so tender I had to be super careful removing them from the pan, even with the paper liners.

For a little more color and caramel flavor, brown sugar might be used to replace half the granulated sugar in the batter.

Banana poppy seed muffins with almond streusel topping
adapted from two wonderful sources: The Cook's Companion and Bouchon Bakery

Streusel topping:
60g all purpose flour
60g almond meal
60g granulated sugar
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, cold and diced
handful of sliced almonds

Muffins:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
150ml canola oil
¾ cup (180ml) whole milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large bananas, mashed with a fork

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan (1/3 cup each cavity) with paper liners.

Streusel: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, sugar and salt. Add the butter and rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the sliced almonds. Refrigerate it while you make the muffin batter.

Muffins: in a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk in the sugar and poppy seeds.
In a small bowl, mix the oil, milk, egg, vanilla and bananas until combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork just until combined – don’t overmix. Transfer batter to the pan and pack the streusel on top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold (they’re very tender) and transfer to the rack.

Makes 12