From soft, naturally sweet banana muffins to crunchy rusks, these two sorghum bakes offer a fresh take on homemade favourites, perfect for breakfast or your next tea-time spread. 

Sorghum Banana Muffins 

A versatile muffin mix with a subtle banana flavour. Use the same gluten-free batter for a loaf or rusk (see right). We made our own sorghum meal by blitzing the dry grain in a food processor. 

Makes 18 

Ingredients  

2½ cups (400g) sorghum meal or flour
4 tsp baking powder
2½ tsp (12.5ml) corn flour
½ Tbsp (7.5ml) xanthan gum powder (optional)
1 cup (220g) castor sugar
1 tsp (5ml) salt
1 tsp (5ml) cinnamon
1 large (110g) ripe to overripe banana, mashed + extra slices for topping 
2 eggs
½ cup (125ml) vegetable oil
2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180ml) milk  

Method  

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spray two 12-cup muffin trays with non-stick spray.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, mash the banana until fine. Add eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients and whisk to create a batter.
3. Fill the muffin cups just ¼ full. (Wipe any empty muffin cups clean of spray before baking.)
4. Top the muffin batter with a banana slice or two, sprinkle with crumble (see Cook’s Note) or simply leave as is.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
6. Cool the muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
7. Best served warm (heat for 20-30 seconds in the microwave if needed) with a generous smear of butter. 

Cook’s Note  

To make a crumble topping, rub 50g of each butter, sugar, cake flour and sorghum flour together to resemble wet sand. Sprinkle on top before baking.   

Sorghum Banana Rusks  

From muffin to rusk, this handy batter does it all! 

Makes 16-20 

Ingredients  

1 batch sorghum banana muffin batter (recipe above) 

Method  

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. 2. Line a 10x22cm loaf tin and spray with non-stick spray. Add batter to the tin and bake for 50-55 minutes, until cooked through. Cool on wire rack.
3. Once cold, slice into 8x 2cm rusks. Place on top of a wire rack positioned on a baking tray. Ensure the rusks don’t touch each other.
4. Dry out at 70°C, with the door slightly ajar, for 6-7 hours or overnight until dry and hard.
5. Cool completely and store in an airtight container or a tin for up to a month

 Also Read: Zandile Finxa: Serious about sorghum

Recipe & Styling: Sjaan Van der Ploeg 
Photography: Zhann Solomons