Recipes from 1979:
Banana Bran Muffins
A simple vintage banana bran muffin recipe from 1979.
Published May 27, 2026
Recipes from Ward W9 · 1979
This series comes from a yellowed little recipe booklet compiled by Ward W9 at Hutt Hospital in 1979, where my grandmother worked as a nurse.
I’m recreating the dishes exactly as written, translating them for modern kitchens, and discovering whether these retro recipes still deserve a place on the table today.
Some are brilliant, some are baffling, and all of them are a fascinating little slice of kitchen history.
THIS WEEK'S RECIPE: DESSERT
This week’s recipe from the Ward 9 cookbook is Banana Bran Muffins, and it is exactly the kind of recipe that feels like it belongs in a late 1970s community cookbook. There is no fuss, no decoration, no topping, no cinnamon sugar swirl, no cream cheese centre. Just bananas, bran, flour, milk, egg and butter, mixed together and baked into 18 practical little muffins.
What I love about this one is how straightforward it is. The original recipe tells you to mash the bananas with a fork, sift the dry ingredients, make a well, stir everything together with a wooden spoon and, importantly, do not overmix. It is a very familiar muffin method, but written in that lovely, clipped 1979 style where you are trusted to know what you are doing. No explanation, no troubleshooting, just get on with it.
This feels like the kind of recipe that could go either way. Banana and bran are both classic muffin ingredients, but the recipe is light on sugar and very plain by modern standards. No vanilla, no spice, no nuts, no chocolate, no oil. Just the basics. Which makes me even more curious to see whether these still deserve a place on the table.
MY MODERN CONVERSION
INGREDIENTS
190 g mashed ripe banana, about 2 medium bananas
55 g caster sugar
150 g plain flour
4 level teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
45 g bran flakes or cooking bran
1 large free-range egg
150 ml milk
50 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Extra butter or oil, for greasing the muffin tin
METHOD
1.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced. Grease an 18-hole patty tin or small muffin tin well. You can also use paper cases if preferred, although the original recipe simply says to grease the tins.
2.
Mash the bananas with a fork in a small bowl until mostly smooth. Stir in the sugar and set aside.
3.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir through the bran flakes or cooking bran.
4.
In a separate bowl or jug, beat the egg and milk together.
5.
Melt the butter, then allow it to cool slightly so it is warm rather than hot. Stir the melted butter into the egg and milk mixture.
6.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Add the mashed banana mixture and the milk mixture.
7.
Stir gently with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix. The batter should look slightly rustic and muffin-like, not perfectly smooth.
8.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins, filling each hole about two-thirds full.
9.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins are risen, lightly golden and spring back when gently pressed. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.
10.
Leave the muffins to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Taste Test
I was genuinely surprised by these. On paper, Banana Bran Muffins sounded like they might be a little too sensible for their own good, but they were actually lovely. They had a light, fluffy texture, which I was not necessarily expecting from a bran muffin, and they came out much softer than the very practical ingredient list might suggest.
They are not sweet in the way a modern banana muffin often is. These sit much closer to a savoury breakfast muffin, with gentle banana flavour, a wholesome bran note and just enough sweetness to keep them from feeling plain. Warm from the oven with butter, they were genuinely delicious. I would happily eat them again, but more as a breakfast indulgence than a sweet treat.
The only surprise was the yield. The original recipe says it makes 18, but I ended up with 24 small muffins, so tin size clearly makes a difference. Final verdict? These absolutely still deserve a place on the table, especially if that table includes hot muffins, butter and breakfast.
Hi, I'm Samantha Tulett
I’m the cook, writer, and recipe developer behind City Slicker.
In this series, I’m recreating recipes from a quirky little 1979 hospital ward cookbook my grandmother kept from her time as a nurse, discovering whether these retro dishes still deserve a place on the table today.
Hungry for More?
Join the City Slicker community and get fresh recipes, vintage kitchen finds, and delicious inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
More Recipes from 1979
Sausage and Apple Casserole
Pizza Italian Style
Multi-Coloured Fudge Cake
Follow Me
Would You Try This Today?
Some of these 1979 recipes are surprisingly timeless, while others feel wonderfully of their era. Would you give this one a go in your own kitchen, or would you leave it firmly in the past? I’d love to know what you think.
Hungry for more?
Join my inner circle and become a City Slicker. Get fresh recipes, exclusive insider stories, and a little extra flavour in your inbox.
