Banana Rum Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

Banana's roasted in brown sugar and Bundaberg rum add a wonderful depth of flavor to this Banana

Rum Cake. This is a really easy banana rum cake recipe that would make a great afternoon treat.

Banana, Coconut and Goji Berry Bread ~ #BreadBakers

Going against the grain with gluten free vibes only this month.

Espresso Banana Quick Bread with Espresso Streusel ~ #BreadBakers

Cakes have such a terrible habit of turning out bad just when you especially want them to be good.

Banana Nutella Swirl Bundt Cake with Coffee Crumble ~ #BundtBakers

You can't make everyone happy - you aren't a jar of Nutella. However, you can take that jar of
Nutella and swirl it into a banana cake and that would pretty much make everyone happy.

Tahini-Banana Snack Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

“Cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness!

If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”  - C. JoyBell C.

Bananas Foster Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

"Baking and love go hand in hand, for as one bakes a tasty treat and fills the room with its sweet aroma, the true joy is to take what has been made and share it with another". ~ Heather Wolf

Hummingbird Cake ~ #CakeSliceBakers

With the sweetness of pineapple and banana, this cake would be sure to have 

the hummingbird buzzing around it.

Banana Loaf ~ #CakeSliceBakers

The #CakeSliceBakers are back with their next cake from World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey. As always there were some great choices again this month, and I'm looking forward to seeing which cake my fellow bakers chose to make.

Banana Bundt Cake with Vanilla Caramel Glaze ~ #BundtBakers

Our theme this month for #BundtBakers is Birthday Bundts.  I am one of those unfortunate people who have a December birthday, and it always seems to be an afterthought, or just forgotten altogether.  I really like the idea of celebrating in January instead. I can't wait to see what everyone has chosen as their Birthday Bundt.

Lava Flow Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

Ah, the tropical vacation.  Toes in the sand, beautiful aqua-blue water, tiki drink in hand - perfection. I am extremely lucky to call Hawaii home, so I guess in some ways I am always on a tropical vacation.

Fruit and Veggie Quick Bread ~ #TwelveLoaves

The theme for #TwelveLoaves this month is Summer Fun!  I don't know about you but I am definitely ready for some summer fun and can't wait for the long weekend - although honestly my idea of fun may involve catching up on sleep.

Banana Pecan Breakfast Cake + Giveaway!

Everyone loves a good breakfast cake, I mean really, who doesn't like cake for breakfast?  The recipe for todays cake, Banana Pecan Breakfast Cake, can be found in Lick the Bowl Good, a new cookbook by blogger extraordinaire Monica Holland, who also has a blog by the same name. I have followed Monica's blog for quite a while, so I was excited to hear that she was writing a cookbook. Lick the Bowl Good is just as amazing as her blog. I love that the recipes are accompanied by photos - gorgeous ones too. The recipes are familiar, and very do-able, but have a little twist that makes you want to keep working your way through the book to the next yummy recipe.

I made the Banana Pecan Breakfast Cake a couple of days ago and it just disappeared off the plate in record time. I've had other banana cakes before, but there is something special about this recipe.  Family members were giving each other accusing looks as they tried to figure out who had more pieces than someone else, and how they were going to split that last piece into six even pieces. Calming everyone down I explained and could buy more bananas and make another one, although the next time I will definitely make two so I get more than one piece before it is gone.

A group of us were so excited about getting the book, that a Facebook Group, Baking Through Lick the Bowl Good, was formed and we will baking one recipe on the 15th of each month. Some people will post via their blogs, some will post on Facebook, and everyone is invited to come and check it out. Of course I will be baking other recipes from the book too.  It got to the point that I stopped putting sticky notes in the book because there was one on every page, and I recommend that you visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Jessica's Biscuit/ecookbooks or your neighborhood bookstore and pick up a copy as soon as possible.

And now to the giveaway.  A few weeks ago I was very lucky and won a copy of Lick the Bowl Good from the author herself, along with some other goodies.  Since I had already purchased the book in preparation to start baking from it, I found myself with an extra brand-new copy.  It seemed like the perfect idea to pay it forward and have a giveaway for the book.  Since we are all still catching our breath from the busy holiday season I am going to make this giveaway super simple to enter - just visit Monica's blog Lick the Bowl Good and leave me a comment telling me what recipe you would like to make from it and I will enter you in the draw.

The Fine Print

• Leave me a comment as per the instruction above.
• Deadline for entry is January 22, 2014 at 6:00PM HST.
• Sorry, this giveaway is open only to US addresses.
• Please leave a valid email address where I can contact you if you choose to publish anonymously.
• One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. I will send the winner an email, and they will have 48 hours to respond, if I do not hear by then another winner will be selected.
• The winner will receive a copy of Lick the Bowl Good by Monica Holland
• The prize for this giveaway to one of my readers is being provided by me. I was not compensated personally for this post.

Good luck everyone!

We have a winner!  Congratulations to Holly who is the winner of Lick the Bowl Good.  I hope you enjoy the book and it will be in the mail tomorrow.

For another amazing idea for this cake please visit my friend Kim at Ninja Baker  - her Banana Pecan Breakfast Cupcakes would certainly make me eager for breakfast in the morning!


Banana Pecan Breakfast Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients
Cake ~

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ ground cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana
• ¼ buttermilk

Pecan Topping ~

• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• ⅓ cup chopped pecans
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation
Cake ~

1. Preheat oven to 350℉
2. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and whisk to combine.
4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs, vanilla, and mashed banana and blend till incorporated.
6. Add half of the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in all of the buttermilk and mix until just incorporated, then add the remaining flour and mix once again until no traces of flour remain.
7. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top.

Topping ~

1. Combine the sugar, pecans, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Stir together, then evenly sprinkle the mixture over the cake batter.
2. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
3. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
4. Store at room temperature.

Recipe from Lick the Bowl Good by Monica Holland/Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

Banana-Caramel Bundt Cake #BundtaMonth

I am so excited that I have been able to join the BundtaMonth group.  This group formed out of the love of bundt cakes and, seriously, who doesn't love a good cup of coffee and a slice of bundt cake? It would seem that I joined right at the right time as they are celebrating their anniversary so the theme is "fancy". I look forward to both baking along with the group and getting to know everyone a little better.

To be honest I was a little nervous about what I should bake to celebrate this occasion. You know, kind of like the first day of school or a new job where you want to make a good impression and fit in with everyone?  Since I had recently purchased a new cookbook, The Australian Women's Weekly 100 Classic Cakes, and I am originally from Australia, I thought it would be fun to see if I could find something there that might work.  There were a couple that caught my eye but I finally settled on the Banana-Caramel Bundt Cake. Splitting a bundt into three layers and smothering each one with banana and dulce de leche seemed to suggest a special occasion.

If you have not had the pleasure of tasting dulce de leche I suggest you immediately go out and find it, and then try not to just stick your spoon in and eat it straight from the can.  Dulce de leche has only recently become available in my area, but if you cannot find it there is a method to make it from a can of condensed milk.  One time I even made it without even knowing as I left a can of condensed milk in the back of a warm cupboard and when I opened it I found it had become dulce de leche.

The original recipe for this Banana-Caramel Bundt Cake did include whipped cream in the layers too, but I was not intending to eat the cake the same day so I omitted this. After slicing a small piece I will say that I found the cake a little on the dry side.  To alleviate this problem I will probably substitute the milk for some buttermilk to see if it can add some moistness to the cake. Other than that it was quite decadent.

Here’s how you can be a part of Bundt-a-Month:

• Simple rule: Bake us a fancy bundt
• Post it before September 30, 2013
• Use the #BundtaMonth hashtag in your title. (For ex: title could read – #BundtaMonth: Fancy Bundt)
• Add your entry to the Linky tool below
• Link back to our announcement posts

Even more bundt fun! Follow Bundt-a-Month on Facebook where we feature all our gorgeous bundt cakes. Or head over to our Pinterest board for inspiration and choose from hundreds of Bundt cake recipes.


And don't forget to check out the wonderful "fancy" bundts baked by my fellow BundtaMonth bakers in celebration of our anniversary.

• Banana-Caramel Bundt Cake by Felice at All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Caramel Latte Bundt Cake by Heather at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Chocolate and Wine Bundt from Holly at A Baker's House
• Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt Cake by Alice at Hip Foodie Mom
• Devil's Food Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze by Lora at Cake Duchess
• Funfetti Pudding Cake by Kate at Food Babbles
• Hong Kong Chiffon Mini Cakes by Kim at Ninja Baking
• Lemon Frangipane Bundt Cake by Paula at Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Little Bundt Pound Cakes by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Bundt Cake by Anuradha at Baker Street
• Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bundt by Anita at Hungry Couple
• Rose Mini Bundt Cakes by Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen
• Simple Orange Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
• Streusel Apple Bundt Cake by Laura at The Spiced Life
• Triple Chocolate Mini Bundts by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• White Chocolate Bundt with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting by Sandra at Sweet Sensations

Banana-Caramel Bundt Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 6oz butter, softened
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 2¼ cups self-rising flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups mashed banana
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1 13.4oz can dulce de leche
• 1 large banana, thinly sliced
• powdered sugar to dust

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.  
2. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray.
3. In a large bowl place flour, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
6. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour.
7. Using a spatula, gently fold in the banana.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Rap the pan firmly on the counter to release any air bubbles. 
9. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the cake is a deep golden color and a wooden skewer poked in the middle comes out just barely clean, about 50 minutes.
10. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
11. To assemble the cake thinly slice the banana.  Split the cake into three layers and spread the bottom layer of the cake with half of the dulce de leche and top with half of the banana slices. Place the middle layer of the cake on top and repeat with the next layer using the remaining caramel and banana slices.  Top with the remaining layer and dust with icing sugar before serving.

Recipe slightly adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly 100 Classic Cakes.

Caramel-Banana Muffins

Once again I found myself with an excess of bananas - note to self, maybe only buy one bag of bananas from Costco each week.  As much as I love banana bread, I thought that muffins would be a good change of pace and they are easy for my girls to carry to school and share with their friends.

I really wanted to add caramel to the bananas and found this recipe on the Midwest Living site.  Their recipe had a pecan-cinnamon sugar mixture added to it but, as much as I would have enjoyed it, I knew that the muffins would be enjoyed more by the girls if it was left out.

The muffins were baked for 20 minutes but they did not get very brown.  Since I did not want to over-bake them once they were ready I took them out of the oven. Maybe the pecan mixture would have helped the browning process, so I'll try adding it next time.  Also, I think that in future I would make my own caramel.  I was happy to use up some of the ice cream topping that has been in my refrigerator for a while, but it was very sweet.

Caramel-Banana Muffins
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 medium banana, peeled and mashed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons caramel-flavored ice cream topping
• 1 medium banana, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line twelve muffin cups with paper bake cups.
3. In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. 
4. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, softened butter and ⅔ cup sugar with an electric mixer until well combined. 
5. Add egg and beat well. Beat in the mashed banana and vanilla until combined. 
6. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
7. Add to the banana mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. 
8. Spoon half the batter into prepared muffin cups,
9. Drizzle ½ teaspoon caramel topping over batter in each cup. Top with remaining batter. If you like, top each muffin with 2 thin slices additional banana.
10. Sprinkle with tops with the cinnamon sugar mixture. 
11. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. 
12. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. 
13. Serve warm drizzled with more caramel topping, if you like. 

Recipe from Midwest Living.

The Cake Slice Bakers January 2013 - Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by.  It seems like only yesterday that December's cake was being voted upon and baked.  Here we are in a new year and we actually had a tie in the voting between The Classic and Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream so we were able to chose which one we wanted to bake.  Since I am a huge fan of banana cake it was an easy choice for me, although I will probably bake The Classic at a later time.

We always seems to have an abundance of bananas in our house, so it was easy to grab a few extra-ripe ones for my cake.  I decided to bake the cake on one day and refrigerated the layers overnight, and then make the buttercream and assemble the cake next day, which worked out really well.

Since my girls aren't huge fans of walnuts I decided to change the frosting a little bit. I saw that Vintage Cakes also had a recipe for Coffee Buttercream (1 tablespoon instant espresso and 2 teaspoons of water to make a paste and add to basic buttercream) so I went with that and also added ⅓ cup of melted dark chocolate so I ended up with a Mocha Buttercream.  I also decorated the top of the cake with chocolate covered coffee beans, well I decorated the top with what I had left because I seriously can't stop eating them once I start.  I used the basic buttercream recipe from the book which is slightly different to the coffee walnut buttercream.

At first I found it difficult to find a saucepan that I could put the metal bowl of my mixer into without it touching the water.  My solution was to get out my pasta pot that has a metal insert to drain the pasta.  I filled it just until the water reached the insert, I turned the insert handles in towards each other, and then I balanced my mixer bowl on the top of the insert handles, slightly tilting the bowl.  By doing this the water could simmer away without the bowl touching the water.

This type of buttercream is known as a Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and I was looking forward to trying it since I had only made a regular buttercream previously.  It is funny when you shy away from attempting something because you think it sounds too difficult, and then when you try it you wonder what all of the fuss was about.  That is what happened to me with this buttercream.  I am such a baking nerd that I was even excited when it curdled (just as the author said it would) and then came back together again.  The end result was a deliciously fluffy mocha-flavored buttercream.

As I was assembling the cake I realized that I should have trimmed it a little as the layers had baked up a little uneven, but I had already topped it with the last layer so I pressed on.  In the end the cake was a little lopsided but I think it gave it character.  Well, that is what I told myself and I knew that it wasn't going to affect the taste of the cake.  And a few chocolate-covered coffee beans on top sealed the deal.

This cake was definitely a winner.  The cake had a deep banana flavor and the mocha buttercream was a nice accompaniment to it.  It is the sort of cake that you could top with so many different flavors and it would still be great.

Click here to check out the blogs of my fellow Cake Slice Baker's to see which cake they chose to bake - was it The Classic or the Banana Cake with Coffee Buttercream?


Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients
Cake

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
• ¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, at room temperature

Coffee Walnut Buttercream

• 1 cup toasted chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup corn syrup
• ¼ cup bourbon
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
• 5 egg whites
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt

Preparation
Cake

1. Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 350℉.
2. Grease three 8 by 2-inch round cake pans, and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper circles.
3. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, then whisk the ingredients with a hand whisk.
4. In a small bowl combine the banana with the buttermilk.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer frequently to scrape the sides and the paddle with a rubber spatula.
6. Blend in the eggs one at a time.
7. With the mixer on low add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the banana mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with the four.   After each addition scrape the bowl well.  Stop the mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated and complete the blending by hand with a rubber spatula.
8. Divide the thick batter equally among the prepared pans, and tap the pans on the counter to settle.
9. Bake until the centers spring back when lightly touched, 28 - 30 minutes.
10. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes.  Flip them out and let them continue to cool on the rack, top side up, until they reach room temperature.  Leave the parchment paper on until you assemble the cake.
11. To assemble the cake lay one of the cakes top side up on a cake plate.  Using a metal spatula frost the top with ¾ cup of buttercream out to the edge of the cake (filling will be about ¼ inch thick).  Stack the second cake top side up on top of the frosted cake and spread another ¾ cup of buttercream on top of it.  Stack the last layer of cake top side up on top.  Look for any frosting that may have oozed out the sides and spread it along the sides of the cake.  Apply a thin layer of frosting all over the cake to create a "crumb coat".  Place the cake in the refrigerator until the frosting is firm, about 10 minutes.  Take it out and frost the cake with the remaining buttercream, using your spatula to make decorative swirls.

Buttercream
Walnut-Espresso paste

1. Puree toasted, chopped walnuts in a food processor until they just begin to form a paste. 
2. Add corn syrup, bourbon, and espresso powder and blend until combined.  Set aside.

Basic buttercream:

1. Using a hand whisk, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Place the bowl over (not in - do not let the bowl touch the water) a saucepan of simmering water.  The egg mixture will be gloppy and thick, but as the mixture begins to warm, it will become more fluid.
3. Continue to gently whisk the mixture until it is very hot to touch (130℉ on a candy thermometer).
4. Move the bowl to the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip the whites on medium-high speed until they have tripled in volume and are thick and glossy and hold stiff peaks (like meringue).  Turn the mixture down to medium-low speed until the mixing bowl is just cool to touch, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Kick the mixer back up to medium-high speed and and add the butter one piece at a time, adding the next piece just as the previous one has been incorporated.Stop the mixer every every now and again to scrape down the sides. At some point the buttercream will appear curdled, but this is normal, so keep mixing until it all comes together again.
6. Once all of the butter has been incorporated and the frosting is fluffy and creamy, add the vanilla and salt and mix until fully combined.
7. Covered with plastic wrap this frosting will last 2 days at room temperature or 7 days in the refrigerator.  If refrigerated, the frosting will need to come to room temperature before use, and will need to be re-whipped (by hand if at room temperature, or machine if refrigerated), before frosting a cake.

Cake from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson, adaptations by All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

To Try Tuesday - Roasted Banana Bread with Browned Butter and Toffee Topping

Sometimes I think I want to give up my blog.  I love the cooking part but I just get so frustrated with taking photos.  They just never seem to turn out the way that I would like them to.  I have these beautiful visions in my head but what I see is not what I get.  I really have no one to blame but myself.  I should learn the ins and outs of my camera, I should take a class in photography, I should read more books on food photography, I should buy some proper lighting.  Lots of "shoulds" but not enough time or finances to do so at the moment.  One day.

Anyway, back to the task at hand.  I had lots of bananas quickly ripening in the fruit basket and I wanted something new to try rather than my go-to recipe for banana bread.  I went through my trusty "To Try" list hoping to find something.  Sure enough there was a great-sounding recipe for Roasted Banana Nut Bread with Browned Butter & Toffee Topping on Karissa's site Baking For Her Soul.

The only changes I made were to omit the nuts and I did not lay the slices of banana on the sides like she did.  The roasting of the bananas brings out the sweetness and adds such a wonderful flavor to the bread.  The crunchy topping was also good, and I can imagine a few different directions to go in if you did want a different topping - a sprinkle of coconut, a cream cheese and passionfruit frosting, even something with peanut butter would be yummy.  And should the bread last long enough to be re-purposed I think it would make an awesome base for a bread pudding.

Roasted Banana Bread with Browned Butter and Toffee Topping

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 medium bananas
• ⅔ cup brown sugar, separated
• 4 tablespoons butter, separated
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅓ cup toffee pieces for sprinkling on top, optional
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar for sprinkling on top, optional

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
3. Peel and slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter in a foil-lined baking dish.
4. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
6. Reduce oven heat to 350°F.
7. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and set aside. 
   
8. On medium heat, brown 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, swirling the pan several times for about 5 minutes until the butter has started to brown.
9. Remove from heat and add 1/3 cup brown sugar and salt.
10. Add the bananas to the browned butter and mash into mixture, until just combined.
11. Add eggs, vanilla extract, oil, and the yogurt to the butter, sugar and bananas, mix until combined.
12. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and mix to incorporate fully, but don’t mix past the point where it’s just combined.
13. Pour into prepared pan.
14. Sprinkle the toffee bits on top, and then sprinkled the entire top with sugar.
15. Bake at 350°F degrees on center rack for about 40-50 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean and top is browned.
16. Remove from oven and allow to cool in loaf pan for about 10-15 minutes before removing the loaf.
17. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Baking For Her Soul.

Roasted Bananas Foster Ice Cream

Growing up in Australia it was perfectly normal for us to throw whole bananas on the BBQ, and once they were ready we would split them open and enjoy the contents - sometimes with a little ice cream, but mostly just plain.  Roasting them like this brought out all of their sugary goodness and when we BBQ today, I still add some bananas to the grill.

I always try to have bananas in the house.  They are one of my favorite fruits and I love them in baked goods too.  They are even great in a curry.  Thank goodness they are relatively inexpensive here as I tend to buy the big bag of them from Costco.  My eldest daughter tells me that in Australia they are currently $14.00 per kilo, that is about $7.00 per pound!  This is due to a cyclone which ravaged the trees up north.

When a recipe for Roasted Banana Ice Cream appeared on Michelle's blog, Brown Eyed Baker, I knew my family would go crazy for it.  I really should have known to double the batch because there were some very sad faces when it was all gone in a few hours.  This is such an easy ice cream to make because it is not custard-based.  The hardest thing you will have to do is roast the bananas and lift your blender and ice cream maker out of the cupboard - if you keep these items on your kitchen counter then you just halved your workload.

As usual I had trouble sticking to the original recipe.  I wanted to make it a little more like Bananas Foster so I added some Malibu rum to the bananas prior to baking, I used orange juice rather than lemon juice, and I substituted 1/2 a cup of whipping cream for some of the milk.  I think that next time a little toasted coconut would make a nice textural addition too.  The flavor of the blended roasted bananas and the milk/cream base is amazing.  I think that I could have eaten it with a spoon before it was even churned.  I did restrain myself and the reward was definitely worth it.  This ice cream is swoon-worthy.



Roasted Bananas Foster Ice Cream

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons Malibu rum
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ teaspoons orange juice
• ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
• prepared caramel sauce, optional 

Preparation 

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Slice the bananas into ½-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar, butter, and Malibu in a 2-quart baking dish.
• Bake for 40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through.
• Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the baking dish into a blender or food processor.
• Add the milk, cream, granulated sugar, vanilla, orange juice and salt, and purée until smooth.
• Chill the mixture for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight) in the refrigerator.
• Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions (if the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it to thin it out).
• Serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce, optional.

Recipe by Brown Eyed Baker and adapted from The Perfect Scoop.

Banana Cream Cheesecake

Although we don't have them all, we do have our fair share of chain restaurants - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  If I am going to visit one my choice is The Cheesecake Factory, even though the wait can sometimes be 1 to 1½ hours.  Of course it isn't for the faint-hearted as their meals can be enough to feed a small army.  I usually try to stick to a salad (the Seared Tuna Tataki Salad is very good) but not because I am being particularly "good".  I really do this so that I have room to have a piece of cheesecake.  Of course these servings are huge too, so we share.  There is usually some discussion before we settle on the Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake (we always do).

When my daughters' 18th birthday was coming up I asked her what kind of cake she would like and she really wanted a cheesecake.  She usually picks a Chocolate Chip Cheesecake so I was surprised that she changed her mind and decided upon a Banana Cream Cheesecake.  I thought it would be a good time to try a clone recipe of the one from The Cheesecake Factory.  After a quick search I found one that looked really good at Epicurious.

I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe.  Out went the margarine and in came butter for the crust.  Also, instead of using vanilla sandwich cookies I decided to use chocolate sandwich cookies because I like chocolate and banana together.  For the filling I used regular Cavendish bananas but for the decoration on top I used Apple bananas because I love their firmness and color.  As I always do with cheesecakes I wrapped the removable bottom of the spring-form pan with non-stick aluminum foil as this makes plating the cheesecake a breeze.

This was definitely a winner.  It was like eating a banana cream pie in cheesecake form.  The birthday girl was super happy and the cheesecake didn't last long.  Just the way I like it.

The Cheesecake Factory Banana Cream Cheesecake

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 20 chocolate sandwich cookies
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 24 oz cream cheese, softened
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup mashed bananas (about 2)
• ½ cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• additional bananas and whipped cream for decoration, if desired

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place cookies in a blender; process with on/off pulse until finely crushed.
3. Add butter and continue to process with pulses until blended. 
4. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of 10" springform pan and refrigerate.
5. Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. 
6. Add sugar and cornstarch and beat until blended. 
7. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
8. Beat in bananas, whipping cream, and vanilla. 
9. Pour cream cheese mixture into prepared crust. 
10. Place pan on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes.
11. Reduce oven temperature to 200°F (DO NOT forget to reduce temperature - very important) and continue baking 75 minutes or until center is almost set.
12. Loosen edge of cheesecake; cool completely on wire rack before removing rim of pan.
13. Refrigerate cheesecake, uncovered, 6 hours or overnight.
14. Allow cheesecake to stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
15. Decorate top with sliced bananas and whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe submitted to Epicurious by janewayne31.

A Guest Post by Little Crumb - Banana Empanadas

Little Crumb is my youngest daughter.  Not only is she my biggest helper in the kitchen and the sounding board for my blog, but she makes a mean Banana Empanada.  I thought it was time for her to do a guest post for me.  She was so proud to make the empanadas, taking photos as she went along, and then she wrote up the text. All I did was help her attach some links and edit her photos.  Enjoy!

I have been making banana empanadas for quite a while now. It all happened when I was watching TV early in the morning, I had skipped through the channels and then I came upon the Food Network. As I was watching Quick Fix the host, Robin Miller, was making banana empanadas, which sounded really good. So I ran into my moms bedroom, woke her up and told her that I wanted to bake something for her. But we needed to get the ingredients so we went to the grocery store. After that it was time to start baking.

This recipe is so easy to make that a cave man could do it. As I waited for it to bake in the oven, it smelled so good I was drooling. We could hardly wait for them to cool, and one bite after another, soon all that was left were some crumbs!

Just because I am young it doesn’t mean that I don’t have mad skills in the kitchen. When I am helping my mom in the kitchen it makes me feel like a real chef, and that I mean something to the dish. I really love to cook but the worst part in the whole process is probably waiting for it to bake or cleaning up after words. 

I had a lot of fun doing this guest post for my mom.  I hope she will invite me to do another one soon, or I might have to start my own blog!

Banana Empanadas

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• cooking spray (Little Crumb uses a Silpat)
• 1 large banana, sliced
• 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
• additional cinnamon sugar or raw sugar for sprinkling.
• 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust
• Ice cream or powdered sugar, if desired

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray or a Silpat.  
3. In a large bowl, combine bananas, brown sugar and cinnamon sugar. Mix well and set aside.  
4. Unroll pie crust onto a flat surface.  
5. Using a ring mold, make circles in the dough. 
6. Put the banana mixture on the pie dough and fold it over to make a moon shape.  
7. Pinch around the edges to seal (Little Crumb uses a fork).
8. Transfer the empanadas to the prepared baking sheet and make slits in the top of each to allow steam to escape.
9. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar, or raw sugar - your choice.
10. Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake until crust is golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
11. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the empanadas on a platter.
12. Serve with ice cream or sprinkle with powdered sugar, if using. 

Recipe makes 12 empanadas and was adapted by Ashleigh from one by Robin Miller.

Chunky Scookies

I was at the supermarket a few days ago and I saw some 5-grain cereal in the bulk bins.  I immediately thought about how great it would be as a substitute in an oatmeal cookie.  I quickly grabbed a bag and purchased a few scoops.  I also picked up some golden flax seed and desiccated coconut (the grated, dried, and sweetened - and sometimes unsweetened - fresh meat of a mature coconut).

Next I needed to find a recipe to suit what I had in mind.  I decided to have a quick look in my new favorite cookbook, Flour by Joanne Chang, hoping for a starting point.  Of course I wasn't disappointed and found a recipe called Chunky Lola Cookies (page 110), and this is what I intended to make substituting the 5-grain cereal for the rolled oats, but this is not what I ended up with.  I don't know why but I have trouble sticking with the recipe written in front of me.  My brain tends to go into overdrive and I keep thinking about other ingredients that would make a great addition to the recipe.  The end result is a completely new recipe.

This original Flour recipe had rolled oats, pecans, bittersweet chocolate, and shredded coconut.  The new recipe ended up with 5-grain cereal, banana, macadamia nuts, golden flax seed, desiccated coconut, and white chocolate chips.  Completely different but still delicious.  I did put the dough in the refrigerator for three hours to firm up a bit. I think it would have been even better had I left it there a little longer (or even overnight as the original recipes recommends) because as you are scooping the cookies the dough quickly becomes quite soft and sticks to your hands as you slightly flatten them.

When family and friends tried them there was some debate over whether they tasted more like a cake, a scone, or a cookie.  My daughter said that they tasted like a scookie - a cross between a scone and a cookie - so that is what I called them.  They are delicious on their own, but become decadent when you dip them in ganache.

Chunky Scookies©

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 bananas, cut into chunks
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup 5-grain cereal
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1½ tablespoons golden flax seeds

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line sheet pans with parchment paper or Silpats.
3. Using a stand or hand-held mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix an additional 2 to 3 minutes until well combined.
5. Add banana and mix until roughly broken up.
6. In a separate bowl combine the flour, 5-grain cereal, baking soda, salt, white chocolate, macadamias, coconut, and flax seed.
7. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated and the dough is evenly mixed. 
8. Place the dough in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 3 to 4 hours before baking.
9. Using an medium cookie scoop drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
10. Slightly flatten each cookie with the palm of your hand.
11. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden around the edges and slightly soft in the center.
12. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for about 20 minutes, before transferring them to a wire wrack to cool completely.
13. Once cooled dip half of each cookie in ganache, if desired.

Makes about 36 cookies.