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.

Honey-Ginger Spiced Pecans

This is a super quick recipe that I whipped up to decorate my November cake from the Cake Slice Bakers. A quick search revealed a honey-glazed pecan recipe, and I added some ginger for an added kick.  They paired really well with the Applesauce Spice Cake, and I could not stop nibbling on the leftovers.  I think they would be a great addition to a salad too.

Honey-Ginger Spiced Pecans
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1½ cup pecans
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Whisk together honey and ginger, add pecans, tossing to coat well. 
3. Spread pecans in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and sprinkle with sugar. 
4. Bake in middle of oven 15 minutes, then stir and bake 5 minutes more.
5. Transfer while still warm to a sheet of parchment paper or foil and, working quickly, separate pecans with a fork. 
6. Cool completely (about 1 hour) and remove nuts from parchment, breaking up any large pieces.
7. Pecans keep, layered between parchment or wax paper in an airtight container, at room temperature 3 days.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Zucchini-Carrot-Pecan Bread

Every Friday I try to bake something for my husband to take with him the following day.  Early Saturday mornings you will find him out with his training team - a group of dedicated triathletes who find it fun to ride their bikes anywhere from 60-105 miles and then run between 5 and 9 miles (they swim on Friday mornings).  I bake because after all of this hard work they all deserve a treat.

In an effort not to sabotage their training I have been trying to incorporate some healthy elements into my baking - use less sugar, use lot fruits and/or vegetables, cut back on oil.  It is still a work in progress because I have always used lots of butter, cream, sugar, and eggs without even a second thought. One ingredient I haven't experimented with very much is flour.  That is until I was reading Kim's blog, Liv Life, a few days ago and she featured a recipe for chocolate chip cookies (made by her daughter) using spelt flour. 

Following Kim's lead on researching spelt flour I found that it is considered to have a somewhat nuttier and slightly sweeter flavor than whole-wheat flour.  Spelt is by nature a wholefood, and unlike wheat where much of the nutritional bran and germ are often removed during milling, the vital substances of spelt are found in the inner kernel of the grain. Spelt contains more protein, minerals, and amino acids than regular wheat and this superior nutrition makes it an ideal training and endurance food. Although spelt does contain gluten, studies have shown that it can be tolerated by many people who are normally gluten-intolerant.

I do make a lot of quick breads because not only are they tasty but they travel well, which is always handy when it is being thrown in a pick up truck.  Well, maybe "thrown" is not the best description but lets just say that a quick bread is a lot safer than a sponge cake.   With experience I have found that cookies, quick breads, and bar cookies/slices are the way to go when the goodies have to make a trip.

One quick bread recipe that caught my eye recently was a Zucchini-Carrot Bread that appeared on Monica's blog Lick The Bowl Good.  Actually the first thing that grabs my attention each time I visit her blog is that beautiful photo of a Meyer Lemon-Lime Bar in her banner (I can see why the post is entitled "The Best I've Ever Had").  She reached into her archives for this recipe, and it was adapted from a recipe found on Baking with Lisa, who adapted it from Sur la Table’s “Eating Local”.  I adapted it a little further by substituting some spelt flour for the all-purpose flour, adding the toasted pecans, decreasing the sugar and oil, and adding a sprinkle of raw sugar on top.  My last change was to bake one large loaf because my loaf tin is 10 inches x 5 inches.  I really wanted to use candied ginger as described in the recipe but I couldn't find it in my pantry.

Using a single pan will result in a beautiful, high-rising loaf which is just the way I like my quick bread.  I thought the flavor was great, although I may add a little apple sauce next time to add some moisture and compensate for the oil I omitted.  The spelt flour worked out great and I may even do a 50-50 split next time with the all-purpose flour.

Carrot-Zucchini-Pecan Bread

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Spelt flour
• 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• ½ cup minced candied ginger (optional)
• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup canola oil
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup coarsely grated carrots
• 1 cup coarsely grated zucchini
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar, optional

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. 
2. Grease two 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pans, or line them with foil or parchment paper (I used one pan that was 10x5 inches).
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda. 
4. Whisk in the salt and candied ginger, optional.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and foamy. 
6. Add the canola oil, sugar, and vanilla, whisking hard until well combined. 
7. Stir in the carrots and zucchini.
8. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir/fold until just blended.
9. Divide evenly between the loaf pans (or add to a single pan like I did).
10. Sprinkle with raw sugar, if desired.
11. Bake for about 1 hour, until the loaves are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine baked for approximately 75 minutes).
12. Cool in the pan(s) for 10 minutes, then unmold onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe by Lick the Bowl Good and Baking with Lisa.