Banana Layer Cake

The fudge chocolate frosting recipe made enough to frost 2 whole cakes. So I am not including that recipe. Next time I will use another chocolate frosting recipe. Maybe a milk chocolate one.

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks of butter, unsalted - room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 medium - very ripe peeled bananas
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (I use powdered buttermilk*)
3/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts - OPTIONAL

1. Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda until blended with a whisk.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter with a mixer on medium-high until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Add the bananas and vanilla and beat until well blended and only small bits of banana remain. Add eggs 2 at a time, beating well after each. The mixture will look lumpy but it will come together. Add half the flour mixture on low until just blended. Add the buttermilk until just blended. Then add remaining flour and mix until just blended. Stir in walnuts, if using.

4. Evenly divide into the 2 pans. Bake until tops are brown and a toothpick or cake tester come out clean about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and let cool 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges to loose the cake from the pan. Invert the layers onto racks and remove pans. Let cool completely.

5. Brush the loose crumbs from the cooled cake. Place the bottom cake upside down. Frost first layer of cake. Add second cake and frost top and sides. Cake can be served at room temperature but also in my opinion good cold.


* I use powdered buttermilk. I don't always use up a carton of buttermilk. And the powdered buttermilk lasts much longer. So I have found it is much easier to have that around.

Here is the powdered buttermlik that I use....


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Dessert for Easter...

I made...


Orange Butter Cake
This is another recipe from The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge. I only have mini-bundt cake pans and I just didn't feel like the work that goes into those (greasing and flouring each one.) So I just used my angel food cake pan. But next time I think I am going to make it as a layer cake and maybe do a cream cheese frosting. And I know I want a wider skewer to poke holes in it so the glaze gets all the way through the cake. It was still moist and delicious but you could tell the glaze only sunk in about half way down the cake.



for the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used salted butter so I left this out)
16 tablespoons unsalted butter - room temperature (2 sticks)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (optional - I had some in the freezer so used it)
4 large eggs
1 cup orange juice

for the glaze:
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 powdered sugar

Position the oven on the middle rung. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan or other fluted tube pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well-blended. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the sugar and the orange zest (if using) and beat until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended. Add the orange juice and mix just until blended. Add the remaining four mixture and mix just until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake until light brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out with just a few small crumbs attached. 38 to 43 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and the powdered sugar for the glaze. Stir frequently while the cake is baking until the sugar is dissolved.

When the cake is done, transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. If necessary, run a thin knife around the pan sides to loose the cake. Invert the cake onto the rack and lift off the pan. Set the rack over a large plate or pan. Using a wooden skewer or cake tester, poke 30 or 40 all the way through the cake. Give the glaze a stir and spoon it evenly over the top of the cake (the fluted side). Let the cake cool completely. Transfer to serving plate.

I topped with a little whipped creamed with a little vanilla extract. But topped with any kind of fruit and whipped cream would be great!

Betty Crocker Banana Bread

I have went through many Banana Bread recipes. And they all turn out fine, but for some reason I always come back to the one out of Betty Crocker cookbook. It is easy for me to make. I like that it uses buttermilk too. I always have powdered buttermilk on hand and works and tastes just as good as real buttermilk.

Last week I had a couple bananas nearing that bad point so I peeled them, wrapped them and put them in the freezer as I didn't have time to do banana bread last week. But today I got some time so took those out and made Betty Crocker's Banana Bread (this one on the website is the same one in the cookbook).



1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium bananas)
1/2 cups of buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts - optional

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9" x 5" x 3" pan. (Or 2 - 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pans)

Mix together sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk* and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and mix until just moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pan.

Bake 8-inch loaves for about 1 hour or 9-inch loaf 1 hour 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan and remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days or refrigerate up to 10 days.

* I put the powder for the buttermilk with the flour and then add equivalent in water where it says to add buttermilk.

Sour Cream Orange Muffins

We normally have bagels during the week for breakfast. But I woke up yesterday morning knowing we didn't have any in the house so I decided to make muffins. I took a quick look through the pantry and fridge to see what I could bake. And I came up with Sour Cream Orange Muffins. They reminded me somewhat of the sour cream cookies I make also. Only difference was the little citrus hint throughout the muffin.



SOUR CREAM ORANGE MUFFINS

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup of sour cream - I used light because it is what I had on hand
1/4 cup milk
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar

Heat oven to 375. Line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper baking cups (or spray with cooking spray.)

In a large bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar, oil, egg, almond extract and orange zest. Add sour cream and milk and mix until just blended. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Divide batter evenly between 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle batter with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cold.

Lemon Bars

A friend recently introduced me to the Smitten Kitchen and I have quite a few recipes bookmarked to try. Michael isn't big on lemon but I love it. I remember growing up I didn't like cake for my birthday because I wasn't really a cake person. It was texture and frosting thing. There were 2 cakes my Mom made that I liked sour cream cake and chocolate chip oatmeal cake. But there was this bakery that my Mom would get cakes from for special occasions. They had a lemon filling cake. It had a sweet tart lemon filling between layers of moist white cake and whipped cream frosting. Usually decorated with candied lemons.

I celebrated my 40th birthday this past year and didn't want a cake but I briefly thought of that cake my Mom used to get because I haven't had in about 20 years. I moved away from the area so haven't had a chance to have anything like it since.

But I still enjoy lemon in baked goods. So seeing the recipe and photos over on Smitten Ktichen of these lemon bars made me decide to try them out.



The only thing I would change is cutting the baking time for the crust. It was over cooked by the time the lemon filling set. The crust came out a little too hard which made it difficult to cut through. But the filling came out quite good.



Lemon bar recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

I made the thick version although mine don't look quite as thick as hers which is probably again altitude. I did grease my pan because I always do as I found when cooking in high altitude it is a MUST.



They were so good! The lemon bars are tart but the crust is sweet so it is best of both worlds.

Apple Oatmeal Pancakes

When I was a little girl, I was the odd one in the family as I was picky. One thing I didn't like is pancakes. Now I know that sounds absurd that a child wouldn't like pancakes but it is true. I didn't like the texture. I am not sure why as they are soft, fluffy and sweet. I really didn't eat them as I grew up either. French Toast is my pick over the pancakes. When met Michael, he made me pancakes one Sunday morning and I was hooked. Now I like trying different kinds of pancakes but by far this recipe is my favorite. The flavor is amazing. Plus they are healthy.

Beware I am still learning how to make pancakes so they are aren't ROUND - far from it! But they taste delicious!

ps: Michael doesn't like nuts in things so I leave the walnuts out for him.

Apple-Cinnamon Oat Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking or old fashioned oats
2 tablespoon splenda/sugar substitute
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg (could use egg substitute also to make it even more healthy)
1 1/2 cup milk - low fat or fat free
1 cup sugar free applesauce
1/4 cups canola oil
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Stir together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl.

Beat egg in separate bowl; stir in milk, applesauce, and oil.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until blended. Fold in walnuts.

Heat greased griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375 degrees. Griddle is ready when a few drops of water bubble and skitter rapidly around.

For each pancake, pour a scant of batter onto hot griddle. Cook pancakes until puffed, bubbly and dry around edges. Turn and cook other sides until golden brown.

Jam Filled Sliced Cookies

My Mom used to make thumbprints which are a base dough with a dent in them filled with jam and then sprinkled with nuts. Her recipe though I think uses brown sugar as they have a golden color to them. As I have said in this blog before I was always the picky one growing up and I just didn't like them. But as an adult who like jams I couldn't resisit the simplicity of this recipe.

This recipe is from Kraft Food & Family but I made them without the nuts as Michael doesn't like nuts. It was a very easy recipe and very tasty. I had several good comments about them. I have to say the base dough of this had a great texture and taste. It would be a good base dough to experiment with to make other kinds of cookies.




1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/3 cup Walnut Pieces, finely chopped
3/4 cup strawberry preserves
1 tsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Beat cream cheese, butter and granulated sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Separate 1 of the eggs; set egg white aside for later use. Add yolk, second (whole) egg and vanilla to cream cheese mixture; mix well. Gradually add combined flour and baking powder, beating until well blended after each addition.

Divide dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into 12x1-inch log; place, 2 inches apart, on large ungreased baking sheet. Use handle of wooden spoon or fingers to make depression down length of each log, about 1/2 inch wide and 1/2 inch deep. (Beat reserved egg white with fork; brush over dough. Sprinkle with walnuts. -- didn't do that one because didn't coat with nuts) Fill depressions with preserves, using about 3 Tbsp. preserves in each log.

Bake 25 to 27 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks; cool slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut each log into 12 diagonal slices.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I turned 40 on the 18th of October. I tried to kind of ignore it so one thing I didn't want was a birthday cake. I actually am a person who doesn't like cake on my birthday but likes to have pie or cheesecake. So this year I didn't have cake, pie or cheesecake and was perfectly happy...until I came home. But I couldn't admit that I was going to make a cheesecake for my birthday so instead I made it for Halloween. And in the tradition of Halloween, I made a Pumpkin Cheesecake. It turned out simply wonderful.















Crust
1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
(**I ground more ginger snaps then needed so I made a little extra and crumbled on top of the cheesecake the last 5 minutes of cooking - it made it almost toffee like crunch on top)

Filling
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups canned solid pack pumpkin (1 can pumpkin)
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons half and half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
4 large eggs


For Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind ground cookies, pecans and sugar in processor. Add melted butter and blend until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.

For Filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light. Add flour, pumpkin, 4 tablespoons half and half, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to mixture in large bowl and beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Pour filling into crust (filling will almost fill pan). Bake until cheesecake puffs, top browns and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

(I had never made pumpkin cheesecake. I combined a few recipes which is my usual taking things from each that I like and making my own. Something I didn't do with this cheesecake was putting a tray of water under it -- not a water bath but just a tray of water on the shelf below to create moisture in the oven. I didn't do that because frankly I forgot. I was just so excited to be making a pumpkin cheesecake that I didn't remember to do the tray and my weird timing thing I usually do which is turning the oven from 350 to 250 and well it turned out really good.)

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I have been on a banana bread kick lately. A friend was talking about how she adds chocolate chips into her banana bread. I had never made it that way before so decided to try it out.

Mix wet ingredients:
3-4 mashed bananas
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

In another bowl mix dry ingredients:
1 1/3 cups sugar (I used brown sugar for half of the sugar)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt.

1/2 cup chocolate chips


Preheat Oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients slowly to the wet and mix. Add chocolate chips. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When a knife comes out clean it is done.

Honey Lemon Chicken

I don't really follow a recipe when I make Honey Lemon Chicken I just kind of throw it together...

I take a package of chicken parts (I usually do thighs or breasts) and seasoned the front and back of them with grillmate (I like grillmates because it has all the seasonings in it that I wanted - thyme, garlic, onion, paprika, pepper). I took 2 lemons and sliced them up - usually I put a slice or half of slice under the skin but I was in a hurry when I made it and so just cut them up and tossed them in. They weren't as lemony as they usually are but still tasted really good. I squeezed some of them over the chicken before tossing into the crock pot. Then drizzled about a 1/2 cup of honey over the chicken. Poured some chicken stock into the crockpot too. It was maybe 1/2 cup. And then let it cook...I think it was 7 hours I let it cook and the chicken was falling off the bone. I basted it with the stock a few times through out the day but I have done it without touching it and it turned out fine.

I don't brown the chicken. I am so into quick and least amount of dishes used is better. So I don't brown it. I just do the above and it usually turns out golden and full of flavor.