Banana Cake #14 from Baking by Flavor

Banana Cake #14 - made May 2, 2014 from Baking by Flavor by Lisa Yockelson

The original name of this recipe in Baking by Flavor is Banana Layer Cake because Lisa Yockelson intended it to be a two-layer cake. I made it as a 9 x 13 cake for easier distribution and also numbered it as my 14th documented attempt to make a banana cake like Icing on the Cake's. Based on my findings with the Banana Dream Cake, I'm being more selective in which banana cake recipes to try. One of my theories was the cake texture I'm looking to replicate is more likely to be achieved with cake flour than all-purpose flour. A cursory search on pinterest didn't turn up any candidates so I went to my bookshelves overrun with baking books and plucked out this one since it's one of my go-to books for good recipes.

Fortunately, this recipe does use cake flour and it has specific beating times for the ingredients which could also contribute to a fluffy texture. Even more fortunately, it actually worked! I can't quite shriek "Eureka, I found it!" but oh my, this is so close. So. Close. It doesn't look as fluffy in the picture as the one from Icing on the Cake but the texture is a lot more soft and fluffy; it's also lighter than your standard banana cake recipe or the 13 iterations that came before it. It's still not quite an Icing on the Cake clone but I'm definitely on the right track. At least now I can narrow my recipe parameters for banana cake #15 and beyond to recipes that use cake flour, have chemical leavening (both baking powder and baking soda) and adequate beating instructions.

Oh, the taste wasn't super banana-y but I had the taste test piece the same day I made it and usually banana cakes develop more flavor the following day. Still, it's the texture I'm striving for and I loved the texture on this one.

2 1/3 cups plus 3 tablespoons unsifted bleached cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (I used 3 medium to large bananas)
1/2 cup buttermilk, whisked well

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line bottoms with parchment rounds. Alternatively, line a 9 x 13 baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg onto a sheet of waxed paper.
3. Cream the butter and shortening in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 3 minutes. Add half of the granulated sugar and beat for 2 minutes; add the remaining granulated sugar and beat for 1 to 2 minutes longer. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
4. On low speed, add half of the sifted mixture, the buttermilk, then the rest of the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently with a rubber spatula.
5. Pour the batter evenly into the cake pan(s). Smooth the top(s).
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set and a toothpick inserted near the center withdraws clean. Cool in pan(s) on wire racks for 5 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting for 9 x 13 cake (double or triple for 2-layer cake)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 cups powdered sugar (to taste and consistency)

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until creamy and well blended. Add vanilla extract and beat until blended. Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, until frosting is the desired taste and consistency. 

Bakery Review: Bouchon Bakery, Las Vegas, NV

Bouchon Bakery - visited April 28, 2014

As is my norm when I'm traveling, I look up bakeries wherever I go in case there are any I want to visit like I did with Carlo's Bakery. When I was in Vegas a couple of weeks ago, I was beyond thrilled to discover there were several Bouchon bakeries precisely where we were already going: the Venetian, Palazzo and Grand Canal Shoppes. Bouchon is Thomas Keller's bakery, he of French Laundry fame. I'd never been to one but there are a line of Bouchon mixes sold at Williams Sonoma. They're very high end (meaning expensive) and I've given them as gifts to fellow bakers but I've never tried the real thing.

The Venetian boasts several locations for Bouchon and after much walking around, we finally found one of them, tucked away by the Venetian Theater. This one was more like a kiosk than an enclosed bakery but it still had a decent selection.

Thomas Keller is known for breads but my sweet tooth is known for more dessert-type, well, desserts. He's also known for aesthetically pleasing offerings of the finest ingredients and a high price tag. Having just come from Carlo's Bakery, I was incapable of sticker shock and, in comparison, Bouchon's prices were almost cheap.

I went with the "Oh Oh", a clever play on a Hoho: a cream-filled chocolate cake roll covered in ganache. I know I don't like cream-filled desserts but it was cute and I succumbed out of childhood nostalgia. Not that I was particularly crazy about hohos when I was a kid. I just remembered my parents never bought that stuff when I was little but I really, really wanted them to.

I also had to get the Bouchon since it was the namesake of the bakery. A bouchon is a small brownie baked in the shape of a small, compact cylinder. A friend had given me Thomas Keller's Bouchon baking book and I've been meaning to make that recipe. Now seemed like the perfect chance to try the real thing firsthand so when I do make the recipe myself, I know what to compare it to. Bonus that it was the cheapest thing there at $1.95, a steal I thought at the time.

The Bouchon

I didn't eat it until we go back to my sister's. Okay, I have to confess, I wasn't impressed. It was just a chewy, bite-size brownie. I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't "hey, I can make this" and "what's the fuss all about?" Again, for a non-baker wanting to spend a couple of dollars, the bouchon is a viable choice. For me, with my jaded taste buds and brownie snobbery, it wasn't anything special. Sorry.

The Bouchon

I might've been better off trying more of the breads and pastry products. I bought my mom the raisin snail and she had it for breakfast the next morning. Both she and my sister thought it was good. I tried a small bite and it was nice and flaky. I'm not sure I would've been able to tell it apart from any other flaky pastry sold without Thomas Keller's name attached to it. I guess my expectations were just too high.

Raisin Snail

On the bright side, the Oh Oh was rather nice. Turns out I didn't care much for the chocolate covering but the cake roll inside was soft and moist and I didn't even mind the cream filling. You can tell Bouchon uses the good chocolate.

I'm glad I tried Bouchon Bakery but once again, I think either my expectations were too high or it was overrated or some combination of both. There's also the possibility that I've confirmed (again) that I really am a dessert snob.

Sugar Cookies from Little Yellow Barn

Sugar Cookies - made April 20, 2014 from Little Yellow Barn

This is going to be a short post as I've been really busy lately. I know I keep saying that but it's still true, even more so because I've been gone all week on a business trip. I didn't have much time last weekend to work on my blog although I did bake a few things to bring to my coworkers this week. But weekends are usually when I not only bake but also do the write ups to publish later in the week. But the last couple of weekends have been booked so I haven't been able to get ahead as much as I would have liked. Hence the post and run nature of this one.

Although the original name is "Frosted" Sugar Cookies, your discerning eye will note there is no frosting on any of these cookies. Didn't have time to make it and I'm not a frosting person so I just made the cookie dough, froze in into thick discs and baked it off the night before I brought it into work. No time or inclination for frosting. But you can click on the blog title above to go to the original recipe from Little Yellow Barn if you want to make the frosting for these.

I liked these cookies. They spread a little more than I could've wished but they were still a respectable thickness. The dough was a little soft hence why I think they spread more even though I did freeze the dough first. I confess to baking longer than 8 minutes because in my oven, at 8 minutes, the cookies still looked raw. I think I went as long as 10-12 minutes but you'll need to experiment with your oven and see what works best. You definitely don't want to overbake these or they'll be cakey. Bake until the edges are light golden brown and the middle doesn't look so doughy anymore. These were exactly how I like my sugar cookies, not too sweet but nicely chewy.

1 cup butter
1 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Cream butter and shortening together until combined. Add both sugars and mix until blended. Add eggs and vanilla extract.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together and gradually add the butter mixture until combined. Do not overmix. Portion dough into golf-ball-sized dough balls and flatten slightly into thick discs. Freeze overnight.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

Bakery Review: Carlo's Bakery, Las Vegas, NV

Carlo's Bakery - visited April 28, 2014

This is going to be another of those picture-heavy posts. Because any time I'm in a new bakery, I go into sensory overload. I don't even eat half the stuff like anything with fruit (unless it's apple) or lots of cream filling or has marshmallows or walnuts or is any variation of a cheesecake. But I just love how it all looks and is presented so I snap picture after picture, looking my fill. Which is way better than eating my fill....although I do that too.

Napoleons

After lunch at Buddy V's and a tour through the Grand Canal Shoppes and the Venetian, we stopped back at Carlo's Bakery on our way out. It was rather crowded, presumably with tourists but the crowd was served by calling numbers and everyone getting waited on when their turn came.

Cheesecake

Since Buddy V's and Carlo's Bake Shop were both owned by Buddy Valastro, it was also known for cannolis. But I had my sights set on other items. All of the desserts were in individual sizes with the exceptions of 6", 8" and 9" cakes in the front display. I forgot to take a picture of them but they looked like ordinary bakery cakes. Except there was nothing ordinary about their price. An 8" inch, frosted but plain in decoration, was $50. Eeek.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Despite that early warning sign, I still experienced sticker shock to discover the individual chocolate mousse cake I had my eye on was $9.95. Now, I'm used to paying more at high end bakeries and I'm even (somewhat) used to paying higher Vegas tourist prices. But a little cake for $10 still made me blink. Not that it mattered since, blinking notwithstanding, I bought it anyway. But good thing I don't like cheesecake because those little ones went for $11. Pass.

I also bought a couple of the Cashew Cookies to try. The cookies are sold by the pound but I only asked for 2 (cookies, not 2 lbs). There was a good variety of cookies, enough to make me indecisive about what to try. I narrowed it down by ruthlessly discarding the ones that looked like something I could make myself (butter cookies) and the ones I don't like to eat (biscotti). I finally settled on the Cashew Cookies because I love cashews and wanted to know what these would taste like.

Cashew Cookies

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

I also decided to try one of their brownies. Normally I don't buy brownies since, hello, I make them all the time and they're not that hard to make from scratch. Plus, snob that I am, there are very, very few brownies I like better than the ones I make. Actually, I can't think of any right now but let's pretend they exist. Still, I wanted to see what Carlo's version was like. They sell them with nuts and without. Of course I went with the plain ones since I don't like nuts in my brownies, especially not walnuts.

Frosted Brownies

When your number is called, the server behind the counter asks what you want, you point to stuff and they write it down on a slip of paper along with your name. Then they box up your order and it gets put in a line behind the other orders waiting to be rung up by the cashier. The process moved along but I wouldn't call it fast. Operationally, it works as efficiently as it can, given the number of customers packing the store, but it still took me over 5 minutes from the time I put in my order to when my box of baked goods made it to the cashier to be rung up.

Chocolate Mousse Cake - $9.95

Between the $10 mousse cake, the $6 brownie and the by-the-pound Cashew Cookies, I spent just under $20 at Carlo's. I didn't start my taste test bites of each one until we were back at my sister's later in the day. The mousse cake was literally a round of chocolate mousse covered in dark chocolate ganache. There was a very thin layer of cake as the base but it was mostly mousse. I had a few bites at room temp but because it was a mousse, it would probably have been better chilled. I have to say, while it was good, I don't think it was worth $10. And I don't say that just because I'm cheap. I've paid more than that for sweets and given it proper accolades if I thought it was worth it. This was good but I don't think it was $10 good. Maybe $5 or $6 good but not $10. That makes it more expensive than the hazelnut praline slice I had from Laduree and you know how I feel about that cake. So you have to add the Vegas tourist markup to this to explain the higher price.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

The brownie was dense and chewy, just how I like my brownies. I had a bite after I'd eaten 75 cents' worth of the mousse cake and I was a little chocolate-full so I may not have appreciated this as much as I would have if it had been my only dessert of the day. It was good but not something I would particularly remember or rhapsodize about after I left Vegas.

Frosted Brownie - $3.50

Cashew Cookies - $1.53 for 2

The Cashew Cookies are something I normally don't like in cookies - they were crunchy and dry. Not dry like it should've been moist and was dry but dry like it's supposed to be because that's the kind of cookie it's meant to be. It was almost like a biscotti but lighter in texture and crunchy. I liked the flavor and I didn't mind the texture since that's how it's supposed to be but I'm glad I only bought 2 and that they were small.

I enjoyed the experience of Carlo's Bakery and seeing all the eye candy on display. I'd recommend it for anyone who's never been there before. But be prepared for the prices and, if you're a baker, I don't know if you'll find anything you can't make for yourself just as well or better. Either that or I missed the item(s) that would've made me more rapturous about their offerings. It was a good new-bakery discovery experience but next time I go to Vegas, while I'd go back to Buddy V's Ristorante for lunch or dinner, I'd probably try a different bakery to sample.

Restaurant Review: Buddy V's, Las Vegas, NV

Buddy V's - lunch on April 28, 2014

After that stellar overeating at the M Buffet, I did manage to eat again almost an entire day later. This time, we avoided the buffets and instead my mom, sister and I went to Buddy V's Ristorante at the Grand Canal Shoppes located between the Venetian and the Palazzo. I really was heading for Carlo's Bakery, also a Buddy V shop, because I wanted to check it out but his restaurant was right across from it and it was lunchtime so we decided to eat there. Buddy V is Buddy Velastro, TLC's Cake Boss. I'd heard of Cake Boss but never really watched the show. That might be surprising since it involves sugar, butter and pretty baked goods you eat but I don't watch a lot of TV and my culinary TV watching is mostly limited to Cupcake Wars on Food Network.

Anyway, we didn't have a reservation since it was the impulse of the moment to go to Buddy V's but we were able to get a table in the lounge section of the restaurant, no waiting, by the windows so we could see the Strip outside. Otherwise it would have been a 15-20 minute wait. For Vegas, that's actually not bad, especially for "celebrity chef" restaurants.

Buddy V's menu offers a good selection of Italian dishes. There are the ones you would expect like spaghetti, lasagna, chicken piccata and shrimp scampi but there were also less typical dishes like Agnolotti ("miniature ravioli, Sunday gravy-style veal shank, sausage and pork, brown butter"), Buddy's Salumi and Cheese Board, and Roasted Branzino (European seabass). My sister, a much more adventurous eater than I, went with the Sicilian Charred Octopus Salad. You lost me at "charred", "octopus" and "salad". But she loved it and thought it tasted amazing.

Sicilian Charred Octopus Salad - $18

My mom went with the linguine and clam sauce entree. My mom's a good cook and she makes a similar pasta but both she and my sister (who was sneaking in "a taste") thought this was extremely delicious. My sister said it was the best white clam sauce pasta she's ever had and when she recommended this restaurant to her boyfriend for the following night, advised him to get the linguine with clam sauce. So, if you like clams and pasta, this was apparently a winner.

Lisa V's Linguine & White Clam Sauce - $26

My own more sedate entree was the Bucatini Carbonara. Don't let its humble appearance fool you. I loved this. Normally, I get carbonara out of both indulgence (hey, I'm on vacation and I'm in Vegas) and defiance (yeah, I know I pigged out the day before but I haven't eaten in almost a day and I ran this morning). Whatever my reasons, I'm glad I got this one. When the server first placed the plate in front of me, I'm not going to lie, I thought the portion was a trifle on the small side. I mean, c'mon, we're in Vegas, the land of tacky glitz and super-size-me. But sometimes less is more and, in this case, that was a good thing. The sauce was rich and creamy like most carbonaras but it was also delicious and full of flavor. The pancetta provided a nice contrasting saltiness but wasn't overly salty. The portion size turned out to be perfect because with a sauce that rich, you don't want a lot. The only jarring note was on what was literally my last bite, I found a small strip of plastic nestling with the last bit of pancetta and noodle. Fortunately I found it with my fork and not by eating it. Now, these things happen and I've never found it to be a big deal. It's not like it was a bug or anything. It was just a stray piece of plastic that was likely wrapped around the pancetta and inadvertently got sliced into the dish along with the meat.

Bucatini Carbonara - $23

I did bring it to the server's attention though, not to be obnoxious, but to make them aware so they know to be more careful in the kitchen. I didn't mind so much but not everyone takes these things into stride and I wouldn't want anyone to get into trouble if a fussier patron happened along. The server apologized and the manager came to our table a few minutes later to extend his own apology. He offered us dessert but we were pretty full and I had no intention of repeating the hurt from the M Buffet so we politely declined. But when the server came back with our bill, she said her manager really wanted us to have dessert so she offered us something to go. They were genuinely apologetic and it seemed churlish to refuse, especially since I wasn't upset about the plastic mistake so I accepted their offer. Which is how we ended up with a complementary 2 cannolis to go.

Cannolis

I'm not a big fan of cannolis but I'd heard it was what Buddy Valastro was famous for so I wanted to try it. It saved me buying it at his bakery across the way because I had intended to. We didn't try the cannolis until later that afternoon but they were nicely packaged in a plastic container with a side of hot fudge sauce. I didn't want to wait too long because I knew they were cream-filled and figured the cannoli shell would soften quickly. However, I was pleasantly surprised that they still remained crisp. The shells were of a thickness that they were heartily crunchy rather than delicately crispy. Unfortunately I didn't like them as much as I had hoped. I think if they had been filled with traditional pastry cream like the one I make, I would've liked them just fine. But they're filled with cannoli cream which is made of ricotta cheese and sometimes cream cheese. I don't like the taste of either and, not being a fan of cream-filled desserts in the first place, the cannolis were just okay to me. However, my sister, who normally doesn't like a lot of sweets, loved the cannolis. She ate a whole one, minus the taste test bite I had. I probably consume more sugar in a day than she does in a week so if she liked it, it's good if you're a cannoli lover.

Overall, I liked Buddy V's. The food was good, the setting was bright and airy, it wasn't too crowded, the wait staff were nice and they handled the unfortunate plastic addition to my dish with courtesy and professionalism. The prices were in the mid to high range but for Vegas, that's actually pretty reasonable. Thumbs up - I'd go back again next time I'm in town.