My Go-To recipe for Banana Bread

Banana Bread - made lots and lots of times

(Note: I'm traveling for work this week so no baking is coming out of my kitchen at the moment.  So I'm reverting to posting one of my oldest standby recipes.)

One of the things I've been making a lot lately is banana bread.  I haven't blogged about it because I already have the recipe up.  Every time I've tried a different recipe, no one in my extended family likes it as much as this recipe.  In my original blog post, I posted the recipe as it was given to me.  The directions are sparse but not difficult to follow.  I thought I'd resurrect it and just detail out more of what I actually do for anyone who hasn't made banana bread ad naseum.

Good banana bread takes a little planning ahead because you have to buy the bananas well in advance and give them plenty of time to ripen.  And ripen.  Then let them ripen some more.  If you like your bananas mushy-ripe and can still eat them in its natural state, your bananas aren't ripe enough for banana bread.  I let them ripen to the point where I personally can't eat them because they're overly mushy.  Then they're ready.  I also like to mash them by hand so I end up with some chunks of bananas.  If you use a food processor or mixer to mash your bananas, they'll be more finely pureed.  I like my mashed bananas for banana bread a little chunky so they'll make it that way in the baked bread itself and be like a little bit of a fried banana inside of the bread.

This recipe, doubled from the original version, makes 4 mini loaves and 1 standard size loaf.

3 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups mashed bananas

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.  Lightly spray a standard size loaf pan and 4 mini loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
3. Cream butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until incorporated with the butter.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 10-15 seconds after each addition until fully incorporated into the batter.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured.
4. Alternately add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 additions.  Do not overbeat.
5. Add the mashed bananas, mixing thoroughly until blended, about 30 seconds.  Finish mixing by hand.  Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until loaves are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.  Insert the toothpick in the "wettest" part of the top to test for doneness.
7. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes then loosen the loaves with a small spatula and invert onto another cooling rack.  Re-invert right side up and cool completely.

 

Snickerdoodle Cake

Butter+Sugar+Cinnamon=Cake - made May 11, 2012 from Baking Style by Lisa Yockelson

I can't resist a sugar-cinnamon cake, or what in my mind, I dub a snickerdoodle cake.  I was meeting my cousins for dinner last weekend and I had to have a non-chocolate offering for my nephew, Vanilla King.  This seemed like a good contender to try out, especially since I was short on time after work and this looked quick to put together.  The recipe calls for half-and-half but I always just buy whole milk and heavy cream and make my own half-and-half by literally using half milk and half cream when half-and-half is needed because that's what half-and-half is anyway.  This way, whether a recipe calls for whole milk, heavy cream or half-and-half, I've got all my bases covered.

If you like snickerdoodles, you'll like this cake.  I loved the cinnamon sugar topping and the cake was moist.  I (once again) inadvertently underbaked it a tad although in my defense, it wasn't so deliberate this time.  The toothpick came out clean when I tested the cake but in hindsight, it had the slight glisten of wetness although no batter or crumbs clung to it.  I should've baked it for at least 40 minutes instead of taking it out at 35.  That dry-cake paranoia struck again.  Doesn't matter though as I would definitely make this cake again and will have a second chance at baking it properly.  It still turned out pretty well.  If you want a little extra decadence, while the cake is hot out of the oven, brush a thin layer of butter over it then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping over the melted butter.  Yowsa.

You can tell from the picture it's underbaked but the moistness also came from the melted butter I put on top

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

½ pound unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons half and half (I used 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk and the same amount of heavy cream)

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

½ cup granulated sugar blended with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.     Line a 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

3.     Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon onto a sheet of waxed paper.

4.     Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer on moderate speed for 3 minutes.  Add the sugar in 2 additions, beating for 2 minutes after each portion is added.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing only until incorporated.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions and the half-and-half in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat the batter on moderately high speed for 30 seconds. 

5.     Spoon and scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.

6.     Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until risen, set, and a toothpick inserted 1-2 inches from the center withdraws clean.  Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar topping evenly over the surface of the cake.  The first sprinkling will cause the surface to darken as it absorbs the mixture because the cake is emitting warmth.  Let the cake rest for 30 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining topping on the surface of the cake.  Cut into squares and serve.  Store in an airtight cake keeper.

A Gentle Banana Cake

A Gentle Banana Cake - made May 11, 2012 from Baking Style by Lisa Yockelson

I've been amassing bananas lately and they've been ripening faster than I can eat them.  Or else I deliberately don't eat them so I can have overripe bananas that I "have" to make into baked goods.  I'm still on the hunt for a banana cake similar to my favorite from Icing on the Cake so I always optimistically try new recipes for it.  So it should come as no surprise that, like a kid with a new toy, I went back to the same cookbook for my next banana cake experiment.

I'm not sure why she calls it a "gentle" banana cake and I should probably read the prologue before the recipe to find out.  She does have some interesting names for some of the recipes.  I like how this one turned out.  It was cakey, had great banana flavor and was perfectly complemented by the cream cheese frosting.  It's not quite as fluffy in texture as Icing on the Cake's banana cake but I feel like I'm getting darn close.  It's also possible that I underbaked it just a trifle.  If I had baked it a few minutes longer, it might've achieved a fluffier texture.  I can't abide dry cakes so I'm paranoid about overbaking.  Either way, this one was pretty good.

2 2/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsifted bleached cake flour

½ cup unsifted bleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ pound unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups coarsely mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)

2/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick or ¼ lb), cut into tablespoon-sized chunks

4 ¾ cups confectioners’ sugar sifted with 1/8 teaspoon salt

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1.     Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.     Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.

3.     Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 4 minutes.  Add the sugar in 3 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added.  Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time.  Blend in the egg yolks and vanilla extract.  Blend in the mashed bananas.  On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

4.     Spoon and scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

5.     Bake for 40 minutes or until risen, set and a wooden toothpick inserted about 2 inches from the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.

6.     Make the frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderately low speed for 3 minutes or until very smooth but not lightened.  Beat in half of the confectioners’ sugar-salt mixture and the vanilla extract.  Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar-salt mixture in 2 additions, beating until incorporated.  Beat on moderate speed for 1 minute, raise speed to high and beat for 2 minutes longer, or until quite creamy. 

7.     Spread the frosting on top of the cake.  Let the frosting set for 1 hour before cutting the cake into squares for serving.

 

Brownie "Sandwiches"

Brownie Rounds Sandwiched with Salted Caramel - made May 10, 2012

These are so easy I almost didn't blog about them.  Take your favorite brownie recipe (just please either don't use a mix or don't tell me if you did, ha - I used this one), bake it in a slightly larger pan than the original recipe calls for, i.e. for a brownie recipe calling for an 8 x 8" pan, use a 9 x 9" pan, making sure you line the pan first with foil so you can lift the brownies out of the pan intact.  The goal is to have a thin brownie. Note: I hardly ever say that but when you're going to make brownie sandwiches, you don't want the sandwich halves to be too thick or the finished product will be difficult to eat.

Get a small cookie cutter, either round, oval, square or rectangle and cut out the brownie shapes.  Make sure the brownies are completely cool.  These also work best with brownies that don't bake a thick top crust so it's easier to cut out the shapes without any top crust crumbling.  Sandwich the pieces with salted caramel or your favorite filling.  The challenge with the caramel is it often oozes out between the pieces.  I solved the messy issue by putting the sandwiched brownies in mini muffin cups.  It isn't the prettiest dessert I've made but fudgy brownies and oozing caramel - really, who's going to complain?

   

Lemon Cake with Lemony Sugar Wash

Lemon Cake with Lemony Sugar Wash - made May 10, 2012 from Baking Style by Lisa Yockelson

Although lemons generally ripen in winter, lemon desserts always remind me of summer.  Our weather is heating up and we're finally kicking winter to the curb.  Last year, my lemon tree produced zero lemons.  It started out promisingly enough, had a lot of blossoms and even started growing uber-tiny lemons barely beyond blossom stage.  Then the bugs, the soil, the wind or something said "Psych!" and killed off any growth except new leaves.  Now my lemon tree is in its 2nd year and this time, it looks like at least a few lemons might survive to ripen.  I count at least 3 that are on their way to a healthy size and although they look more like limes right now since they're still green, I'm hopeful they'll morph into ripe lemons at some point.  Not to mention this year's army of uber-tiny lemons again just barely past blossom stage but I'm not going to hold my breath yet on those.  Fool me once....

In the meantime, my mom's lemon tree in her backyard, older and more prolific, supplies me with the lemons I need for baking.  As a matter of fact, I'm going to have to search for more and more lemon recipes because she's got a ton.  Fortunately, lemon cake is usually a sure bet and once again, I hit Baking Style for a recipe.  Now I've rhapsodized about Lisa Yockelson's brownie recipes but I should also mention her pound-cake-type recipes are also bomb (like how I incorporated the new slang there??).  Rarely have they not turned out.  In fact I can't remember when one of her pound cake recipes has ever failed me.  And this doesn't either.  If you like lemon and have fresh lemons to use, make this cake.  It has the perfect pound cake texture and brushing it with the lemon-sugar wash ensures great lemon flavor and moistness.  You can make it more summery by serving it with fresh berries as well but it also holds its own perfectly plain.  Let picnic cake season begin.

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel

2 ½ teaspoons lemon extract

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour

1 cup unsifted bleached cake flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

½ pound plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 ½ cups superfine sugar (I used regular granulated sugar)

1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted

6 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 cup heavy cream

1.      Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2.      Combine the lemon peel, lemon extract, and lemon juice in a small mixing bowl.  Set aside.

3.      Lightly spray a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and coat with flour, tapping out the excess.  (This makes a lot of batter so if your Bundt pan can't hold it all, put the excess batter in small ramekins and bake those as well.)

4.      Sift the flours, baking powder and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper and set aside.

5.      Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 4 minutes.  Add the superfine (or granulated) sugar in 4 additions, beating for 1 minute after each portion is added.  Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat for 45 seconds.  Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds after each addition to combine.  Add the egg yolks and beat for 30 seconds longer.  Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.  Blend in the lemon peel and extract mixture.  On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the heavy cream in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl thoroughly with a rubber spatula after each addition.  Beat the batter on moderately high speed for 1 minute.

6.      Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan.  Smooth the top.

7.     Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until risen, set, and a toothpick inserted into the cake withdraws clean.  Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.  Loosen with a narrow spatula and invert onto a serving plate.  Spoon the lemony sugar wash all over the cake, including the sides, giving time for the liquid to absorb before you spoon more over the cake.  Cool completely.

Lemony Sugar Wash

½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1.     Combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.  Spoon over warm cake.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - made May 5, 2012 from Michelle's Tasty Creations blog

It's been crazy busy lately and I haven't been home much so it's been hard to bake and blog in the same week.  I made the cookie dough for this last week, in anticipation of this being a busy week this week, and baked them off to give in goodie bags for my coworkers at our team dinner earlier this week.  I got the recipe from another blogger (click on the recipe title above for the original recipe) and wanted to make it because hers looked so good.  I've been baking long enough that I can tell from a picture if a recipe's going to be good (usually).  From Michelle's picture, I thought this would be moist and chewy and they wouldn't spread very much.

I was right on all counts although mine didn't turn out how I thought they would based on the other picture.  Mine didn't look as "smooth" as hers.  But they didn't spread too much, they were moist and they were chewy. The key for any peanut butter cookie (or most cookies, come to think of it) is to underbake them.  With peanut butter, you want to retain something close to that peanut butter texture but in cookie form.  The oatmeal wasn't very pronounced in these cookies but the peanut butter and chocolate chips make an impression.  Thumbs up.

 

Chewy Brownies - throw some Snickers in there

Chewy Brownies - made May 5, 2012 from Absolutely Chocolate by the editors of Fine Cooking

My niece and one of her friends ended up visiting me last week and besides having Chinese food for lunch with my parents, watching the Avengers and having the best cheesesteaks in town at a local restaurant for dinner, we also baked our desserts at my place.  As is tradition, I give my niece the choice of what she would want to have that could be found on my blog.  She narrowed her choices down to three then gave her friend final decision rights amongst the three.  He picked the Bruleed Banana Split I made a couple of weeks ago.  Being me, I kept the spirit of the dessert but used a different brownie recipe.  Actually I thought I was trying a new one but it turns out I had already made this recipe and not too long ago at that.  Oh well.

We had leftover brownie batter once I'd made the individual brownies in ramekins for the base of our bruleed banana splits so I used my mini square pan to make little brownies and we stuck a chopped-up square Snickers in the middle of each just because.  The brownies were satisfyingly fudgy and chewy.  The recipe in the link is the original version if you just want a pan of plain brownies but you can also get creative with it and make it the base for your own banana split or adorn it with Snickers, Rolos, peanut butter cups and anything else you deem appropriate.  You really can't go wrong with a nice, fudgy brownie (well, you can if you overbake it so.....don't :)).