Banana Upside Down Cake

I love upside down cake! Not only is it easy to make it is quite versatile, too as you can choose the topping you want. I have done one with berries, mangoes, kiwi and this time I thought why not one with Bananas. After all, my entire family loves bananas and especially when I use them for cake! So, it was an easy decision to use bananas for this delicious and moist upside down cake!

Dutch Baby Pancake with Spiced Apples and Bananas

Delicious and easy to make Dutch Baby Pancake loaded with cinnamon spiced Apples and Bananas! So yummy and perfect for breakfast or brunch!

I have been desiring to make Dutch Baby Pancakes for the longest time but for whatever reason, I never got to. Sad. However,this day was meant to be the day to do it. Sophie, my little girl, approached me this morning and asked me what was for breakfast. She was usually content with cereals or oatmeal and anything with yogurt but today she requested something different. When I mentioned pancakes, she was immediately delighted. I told her, when the idea of Dutch baby pancake popped into my mind, that she may have to wait a little because this is not the regular pancake and it required some baking. She seemed excited about the idea of a new kind of pancake so didn't mind waiting a little at all.

Pineapple Banana Coffee Cake

Bursting with tropical flavors from bananas and pineapples this cake is delicious and super moist! Perfect with your coffee or tea.

Sometimes I buy extra bananas just so I can make Banana cakes. I really love anything with bananas! While oftentimes there aren't enough left-over Bananas to use for baking as the kids would have helped themselves to them, especially my little girl, this week it was a different story. Perhaps because they didn't notice a bunch of bananas sitting on the counter top, which I doubt, or perhaps there was another fruit that captured their attention more. I think it was the latter.

Best Banana Pecan Cake

I love baking with Bananas. The fact that I have many recipes here that use bananas is proof of how much I love this amazing fruit. It just adds so much flavor and moisture to any baked good. I love seeing the brown speckles in a banana bread. I often buy bananas just so I can make banana bread! Yes, I am truly bananas over bananas!

Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

Am always delighted to have left-over bananas as these yummy fruits provide us an excuse to make one of our staple quick bread recipes - Banana Nut Bread. My kids, however, are not always keen with the "bread with nuts" version so to accommodate them, I often make another version loaded with chocolate chips or chunks. However, since we are huge dark chocolate fans, we almost always use the 70% chocolate bar or the bittersweet chocolate for our baking, banana bread included. That way, it doesn't become overly sugary in taste but provides a nice yummy contrast to the sweet bananas.

Feel free to use either choco chips or chunks. But one tip I highly recommend to make anything you bake with chocolate yummy - make sure you use a good quality chocolate - preferably one that you actually eat, not the baking kind. With this you can be assured that your sweet creation is totally scrumptious and full of yummy chocolate goodness! Hope you enjoy this moist and delectable Dark Chocolate Banana Bread!

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 stick Butter, softened*  

3/4 cup Sugar 

3 very ripe Bananas

2 Eggs, room temperature

3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed Orange/Lemon juice 

Grated zest of one Orange or Lemon (optional but great for extra tang and flavor!)

8 oz (1 cup) 70% Dark Chocolate chunks or Chocolate chips 

*To soften the butter, take it out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature about an hour before you need it.  In case that's not possible here's a good  link on how to soften a butter quickly.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan or  you can use parchment paper to line your loaf pan, too. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the softened butter and sugar until whipped-creamy roughly 5-6 minutes. A stand mixer would be quite handy with this.

Peel and mash the bananas. If you wish you can put the bananas in a food processor to hasten the process and make sure it's smooth. Do this while the mixer is beating the butter and sugar.

Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time. Add the mashed bananas and continue to beat until smooth and no more lumps appear. Pour in the lemon or orange juice and the grated zest. Beat just until combined.

Fold in the dry ingredients (flour mixture). Gently fold in the chocolate chips or chunks. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Let cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Enjoy!

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Banana Eggnog and Chocolate Loaf Cake

For us the holidays are not complete without Eggnog. I have never had this drink until I came to the US and immediately fell-in-love with it. I feel like I am drinking custard sauce when I have it and that's why I love it. And yes, I have even used it as custard on cakes and definitely as creamer on my coffee. Even though I have had it for years, I have never attempted cooking or baking with it. I thought 2013 would be the year to make something with eggnog. I didn't have to think hard as to what I wanted to use it for. I already planned to use up some browned spotty bananas for a cake and decided to add some eggnog to the mix. The eggnog taste is quite subtle on the batter itself  hence I decided to add some eggnog glaze. Of course to make it even more scrumptious, I threw in some choco chips! Anything is good with chocolate, right?

Blueberry Green Smoothie

I love Green Smoothies! I have tried it only recently (just a few months ago) and now that I have been drinking it regularly, almost on a daily basis for my breakfast....I can never seem to get enough of it. When people ask me what the taste is like, I always say, it's really just like a regular smoothie - nope, there's no bitter taste of Kale or Spinach but just a sweet-tangy flavor of the fruits and berries with a hint of nuttiness from the Flax seeds and the Peanut Butter.

Best Banana Bread

Oh Banana bread!!! If there is one baked good that everyone makes for their first attempt at baking - I think it is Banana Bread. There is just something so comforting about this loaf. So homey and just plain delicious. Sometimes though Banana breads can turn out dry or bland so we are always on the lookout for a recipe that does not fail - something that will produce a moist and flavorful loaf.

Strawberry Banana and Orange Smoothie

Strawberries were on sale this week so we bought a lot! I have made my Fresh Strawberry Cake three times just this week but I still had enough berries for a smoothie. Also, I had some Bananas and Oranges that I can use too. Of course, using bananas in a smoothie is a given for me - it lends sweetness and creaminess and when used frozen you actually don't need to add any ice to the smoothie. However, I haven't attempted much on using Orange Juice and since I have so many Navel Oranges and they really need to be used up I thought I ought to just try and see how this three fruit smoothie will come out.

Needless to say, the kids love it and had a enjoyable time drinking it! I didn't even put any sweetener at all. Try this all-natural and truly yummy Strawberry Banana and Orange Smoothie - perfect for breakfast or anytime!

Ingredients

 

2 frozen Bananas, sliced
1 cup Strawberries,  tops removed
Freshly squeezed Orange Juice from 3 Oranges (about 1 cup)
1 cup Plain Yogurt
Sugar or your favorite Sweetener (optional)

Procedure

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses or jars. Serve immediately. Enjoy!!!

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Starbucks Banana Walnut Bread

So I made some Banana Bread today and I was so happy with it and wanted to share it with you all. However, when I was about to take a photo of it - half of the banana bread was gone!

Strawberry Banana and Applesauce Smoothie



I have been experimenting using Applesauce in my smoothies and I have been quite happy with the results! I initially tried it with my Blueberry Banana Smoothie and it was just so yummy I decided to try it this time with some lovely strawberries which were on sale this week! Naturally, I wasn't surprised at all that it came out as wonderful as the Blueberry one. But if you don't have some Applesauce handy then why not try it with real apples - I am pretty sure it'll come out great too! Truly a healthy smoothie that's totally guilt-free! Without much ado, enjoy this Strawberry Banana and Applesauce Smoothie!

Ingredients

2 Frozen bananas, chopped
1 cup strawberries, washed and chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened Applesauce (if sweetened you may not need to add any sweetener at all) - or 2 fresh apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup yogurt (plain)
1 Tablespoon - Honey or Agave Nectar (or to taste)

Procedure

Peel the frozen bananas. I find the potato peeler or a small knife useful to remove the frozen skin. Slice the bananas into smaller pieces.

Place the  strawberries, applesauce, yogurt, frozen bananas and your preferred sweetener in the blender. Process until smooth. Adjust the sweetness to your taste. Serve immediately!

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Cranberry Banana Muffins with Chocolate Chips

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we were reminded of our trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts back in July, 2005. Abigail was six months pregnant with William and we took advantage of the chance to travel to New England before the baby arrived. We chose to go to Plymouth because we wanted to visit the site where the Pilgrims first settled and learn about their history. We were so impressed by the courage of the Pilgrims in the face of many hardships that we were inspired to name our son, William, after William Bradford the second governor of the Plymouth Colony. During their arduous 60 day sea crossing Bradford wrote in his journal, "All great and honourable actions are accompanied with great difficulties and must be both enterprised and overcome with answerable courages". Their Christian faith enabled them to perservere in the midst of great adversity and establish a community where they were free to worship God according to His Word.

While in Plymouth we stayed at the Governor Bradford Inn. It overlooks the historic Plymouth Harbor where the Plymouth Rock and Mayflower II are located.

The Mayflower II is a reproduction of the original Mayflower vessel. It has been recreated to give a sense of what the original 17th century ship was like. Seeing the inside of this very small vessel meant to carry only about 50-60 passengers, (there were about 104 on board), we were amazed at how the Pilgrims managed to survive the journey. We also saw the cramped passengers' quarters, the "hold" where they stored food, clothing and other items needed to start the colony, and the very crude tools used in 17th century navigation. The photo below  shows the Mayflower II journeying from Plymouth, England to Plymouth, Massachussets in 1957.

On board the Mayflower II, you will meet actors dressed in period costumes speaking in 17th century English who will share with you what life was like during the voyage. We met Captain Myles Standish, the military advisor for the Plymouth Colony. He shared with us his experiences while on board and the death of his wife Rose upon arrival at Plymouth.

A monument to the Pilgrims who died during the first year in the Plymouth Colony.

Over all, it was a very successful trip and we're glad we went. It is a trip that is a highly recommended.

Now to a lighter note, here's a lovely recipe that's great for the holidays - Cranberry Banana Muffins.



Ingredients

1 cup plus 3 Tbsp sugar (I use white)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs (room temp)
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup banana, mashed (about 1 1/2 bananas - you can use 2 bananas if you prefer)
1/4 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips or pieces (optional)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix all dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, crack the eggs and beat lightly just until combined. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients (yogurt, banana, oil, vanilla) and continue to beat in medium speed until it's smooth and there are no big banana lumps roughly 1-2 minutes.

Adjust the speed to low and then slowly pour in the flour mixture. I try to do this in three parts to prevent the flour from splattering all over the place. Scrape the sides with a spatula after adding each flour. When everything is just combined, stop the the mixer. Fold in the cranberries and the chocolate chips/pieces, if using.

Divide evenly into a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. Bake at 400 for about 18-22 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Oven heating/temperatures vary so adjust the time accordingly. I use a Demarle Flexipan - the muffin cooks faster here so you may have to adjust the time a bit if using a regular muffin pan. Let this serve as a guide. A friend of mine who made this recipe said it took about 22 minutes for her muffin to fully cook.

Leave it to cool a bit in the pan for about 7-10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. The muffins may feel soft when you lift them up but don't worry they will harden as they cool down.

I love that this is just a balance of sweet-tart flavors and comes out really moist even after you have left it standing for a few hours. On occasion when I am feeling rather indulgent, I add 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips! Moist and delicious cranberry muffins!

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Chocolate Banana Muffin

Yum is the word....to describe this moist and chocolatey muffin. Chocolate melts in your mouth as you bite into the muffin....mmmmm.... I suggest eating it warm for the full melt-in-your mouth effect.

Ingredients

3 very ripe bananas

1 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter, softened*

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

*To soften the butter, take it out of the fridge and bring to room temperature, about an hour before you need it.  In case that's not possible here's a good  link on how to soften a butter quicker.

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners. Prepare all the needed ingredients beforehand.

Mash bananas with a fork. My junior chef comes in handy at this point. While he's mashing the bananas I work on the other ingredients. You can also use the food processor for this.

Cream sugar and the softened butter until light and smooth, about 3 minutes more or less.  An electric mixer would be handy for this. Beat the eggs one at a time into the mix then add the mashed bananas and vanilla. Continue to beat just until smooth and no more big lumps appear. Do not overbeat.

Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, salt and baking soda.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; mix until just combined.

Fold in the choco chips.

Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for about 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to it.

Let it cool on the muffin tray for about 5 minutes (until cool enough to handle). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!!!