TWD: Lot’s of Ways of Banana Cake

Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities decided on Lots of Ways of Banana Cake for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe.

Thanks, Kimberly! I just happened to need to bake a cake this week because it just happened to be my birthday (which happens to be Bastille Day, the French national holiday, by the way). Maybe only we bakers understand that it's perfectly OK to make your own birthday cake. Maybe even preferred.


I just happen to love banana cake layered with chocolatey icing and smothered in cream cheese icing. It's da bomb!


Plus I just happen to love sprinkles.


And swirls of icing.

Sigh. Such a perfect birthday cake.

This was an delicious, moist cake. Even though I forgot the coconut and was too lazy to open a can of coconut milk. I'm sure those would have been welcome additions.

If you'd like to see the recipe, please visit Kimberly's blog or find yourself a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book, "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

TWD: Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe falls squarely in the "wouldn't-have-picked-this-one-on-my-own" category. Thankfully, Spike of spike.bakes would have, and in fact did, select the Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie.


I think I'll whip up a lifetime supply of these little coconut-shortbread crusts because I don't ever want to eat ice cream without one again. This crust was seriously awesome!


I guess you can tell that I didn't follow the recipe exactly. The filling was supposed to be chocolate ice cream blended with ripe banana (with sliced bananas on the bottom... you can kind of see mine, I think?), but I wasn't feeling the chocolate/banana ice cream combo for some reason. I decided to forgo that in favor of homemade cinnamon ice cream.


(Thank you David Lebovitz and your lovely book, The Perfect Scoop, for the fantastic ice cream recipe.)

And thank you Spike for choosing this recipe. You'll find the recipe on Spike's blog or in Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From my Home to Yours".

I thoroughly enjoyed this and I'm glad I cut the recipe down to 1/4 batch and made it in two mini pie plates. I've already got enough junk in my trunk, thank you very much!

TWD: Cocoa-Nana Bread

There are some weeks at Tuesday's with Dorie that feel like the weight of the world is resting on your shoulders. Where one bad decision could upset the balance of nature. Like this week, where TWD bakers the world over wrestled with the age-old question, "do chocolate and bananas really go together?"

One look at this deep, dark, chocolatey bread and I can hear you saying "what bananas?"


Oh, they're there all right... exactly as dictated by this week's TWD recipe, Cocoa-Nana Bread, chosen by Steph of Obsessed with Baking.

Yep, I decided to defer the decision and potentially life-altering results by baking the recipe exactly as written.

Thank goodness.

I thought this bread was fantastic, very chocolatey with just the right hint of banana flavor. Moist too. (You should try it toasted, with butter... oy vay!)

Here's the one thing I did change up... I down-sized my loaf pan and made half batch. (I thought I was very clever, until I remembered that I stole this idea from Audax Artifex, a Daring Baker.)

Anyway, check this out, it's cool...

I took a piece of cardboard and cut it down to the same size as a cross-section of my pan (or just a tiny bit larger, so it will stay put), then wrapped it in foil.


I wedged it into the pan so it made two equal sized sections.


Then I lined the pan with parchment so the batter wouldn't leak underneath the wall.


I scooped my half-batch of batter into one side, and then wedged something in the other side to keep my cardboard wall from scooting over under the weight of the batter (a small cake pan, in this case).


Then I baked as normal. It seemed to take as much time as a full size loaf would have.

And voila! A perfect little cube of cocoa-nana bread!


OK, you'll have to excuse me while I go pour a big glass of cold milk and pop a thick slice of this cocoa-licious bread into the toaster.

Until next week... you can find the recipe at Steph's blog or Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking: From my Home to Yours".

Daring Bakers: Apple Strudel

Believe it or not, it's Daring Bakers time again. This month, the gang made... (drum roll please)... Apple Strudel!

Yeah! I've been wanting to try apple strudel forever, but have been too chicken (bock, bock).

And now a word from our sponsors...The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Enough yappin', let's get to it. I'm going to let the pictures speak for me today since I have nothing interesting to say (unlike all those other days when I have really interesting, important things to say, coughcough).

First, we start with a simple dough and give it a nice little rest and then... (this is where we step into uncharted territory, for me anyway) roll it out on a floured cloth.


Next comes a slightly strange, unfamiliar process of stretching the dough with your hands until it's paper thin.


...keep going...


...almost there...


Done!

OK, so that wasn't so hard. (I recommend spending some confidence-boosting time on YouTube watching veteran strudel makers demonstrating the technique.)

Next up, a slathering of butter...


... followed by a generous sprinkling of toasted breadcrumbs, and finally a layer of pecans and apple filling on one of the short sides.


Roll that bad boy up using the cloth, which helps to avoid spilling the whole thing all over the table (YouTube, people).


I made two smaller strudels rather than one monster strudel. For the second, I made a caramelized banana filling with some chocolate chunks and almond slivers sprinkled in.


We were to bake until the strudel was a deep golden brown. I don't think I baked mine quite long enough.


The filling was cooked through, but the pastry layers weren't very crisp. Within several hours, they weren't crisp at all. It still tasted good, though.

Here's the apple strudel...


... and the banana.


How did they taste? Both were quite tasty, although I preferred the apple. The banana bordered on "too sweet". Would I make this again? Sure. It was some work, but if the fillings were made a day ahead, it really wasn't that hard. It was a fun and impressive dessert and I'm so glad the hosts got me to try it. Thanks so much, Linda and Courtney!

I chalk this up as a successful challenge, and I'm looking forward to next month's. See ya' then!

Apple Strudel
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts *I used pecans
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

Strudel Dough

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Tips
- Ingredients are cheap so we would recommend making a double batch of the dough, that way you can practice the pulling and stretching of the dough with the first batch and if it doesn't come out like it should you can use the second batch to give it another try;
- The tablecloth can be cotton or polyester;
- Before pulling and stretching the dough, remove your jewelry from hands and wrists, and wear short-sleeves;
- To make it easier to pull the dough, you can use your hip to secure the dough against the edge of the table;
- Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible.

Both Courtney and Linda did a trial run on making the strudel. Below are their notes:

Courtney's notes
- She couldn't get it to stretch to 2 feet by 3 feet, it turned out more like 2 feet by 2 feet. But the dough was tissue thin nevertheless;
- She got some serious holes, but after rolling it wasn't noticeable;
- She used a large cheese cloth which helped manipulate and stretch the dough more than a heavier cloth would have.

Linda's notes
- I made the dough by hand, just mixed the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Kneaded it for about 5 min like you would bread dough. This worked as well. Haven't tried using a stand mixer so I don't know how it compares.
- Instead of cider vinegar I used red wine vinegar;
- I used bread flour;
- Picking up the dough to let it stretch didn't work well for me, holes appeared pretty much instantly. Instead I stretched the dough while it was lying on the tablecloth by putting my hands underneath and stretching it out further and further;

TWD: Banana Cream Pie & Orange Cream Tart

Many thanks to Amy of Sing for Your Supper, who chose Banana Cream Pie for this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe. Who doesn't love banana cream pie? (All of you banana cream pie haters, just shush ;-) )

I've made enough pie now that it doesn't strike fear in my heart like it used to. Still, I'm far from an expert.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I need to try a different pie crust recipe (sorry, Dorie! it's me, not you!). I simply can not get the edge of the crust to hold it's shape and not shrink. Following the advice of long-time pie bakers, I made sure to have plenty of dough at the edge. I chilled the dough after rolling it out and before placing it in the pan. I took extreme care not to stretch the dough while I was putting it in the pan. I chilled the crusts in their pans for over an hour before popping them in the oven.

And yet, I got shrunken, shriveled crusts...


Fortunately, the crust isn't the star of this show, the filling is. This is not your typical creamy vanilla-flavored banana cream pie filling. It's more the exotic cousin of your standard filling, with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It was the color of pale peanut butter.


It thought it tasted fantastic. I could have been easily satisfied naming it cinnamon pudding and calling it a day.

But, with the pie shells already made, it wasn't much more effort to transform it into pie...








I guess it's time for a confession. I really don't like making whipped cream. It's just sooooo much easier to grab mother's little helper out of the freezer...


Don't hate me!


I also made the Orange Cream Tart this week. I made a quarter of the recipe and it fit perfectly into a mini pie shell.


This was almost the same dessert as The Most Extraordinary Lemon Cream Tart, with the juice being different, of course, as well as the addition of gelatin.


It was fabulous and tasted like a pie version of a Creamsicle. You can find the recipe HERE at the Brown-Eyed Baker's blog.

I really enjoyed both of these pies and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite. All in all, they made for a good baking week.

OK, see you next week, when we start a chocolate triple header.

Cake Slice: Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache

Welcome to the January edition of The Cake Slice, where members bake up a monthly cake from the cookbook “Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes” by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne. On the menu this month was Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache.

(Is it just me, or have recipe titles gotten really, really long?)


The praline filling was interesting and introduced me to “sugared pecans” for the first time (both eating and making them). The method for making the sugared pecans was new as well… we first boiled the pecans for 5-8 minutes, let them drain, then coated them with powdered sugar, then deep fried them.

And how were they? Dad-gum good!! I just happened to have a hot cup of tea as I was making them, and let me tell you, just-warm sugared pecans with a cup of hot tea… out of this world! It was hard to save them for the cake.

The filling consisted of chopped sugared pecans with white chocolate ganache. Here you can see it (somewhat) before icing. (Love that skimpy bottom layer of filling... not!)



I'm sorry to say I didn't sample the cake. I sent it with my sister-in-law, who works for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, to one of the MDA's monthly events. I heard back, though, that it was delicious.

I'm just happy to have been introduced to sugared pecans.

OK, over and out until next month! If you want the recipe either A) buy the book (you won't be sorry, I promise), or B) check it out here, courtesy of Gigi from Gigi Cakes, and our fearless leader.

TWD: Black and White Banana Loaf

I wanted to title this post “Only My Body is Getting Older”.

I can almost hear you asking “what the devil does that have to do with this week’s Tuesday with Dorie recipe?” (This week's recipe is Black and White Banana Loaf, chosen by Ashlee of "A Year in the Kitchen".)


You see, I was going to write about the fact that I recently rejoined the work force after a 7 year stint as “chief-cook-and-bottle-washer” (i.e. professional mom). And how I finally got to take sweets in to *my* work. And how I got to act all humble and say “aw shucks, it was nuthin” when everyone oohed and aahed about how scrumptious the banana loaf was.


But then I got to thinking about how long I’d been away from work and how long I'd worked before that and I made a startling revelation. Startling, I tell you! I don’t know how this happened...

I started my career 20 YEARS AGO!!!

20. Years. Ago.


If you’re young enough to have never made this type of declaration, let me clue you in… the next thought immediately following is something along the lines of “When did I get OLD?!??!” Years of denial came to a screeching halt. old, Old, OLD… NESS... at my doorstep.

Sigh.


My grandma once said, when she was near the end of her life, that she always felt the same age inside. Now I understand what she was talking about. I think my mind’s age is 30-something. Not 20-something, because much of that decade seemed a time of growth and change (or turmoil and struggle, depending on how you look at it).


OK, OK, enough of the drama queen bit. I’m actually OK with being 40-something. I finally feel comfortable and at ease with myself. I’m not really that upset that I’m not a gorgeous young babe anymore (BWA, HA, HA, slapping hand on table).

Anyway, I don’t even remember what my point was… oh yes… banana loaf.


You can see the pictures I took as I layered the plain and chocolate banana cake batter, above. I didn’t run my knife through the batter afterwards because I wanted to see what it would look like without.

I could see baking batch after batch of this, just to see how the patterns turn out!


Quite a few of my fellow bakers said that their batter was runny and that layering was difficult. My experience was the opposite... I thought the batter was thick. I can only guess that batter consistency depended on the size of bananas used. Maybe?

I followed the directions to a T, even though I kept stopping as I went… “bananas… chocolate… rum?... nut-MEG? LEMON!? Together!?!” But I stuck with it. In the end, I'm not sure I would classify this as banana dessert. To me, the rum was the most prominent flavor, with the nutmeg and chocolate following close behind. I thought it tasted good... kind of a chocolate goes tropical kind of flavor.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what my work mates thought of the banana bread… I forgot to bring it in. (30-something year-old mind, my butt! It’s probably closer to 100! LOL)

So that's that!

Up next week is Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream. Until then, please stop by Tuesdays with Dorie to find out how the other bakers fared with their banana loaf.