Bananas Cake

 

The name of this cake definitely does not do it justice. It is so much more than a banana cake. A beautiful 3 layer cake that, although it has numerous steps, is well worth the effort. Filled with a creamy peanut butter filling and milk chocolate ganache, then covered with ganache and finally drenched in a chocolate glaze. Who could ask for more?

layer # 1 covered in peanut butter filling

layer # 2 with peanut butter filling and milk chocolate ganache

all three layers with the crumb coat

final frosting

roasted salted peanuts for that little extra crunch

This is a perfect cake for a special occasion and if you're willing to give yourself a little challenge, then go for it! If not- just give me a call- I love a challenge!!!

You can find the recipe at Baked Sunday Mornings.

Classic Carrot Cake- and we're back!

 

It's been a while, but I'm back!  Sometimes things get so busy that I find myself passing on the things that are most important to me- and that's not good. Like writing , photographing, baking, decorating-I'll have to work on that. If we give up on the things that make us feel good, then what's it all for?

 This week's selection on Bake Sunday Mornings is a classic carrot cake with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Instead of one round cake, I made three little loaf cakes. I found these adorable little disposable pans just recently and bought a few to see how they acted in baking. I love the idea of baking and serving in the same container. I got three of these loaf cakes from the recipe but as usual, they disappeared before I had a chance to go click click. They come in a variety of colors, and I also made three mini challahs in them. So adorable and easy to give as gifts!

 Carrot cake is really a classic and there are hundreds of recipes out there. This one, for me, is the best I have tasted. Soft , but doesn't fall apart (contrary to what you see in the photo- really!), moist but not gooey and just the right amount and combination of spices. The frosting is- well let's just say that more than a spoonful was ingested before the cake was even frosted. The addition of the cinnamon is heavenly, not too strong and gives a perfect balance to the spices in the cake- or like I said, straight up!

 Moist and full of flavor

The recipe can be found at Baked Sunday Mornings. Give it a try!

Baked Sunday Mornings-Bananas in a Blanket

I'm a morning person; early morning I would say. Even on that coveted Saturday morning, where sleeping in is the prize after a long work week, I'm awake and busy very early. I do my best work in the morning- no matter what it is I'm doing, I do it best in the morning. What I don't accomplish by, let's say noon at the latest, usually doesn't get done that day. 

So on Saturday mornings, while the rest of the house is still snoring, I bake. I usually bake a bread or two and then something sweet. It's become my special time and I love it!

This morning I made a bread that has become a household favorite and the reason you will no longer see a store-bought package of bread in my house--ever. But that is for another post, sometime soon I hope.

The sweet on the list this Saturday morning was the designated recipe from "Baked Sunday Mornings" from Baked Elements by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. They call it "Bananas in a Blanket".......reminds me of "pigs in a blanket"- just the name I guess, but the title had me thinking something else entirely, before I read the recipe.  Basically, it's a chocolate jelly roll sponge cake filled with a chocolate banana cream, rolled around some bananas.

Some members of the group mentioned that this cake was a bit scary looking (the directions, that is) but I decided to take it on anyway. The cake base is the tricky part, but if you follow their instructions to a tee, then there should be no problem. The cream itself was easy to make and tasted yummy all on it's own. I spread the entire amount on the cake roll which in retrospect, was too much. After I placed the bananas, (which I sliced in half lengthwise) and started to roll, I could see that less would have been better. The cream and a few banana pieces oozed out the end, but that was fixable. 

Conclusions- less cream on the cake, delicious taste and nice presentation.

So that was my Saturday morning and by the time I knew it, the clock struck noon and it was time for a bit of a "late" Saturday morning sleep!

You can find the recipe here . Enjoy!

 

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels (salty ones too)

Theory and reality are two different things. One presents the best laid plans and if all steps are followed correctly, the end result should be as the hypothesis predicted. Then, of course, there is reality. The unexpected factors that were not taken into account in the original theory.

There are at least two possible outcomes- one, the end result remains the same, or two, more likely, the end result will change. Such is the case with these soft pretzels. 

I made the dough and put is aside to rise. So far , so good. As time went on I noticed it was rising, but not to my expectations. Telephone rings- daughter arrives at airport from week long snowboarding trip. Last day of trip, last run, a fall on the ice- ouch! Knee swells up to the size of a very large grapefruit. Leave the house at 6:45 in the evening to pick her up. Go straight to the emergency room from the airport and wait in the emergency room until 1:00 a.m. ( I remembered at the last second before running out the door, to put the questionable dough in the refrigerator-what will be , will be.)

Enter the house at 1:15 a.m. and straight to bed. Next morning, I take the injured to work-can't push on the clutch with her leg- too painful. Finally arrive back home after a few errands and take the dough out of the fridge. 

Now the question is, work it or throw it? I decide to give it a try- no big loss if it flops. And..... it works! The pretzels come out just beautiful, with a  warm golden color. Half get the cinnamon sugar coating and half get the salt ( which is my favorite). 

Moral? Not sure, but sometimes reality and theory come together and produce a favorable result. Worth a try!

Next time, I 'll experiment without the reality (hopefully) as a factor and see what , if any, difference it makes.
You can find the recipe here, at Baked Sunday Mornings. Enjoy!

Bale Bars

The winter in Israel continues- that is, continues to look like spring. I've said many times before that I miss the four seasons I grew up with in Upstate New York. A distinct change from summer to fall to winter , then spring. Rain here is a scarcity and when it does rain, it's at the top of the news.

Certain kinds of food go with certain seasons- and then there is food that you can eat no matter what the weather outside. These Bale Bars are one of those. They remind me of compost type cookies where you put in anything and everything you may have in the house.  Now I know that is not what the original recipe calls for but sometimes you just have to go with your gut. This calls for a cooked mixture of sugar, cream white chocolate and peanut butter which you pour over and mix with peanuts and pretzels. No baking, just refrigeration and you've got a delicious sweet and salty snack (that is a bit difficult to stop eating, I might add!).

I 'm not a big fan of white chocolate, so I substituted dark instead. I also did not have enough pretzels, so this is where the compost cookie idea comes in. I took some Biscoff cookies and crushed them to small bits, not crumbs, and added them to the nuts and pretzels. Since the recipe calls for fleur de sel and the pretzels are salted, I decided to add raw peanuts instead of salted. Wise choice- the bars are plenty salty without the added salt from the peanuts. The result is a crunchy, salty, sweet snack that tastes  best (in my opinion) straight from the freezer, which is where I store them. Add a nice hot cup of coffee and snack away!
You can find the recipe at Baked Sunday Mornings.

Chocolate Whiskey Tart

Sometimes you come across a recipe that becomes one of your "go to" recipes. One that you know is successful, easy to make in a short period of time and is also adaptable to different flavors. I made this tart the first time a few weeks ago and since then I have come back to it at least 3 times. 

Now, I am not a whiskey lover by any means (more of a white wine person myself) but I always like to make a recipe , at least the first time, according to the original directions and ingredients. I served it at a family Friday night dinner and everyone really went crazy over it. I actually did make one change and used crushed Biscoff cookies for the base. They really deepened the flavor of the whole tart. The whiskey was very evident but in a positive way and gave the tart a wonderful flavor. The options are open as far as different liquor flavors- off the top of my head , I can see trying either Kahlua, Irish Cream or even an orange liqueur. Orange and chocolate go together like peas in a pod (least in my taste opinion!)

Pictures were taken at the very (and I mean very) last minute before the family dove into, and finished off I may add, the tart. I had every intention of sprinkling a pretty design of cocoa powder on top of the whipped cream.....never quite made it that far!Photo quality is not great,(no lighting etc. ,etc.) but you get an idea of what it looked like before barely a crumb was left on the plate (and those were gone in a second after that as well!)

You can find the recipe at Baked Sunday Mornings. Enjoy!

Velvet Chocolate Walnut Fudge with Olive Oil and Fleur de Sel

Now that is some title for a post. My first thought was "yichs" but upon further consideration and thought, I decided that I am an open-minded person and the introduction of unusual combinations of flavors is not something I am opposed to. I've experimented in the past with  basil lime macrons - amazing. So off to work.

This recipe calls for homemade marshmallow creme- fluff in layman's terms. Who remembers marshmallow fluff? That sickeningly sweet but delicious spreadable creme that some of us made fluffernutters with.

Marshmallow creme

Marshmallow creme is an American food item. It is a very sweet, spreadable, marshmallow-like confection. Marshmallow creme and peanut butter are used to create a fluffernutter sandwich. Wikipedia

Fluffernutter

A Fluffernutter is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme, usually served on white bread. Variations of the sandwich include the substitution of wheat bread and the addition of various sweet, salty and savory ingredients. Wikipedia

I love making things from scratch when I have the time and energy. The marshmallow creme recipe is easy and so very different and better than the store bought stuff. I liked the fact that it makes more than the basic recipe for the fudge needs , so having leftovers is a plus. I guess... as long as I use it to make something and not spoon it out of the jar into my mouth!

puffy clouds of marshmallow creme

homemade marshmallow creme

I made the creme the night before and the fudge the following morning. It's a simple process, but you must be right there for the whole time- don't go to the bathroom, answer the phone or the door or else you will have a burnt mess that is almost impossible to clean. Not that it happened to me, but I can see the potential- scary!

my messy work area

The fudge comes together nicely and set up very quickly. The recipe calls for evaporated milk, which is virtually impossible to buy here. The one time I did see it, a small can cost something like $20.00 - uh, no, thank you! So I searched for substitutes and found that combining 2/3 cup of non-fat dried milk powder and 3/4 cup of water  will yield the same results.  Although I have not tried it with real evaporated milk, the results seem to be just perfect.    

scoring the top before the fudge settles so the oil can seep in

 The final step after cutting it into small pieces (the recipe calls for 16 pieces- I cut them smaller since I think fudge is so rich that less is better) is drizzling olive oil and Fleur de sel on top. I have a very special hazelnut oil that is something out of this world, and since the combination of hazelnut and chocolate is a winner, I decided to use that instead. Sprinkle with a touch of the Fleur de sel to counter the sweetness and you've got a delicious and a bit unusual treat.

I also drizzled some of the fudge with olive oil and that, too, is a special treat- different angle of flavor but just as good. Using a good quality olive oil is important here.

If you'd like to give these a try, you can find the recipe here at Baked Sunday Mornings.

                               

Antique Caramel Cake

Sometimes when I'm baking and think everything is going just fine, that is usually the sign that something is going to go wrong.

So it was with this cake. 

Cake- easy and straightforward to make- came out perfect. 

Frosting- a different story. Actually the making of the frosting went fine. The recipe did say that if it seemed a bit loose to use right away, to refrigerate it for a few hours. OK.... did that. When I got ready to frost the cake, it seemed a bit more spreadable , but the minute I started frosting the cake it ran down the sides and wouldn't  hold it's shape. How disappointing...:-(

Now that is not to say anything about the flavor. "A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet". The cake AND the frosting, both separate and together are delicious. What I particularly like about the frosting is that it's not too sweet and because of the cream cheese has a slight tang that makes it special. The cake is light, not over sweet either and the combination is great. I could really see this cake being presented very elegantly, but for me, it didn't work visually. Maybe as cupcakes it could work better. next time.

Try it anyways- have it with afternoon coffee, for a sweet breakfast or a late night treat. You can find the recipe here at Baked Sunday Mornings.

Next day note- I just ate the piece of cake I cut for the photo and droopy or not, it's worth it!

droopy mess!

Good Morning Sunshine Bars

Good Morning Sunshine Bars- if your morning sun is not shining, then these will certainly remedy that situation. If you're feeling sluggish- these will definitely get you up and going. 

But they should come with a warning- HAZARD- ADDICTIVE !

The taste reminds me of a snickers bar but with a crunchy texture, thanks to the cereal.  These are easy to make, no baking involved. Just heating the corn syrup, brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla and a touch of salt, so that's one pot. Mix the cereal and peanuts in a large bowl(that's two) pour the heated mixture over them and stir, transfer to an oblong baking dish(that makes three) and drizzle chocolate on top. That's three bowls/pots/pans I counted- not a bad clean-up.

Depending on the size baking dish you use, they can be thicker or thinner. I used a 9x13 dish and they came out fairly thick. I might try a larger pan next time to have them spread out thinner.  Either way, they are really, really good! Really!

 You can find the recipe here, at Baked Sunday Mornings. Enjoy!

Devil Dogs

Anybody remember Ring Dings, Yodels or Devil Dogs? I do, especially Yodels- I think my brother used to eat them by the box. That is if my memory serves me correctly. Mom, do you remember something along those lines?  I don't remember eating Devil Dogs so much but certainly they are familiar. 

A bit of history on Devil Dogs and the like. They were made by a company called Drake's that originated in Brooklyn. They have since been sold out to a large food corporation.

The description of a Devil Dog:

An unfrosted devil's food cake sandwich with vanilla creme with round edged cake wafers resembling a hot dog. This is what the box looked like.

I think the description is pretty accurate.

Last week's assignment for Baked Sunday Mornings ( which I missed , so posting this now-better late than never) was for Devil Dogs with a Malted Milk Buttercream filling.

These were fairly straightforward to make and assemble. I put them all together from start to finish in about an hour. The only change I made to the recipe was the malted milk in the buttercream. The closest I can come to malted milk powder here is Ovaltine. This also has a malted flavor but gives the cream a darker color. It is a fine substitute, though you could completely change the filling with your own preference of flavors. 

The texture of the cookie is soft and chewy- quite yummy. The slight malted flavor of the cream really adds some depth to the whole experience. 

If you are nostalgic and looking for an update on a childhood treat, this is it. And even if you're not nostalgic, try them anyways- they're just good!

Perfect with a cold glass of milk!

You can find the recipe here- Baked Sunday Mornings