Monday, March 19, 2012

Hands Down, Best Banana Cake EVER!

Ok, so I'll be honest with you . This cake was absolutely terrible. It talked. Literally. Whenever I would pass it by in the kitchen, it would call out my name, in this pitiful voice:
Eat me...eat meeeee. you know you want tooooo.
Let me tell you, it was a horrible experience. And I couldnt just ignore it. Because it was so good. And so convincing too! Could be you've had this experience before, could be not. But trust me on this, its not very fun, being under the rule of a bossy banana cake. And what's worse is I was the only one in the house afflicted with this problem! What is wrong with everyone? Am I the only one who is an absolute pushover for a tall piece of super moist banana cake with cream chocolate frosting on top? I know I am definitely not the only person on this planet with this problem, because I happen to know for a fact that my sister would never say know to a piece of this cake. And that is why next week, I have a date with my sister. Just me, her and a big 'ole pan of banana cake. No banana-haters allowed.

Banana Cake
If you are the type of person who reads through the whole recipe before starting, (none of you I bet) then you may have been surprised to see the oven temperature and baking time. Go ahead, I'll wait while you quickly go check it out. ......................Yes, it is not a mistake!  I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and the recipe poster was insistent that this is the only way to make the cake. The reviewers also insisted that it works, so I figured, she must be on to something here. I followed the recipe exactly the first time I made it, and the cake came out delicious but still undercooked. Not wanting to give up on it quite yet, I tried one more time, but this time I baked it for as long as it took until the toothpick came out clean: 1 hour and 45 minutes. It's a long time, but the result was completely worth it. The cake has a very light banana flavor- not overwhelming at all, and I noticed it has very little of those weird banana brown squiqqly lines in it.  The moisture in this cake is really unbelievable. So go ahead and give it a try, and make sure to let me know what you think! 

3/4 cup margarine or butter
2 1/8 cup white sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk*
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 5-6 large bananas)

Preheat oven to 275° Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. (I actually used 2 8'' square pans.) In a small bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the bananas together with the lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup margarine and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat on high for about 5 minutes until the batter is light and creamy. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for at least 1 hour 30 minutes or more: until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
*To make your own buttermilk: measure about 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar into your measuring cup. Fill the rest of the way with milk, soy milk or rice milk. Let sit for a few minutes.


Creamy Chocolate Frosting

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup margarine, softened (1 stick)
1/3 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
In a large bowl combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Add butter, boiling water, and the vanilla.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined.  Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.  If necessary, cool for 10 to 20 minutes or until mixture reaches spreading consistency. 




Monday, March 12, 2012

It's my Baby's birthday!!

Happy Birthday, S-Monkey!
My little boy who dreams of Thomas, James, Percy, Salty and Topham Hat.
Well, maybe not a Thomas with bushy eyebrows, but who's complaining?
As long as it's made with love....and lots and lots of sprinkles!
Happy birthday yummy boy! We love you....
....more than you love Thomas!
(If that's even possible!)

Monday, March 5, 2012

Celebratory Cream Pie

What is Celebratory Cream Pie, you ask? Go ahead. Google it. I'll wait.

What? You didn't find anything?
Apparently, it is one of these things that can't  be explained. Or Googled.
Just by virtue of the fact that you don't know what Celebratory Cream Pie is, shows that you are either:

A. Definitely not a sports fan.
B. Not married to a sports fan.
C. You do not listen to Boomer and Carton.

So I suppose I shall have to show you: 
 And that my friends is Celebratory Cream Pie.

Truth is, I had grand plans of waxing poetic today about a lovely combination of a few of my favorite things. And no, it was not raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, although that was very clever of you to ask.

It was a coming together of all things delicious:
Fudgy Brownie
Rich Chocolate Cream
Whip Cream
I mean, how can that be bad, right?
Absolutely.
It was heaven. So here I was, writing a blog post in my head about how earth shattering this pie was. And baking an insane amount of fudge pies for our Purim Party this week. So, Big D. got home from school last night, after finishing a killer final during his last week of school.
Let me repeat that:
His last week of school.

Can I say it one more time?

HIS LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL.

Gosh, that felt good!

Anyways, so Big D. flew into the house, literally ecstatic that he is basically done, and the first thing he sees are 9 pie pans, fresh out of the oven, all lined up on the counter.

And he started doing a little dance. Literally- my macho, sweat and sawdust husband, did a little jig around the kitchen. Not unlike a victory lap, mind you. And he was singing:
"Celebratory Cream Pie, Celebratory Cream Pie, Celebratory Cream Pie."
Yeah, it may sound like we have a few screws loose, but let me tell ya: A year of this school would make you lose the whole toolbox, forget the screws.
And that my friends, is why this post is now aptly titled:




Brownie Layer
No, you are not imagining things. I use the same brownie recipe for everything-its my fave. 

  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter/margarine in a medium sized saucepan. Remove from flame and allow to cool slightly. Add in sugar, eggs and vanilla and stir (by hand) until smooth. Stir in cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Pour into a greased 9 inch round pan. (Don't use a pie plate, it needs to have high sides.) Bake at 350° for 35. Cool completely.


Chocolate Cream

  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups milk or soy milk
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon margarine or butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. In a medium bowl, beat milk and egg yolks until smooth. Gradually stir into sugar mixture. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Boil and stir for one minute.
Remove from heat and stir in chocolate, margarine and vanilla. Stir until melted.
Pour on top of cooled brownies. Place plastic wrap over filling to prevent skin from forming and chill for several hours. Top with whipped cream. Refrigerate until serving. 



Have a happy, happy Monday!