May 15th, 2011
Bananas are easy to find and available year-round, so everyone should have an awesome banana bread recipe up his sleeve. While I’ve yet to find THE perfect recipe for a basic loaf, I can tell you this caramelized banana loaf cake is a great way to put bananas to use.
This is definitely not “just” banana bread. This is a gorgeous self-saucing, upside-down banana cake scented with vanilla and cinnamon.
Recipe
Making caramel on the stove top seems intimidating, but all you have to do is heat water with sugar and keep an eye on its color. When it turns amber, take it off the stove and swirl in the butter. The butter will foam up as it melts, completing the beautiful process.
After briefly cooking the bananas in the caramel, you’ll arrange the slices neatly in the bottom of the loaf pan. Stir together the batter and gently pour it on top of the caramelized bananas before baking it in the oven.
Some of the caramel will bubble up around the edges as it bakes, but this is just a preview of the lovely cake that appears once you’ve inverted it onto a serving plate.
My ice cream pairing (an art in itself for those of us who a la mode any and everything) was Ben & Jerry’s Late Night Snack. This delvious new flavor of creamy vanilla bean ice cream with salted caramel swirls and chocolate covered potato chip clusters was the perfect accompaniment to this scrumptious dessert.
Caramelized Banana Loaf Cake
Prep time + Bake time = 20 min + 55 min
Serves 8
Ingredients
4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 tbsp salted butter
1 large egg, plus 1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
Directions
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325F. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. Peel the bananas and trim off both ends (reserve for later). Cut the middle length of each banana such that it will fit crosswise in the pan. Halve each of these pieces lengthwise for 6 to 8 total pieces.
3. In a medium skillet, bring 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of water to a boil over medium-high heat, without stirring. Cook until the water has evaporated and the mixture starts turning amber in color. Remove from the heat and add the butter, swirling with a fork until melted.
4. Add the long banana pieces, cut side down, and cook over low heat for 1 minute. Transfer the slices, cut side down, to the prepared loaf pan, arranging them crosswise. Drizzle the remaining caramel on top.
5. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
6. In a large bowl, mash the extra banana pieces to equal 1 cup. Mash in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Whisk in the egg and the egg white as well as the vanilla, followed by the vegetable oil.
7. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour the batter over the bananas in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out dry, about 50-55 minutes.
8. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, and carefully invert the cake onto a platter to cool completely before serving.
7 Comments | In: Cake | tags: banana, caramel, cinnamon. | #
September 12th, 2010
Given that I’ve already made peanut butter bacon cookies and peanut butter sauerkraut cake for this blog, I’m not sure whether peanut butter is a great vehicle for delvious experimentation or whether I just really love me some peanut butter. Either way, i highly recommend getting some of these peanut butter curry cakes into the oven.
Recipe
I can be protective over my baking ingredients (especially my Costco-sized stash of butter in the freezer), so I’ll admit I wouldn’t have dedicated any fraction of my supply to this recipe had I not sampled Humphry Slocombe’s delicious peanut butter curry ice cream. The obligatory batter tasting assuaged any doubts I was having about putting 12 precious tablespoons of butter into a cake pan with garam masala – I licked the spatula clean (as usual).
Thirty-five minutes later I had some adorable mini bundts cooling on a wire rack and an impatient stomach, so I tasted one while it was still warm. It’s hard to explain how these taste, cause they definitely don’t scream CURRY! They’re nutty, but they have an addictive complexity that you would never be able to put your finger on even if you do know there’s some garam masala in there.
My “quick peanut butter frosting” is more aptly called lazy peanut butter frosting, but that doesn’t sound nearly as appealing. It’s certainly as delicious as buttercream, but mixes up quickly with a spoon and can be made into a thick glaze to drizzle over the cakes. The caramel is great if you have some on hand (don’t ask my why I had extraneous caramel in my fridge), but a scoop of dulce du leche ice cream would have paired just as well.
Peanut Butter Curry Cake with Quick Peanut Butter Frosting
Prep time + Bake time = 25 min + about 30 minutes
Makes 10 mini bundts or 24 cupcakes
Cake Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
Frosting Ingredients
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 – 1/2 cup half and half
Caramel (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a mini bundt pan with cooking spray or place cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
2. Combine flour, garam masala, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer at medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla until combined, then drizzle in the egg and mix until well incorporated.
4. Using short, slow bursts of the mixer, blend in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk. Mix until just combined – do not overmix.
5. Evenly distribute the batter between the baking pans. Bake mini bundts for 30-35 or cupcakes for 23-25 minutes. When done, the tops will be lightly browned and a toothpick will come out clean.
6. Remove to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
7. To make the frosting, combine the peanut butter and powdered sugar with 1/4 cup of half and half until smooth. Add more half and half to thin out the frosting if desired. Frost each cupcake generously and drizzle caramel on top if desired.
3 Comments | In: Cake | tags: caramel, curry, garam masala, Peanut Butter. | #