Brown Butter Banana~Almond Tea Bread...and May's Give-Away Apron

There's no excuses for being so late...well, maybe a few.  I've been working on my next flowers that launch in July and a website to support Susan's Paper Garden projects--which should be up in a week.  I actually made the apron awhile ago, but just haven't baked, which is so odd for me to go this long. 

Hubby left me with bananas on the counter before heading east to meet our newest granddaughter and what could I do, but come up with something I've never done before.

The first thing that came to mind was Almond paste.  While cleaning up the cupboards, I noticed I have two cans, which I can't remember why I bought, but it sounded good.  Of course, that decided the nuts that I would use would be almonds. 

And so a recipe began...

Brown Butter Banana~Almond Tea Bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and browned
3 large banana, peeled and mashed
1 can (8oz) Almond Paste, crumbled
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray 1 Tea Loaf Pan-12" x 4" x 2 1/2" or 2 regular loaf pans with a baking spray.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over low heat until melted and golden brown.  Add the mashed bananas to the butter and stir to combine.

In a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the sugar and almond paste to combine.  Add the banana/butter mixture and mix once again.  While mixer is running, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the extract and scrape down the sides, if needed.

Remove bowl from the mixer and stir in the dry ingredients and the nuts.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan(s) and sprinkle top with addition nuts, if desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, then turn temperature to 300F-degrees and bake an additional 10-15 minutes--until a tester comes out cleanly from the middle. If baking two loaves, reduce time to 55 to 60 minutes, total.

Allow tea bread to cool about 7 to 10 minutes, then, invert onto a serving plate.  Cool bread before slicing.

Yes, maybe another banana bread, but this one is loaded with flavor and moistness; can't go wrong with that. 

I hope you like the apron because the flowers...and colors really appealed to me.  Just post a comment, anytime this month (which is fleeting) and you could be the lucky one chosen by it:-D Enjoy!

Mother's Day Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

My mother was an extraordinary woman!  She raised eight children and supported my father through his naval career with almost 50 years of marriage before a brain tumor took her from us.  I learned so much from her and know I owe everything I've achieved in my life is because of the self-esteem she instilled in me. 

My love of baking is to her credit too and when I got married, we baked together for family functions, including some weddings and my grandparent's 50th anniversary.  I chose to do the pound cake we made so many times, but added the twist of a strawberry swirl.  This recipe makes 18 cups of batter, which was advantageous when baking layers, but I found that even my largest 12-cup Bundt pan wouldn't have held it all.  So, I made six mini bundts and gave some to my movie buddy--Betty.

She not only taught me how to bake, but she showed me that being a mother was the greatest job I would ever have.  This poem I found, while sifting through items to prepare for a move, was one I wrote down when I was newly married.  I don't know who wrote it and nothing came up on google, but it is one that I hold dear to my heart.

I Remember

I remember when I could read an entire

chapter, some days even an entire book

at one sitting

without interruptions.

I remember when I could work

for hours at a time in my study,

the hours were dependent on me,

not on a nap.

I remember when I knew no one

with children

and had no idea what 2T meant.

And I remember when

no one called me Mommy

and when

no little arms wrapped themselves

around my neck,

no little kisses or hugs were mine.

And I prefer today.

One of my dearest friends, Marcia Powell, drew this for me after Kelly passed away 

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Cut into cubes to soften more quickly

2 3/4 cup sugar

10 large eggs

3 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. Almond extract

4 cups Queen Guinevere Cake Flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Strawberry Puree

2 cups strawberries, pureed in a processor

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. cornstarch

Prepare the berries and place in a small sauce pan.  Mix the sugar and cornstarch together and stir into the strawberries. Heat on medium, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.  Pour into a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill while you make up the cake.

 Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with a Flour/Oil baking spray generously.  Do the same to a mini bundt pan (or 6-cup muffin pan).

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly, scrapping down the sides as needed with a rubber spatula.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides as needed while adding the eggs.  Add the vanilla and almond extract and beat once more.

Sift the dry ingredients and add to the batter, one-third at a time.  After all the dry ingredients have been added, beat one minute more.

 I use a large scoop to measure my batter into the prepared Bundt pan.

Use an off-set spatula to spread, then add some of the strawberry puree, about 1/3 cup.  Cover with a little more batter, then more puree, ending in a little more batter to come up two-thirds of the way up in the pan. Use a knife to swirl the puree through the batter.

Use the remaining batter, divided equally among the mini bundt pan or cupcake pan, adding about a tablespoon of puree to it and swirling with a knife.

Bake the mini bundts about 23 to 35 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool about 5 - 7 minutes before inverting them onto a parchment lined rack.

Make a simple glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 T Light Karo syrup

1-2 T hot water

Pour over the mini bundts.

Bake the pound cake another 43 to 45 minutes more, or until a wooden skewer poked in the middle of the cake, comes out cleanly.

Remove from the oven and cool 7 to 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter.  Make up more glaze and pour over the cake.

We love the simplicity of pound cake and the addition of a strawberry swirl reminded me of the times my mother and I would go strawberry picking to make jam together.  

This is a hard day for me, but I'm filled with so many beautiful memories and I'm thankful I have friends to share them with.  I'm wishing you all a wonderful Mother's Day--Enjoy!

BTW: I did cut out the apron for May, but a Skype call with my grandson took precedent; it will be up tomorrow...promise, XOXO

  

 

Pinkies & April's Give-Away Winner

It feels like forever since I've baked, not to mention post and I realize that time really does fly when you're having fun:-D  I arrived back home to a mountain of work and requests as a result of my new die line that launched with Ellison and to prepare our home to go on sale--all of which makes for a hectic life, but a good kind of hectic!

After 10 days of being with my girls, I couldn't help but think of baking something pink and these cookies came to mind.  Pinkies are the Pacific Northwest's version of New York's Black & White; a cake-like cookie with a luscious frosting instead of a white and chocolate glaze.  The original pink frosted cookie was sold under the name of Uncle Seth's Cookie which was later sold to a larger bakery called Pink's Original Bakery. And, they say, Pink Frosting tastes better than any other!

Pinkies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups granulated
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees and line two baking with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the eggs, one at a time while the mixer is running, again, scraping down the sides.  Add the vanilla.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl and add to the batter alternatively with the milk.  Mix on low to combine. The dough is soft and somewhat sticky.

Use a 1/4-cup scoop to measure out the dough onto the parchment-lined pans.  Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly brown--they will be lighter than you might expect.

 The center of the cookies should be set when touched with your finger tips.

Pink Frosting: 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
6 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. strawberry flavoring
3 to 4 drops of red food coloring

2 T 2% milk

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners's sugar until combined.  Add the vanilla, strawberry flavoring, and red food coloring gel and mix again, adding the milk while the mixer is running.

After the cookies have cooled, use an offset spatula to spread the frosting...being generous with it!

 Even on the dreariest day, these cookies will definitely put a smile on your face and I'm hoping on my grands who will get a box of them in a few days.  Enjoy!

Now, for the winner of April's Give Away Apron...

Congratulations to PC Stamper!  Please email me your mailing information and I will get this apron to you to enjoy.  I promise to have the next beautiful apron up shortly and apologize for being so tardy.  XOXO

Presenting Emersyn...

It's been hectic these last few weeks; first flying to Boston to teach and then home for just a couple of days before flying to New Jersey to meet our newest granddaughter, Emersyn Kangqi!  I will be home on the 5th and promise to have some new stories and recipes to share. 

I'm trying to keep up with all my favorite blogs, but if I've missed commenting, please forgive me--Mimi duty is a full-time job:-D

Cinnamon Roll Cake

It's no surprise that cinnamon is one of my favorite spices, so when I received my copy of The Baking Sheet, published six times a year by King Arthur Flour, I couldn't help but take notice of this recipe for Cinnamon Roll Cake.  This recipe, with some adaptations, was originally submitted to the 2012 King Arthur Flour "Great Cake Contest" by Amy Colvin of Pueblo, Colorado, where it took 1st place in their State Fair.  It reminded me a lot of the sour cream coffee cakes my mom would bake, with the exception that this one has a small box of Jell-O Vanilla pudding mixed with the dry ingredients!

Whether you like a bit of cake with your coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon, or just as a dessert, this is a winner in my book.

Cinnamon Roll Cake
Cake:
2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3-ounce box Vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar
1 T ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Grease a 9 or 10-cup bundt cake pan
In a stand mixer, whisk together all the dry ingredients.  All at once add the butter, oil, eggs, vanilla, sour cream.  Mix well, the dough will be thick.

In a separate bowl, mix the 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 T cinnamon together.  Fold into the cake batter with a large spatula, leaving swirls through the batter.  Scoop half of the batter into the prepared pan.

Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Mix the ingredients together in a separate bowl, then, sprinkle over the batter in the pan.  Scoop the remaining batter over the filling and smooth the top.

 Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.  (Mine took exactly 45 minutes).  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for an additional 20 minutes before flipping the cake out of the pan to finish cooling.

 Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 to 4 T heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together the glaze ingredients until smooth.  Drizzle over the cake once it's lukewarm.  Yields about 20 servings.

Amidst another tragedy in our country, I felt baking a coffee cake was a good idea; have some friends stop by and make sure you tell them how special they are to you. So, I'm telling you all, my dear friends in blogdom, that you bring joy to my life and how much I love getting to know each and every one of you.  Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Biscotti

It seems like ages since I've been in the kitchen to bake; between work and a quick trip to North Carolina, it's only been a week, but still, that's a long time for me.  We've decided to list our home and try, once again, to relocate to the east coast and be closer to family, hoping the real estate market will be kind to us:-))

The "Triangle" (Raleigh, Durham, Wake Forest) area is our destination and I was able to find a builder who will be building our last home! I'm emphasizing last because that term has been used (by hubby) in our past three locations:-D  We've driven through North Carolina several times on the way to Hilton Head and Orlando and Kelly lived in this area for about a year after college, but unlike the Seattle area, I felt I needed to go there and see if I got the "feeling."  I never visited the Pacific Northwest because my grandfather had been stationed at Bremerton and my mother had told me about the area; her brother was born here.  Happily, upon my brief visit to North Carolina, I got the same feeling...in a big way!

Now, the stress begins to list our home once more while juggling a very hectic work schedule.  I've already started the cleaning and sorting, which I do love about a move, but all of this does make for very long days.  So, this morning, I decided to create one of the most comforting foods I remember from childhood, Snickerdoodles, but in a biscotti version.  Simple and satisfying while I assemble kits for workshops and continue to clean and sort.

Snickerdoodle Biscotti
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 T vegetable shortening (I used the butter-flavored)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground Cardamon
2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening and sugar together until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed, with a rubber spatula.  Beat in the vanilla and cardamon.

Mix the flour, cream of tartar, and salt together, then add to the bowl.  Mix on low, just to incorporate the dry ingredients--DON'T OVER MIX!  The dough will be somewhat sticky, but resist adding additional flour.  

I use a cookie scoop of dough to create the "log".  Wet your finger tips and smooth the surface, then heavily sprinkle the topping over the logs.

Bake in the preheated oven for 28 to 30 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool about 10 minutes before transferring to a cutting board.  Use a serrated knife to cut into 3/4" to 1" slices.  Place the slices on the baking sheet and return to the oven.  Bake 10 minutes more.

Remove the pan and turn the biscotti over to the opposite side and bake another 6 or 7 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before storing cookies.

Makes approximately 30 biscotti.

Simple and satisfying...now back to work! Enjoy! 

My beautiful granddaughters, Madison (4 1/2 yrs) and Emersyn (14 mos)

[If you'd like to visit my daughter's blog to China to bring Emmie home, you can read about it here.]

  

Nostalgic German Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake & April's Give-Away Apron

This week I've been Spring cleaning and painting--getting ready to put our home for sale.  We love the Pacific Northwest, but as our oldest daughter prepares to leave on Tuesday for China to bring our granddaughter home, the heartstrings have pulled us to make this life changing decision.

While packing up some of my many cookbooks, I found a recipe box, full of my mother's recipes, that Kelly had "absconded" with and is back in my possession.  In it was a recipe for German Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake; one my mother baked several times.  I don't know where she got the recipe, but I do know it is delicious.  My mother was German and Irish and I bet this really appealed to her German side!  How sauerkraut found it's way into a cake is a mystery; was someone out of coconut and thought rinsing off sauerkraut might be a good substitute:-D  Moreover, I think like zucchini or carrot cake, it made sense, why not sauerkraut!  After all, it is a veggie with a high water content and with the addition of coconut, no one will ever notice.

In addition to the recipe from my childhood, nostalgia swept over me while cleaning and I was wishing I still had my Ginny Doll to show my granddaughters.  Thanks to the internet...I found one!
Vogue Dolls made them and she's just as I remember mine, dark hair and all.  I still have her in the box, but I'm now hunting down patterns to make her clothes, just like my mom did for mine.

German Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sauerkraut, rinsed thoroughly

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.  I also used my Magic Baking Strips to keep my cakes from rising in the middle.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the sauerkraut and mix again.

In a separate bowl, place all the dry ingredients together and whisk.  Add to the batter, alternatively with the water, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Stir in the coconut and pecans.

Spoon batter into the prepared pans and bake about 24 minutes, testing with a wooden skewer to check if the cakes are done.  Allow to cool in the pans about 10 minutes then, invert one onto a serving platter and the other on a wax-papered lined rack to cool completely.

While the cakes cool...I made my favorite Chocolate Buttercream. 

Chocolate Buttercream:
10 oz. chocolate, chopped or use chips
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
18 T (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
Place the chocolate in the food processor.  On the stove, in a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream, light corn syrup, and salt to a low boil.  Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and process the mixture until smooth.
Add the sugar and vanilla and pulse several times to combine (about 30 seconds).  With the machine running, add the butter, one tablespoon at a time and combine until smooth and no butter chunks remain.  Transfer frosting to a medium glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until thick and spreadable, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

To assemble:
Spread a generous amount on the top of the bottom layer and spread to cover.

Place the top layer on and frost the top and sides.  I decided to decorate mine with addition chopped pecans on the sides and then, I made some chocolate curls to place around the circumference of the top of the cake.

 It's just a delectable cake and NO ONE would even guess that it had sauerkraut in it...something my brothers, to this day, probably still don't know:-D

Finally, I've actually had April's Apron made since last Monday, but haven't had the time to bake or blog to show it off.  The rules are...comment on any of the recipes I post this month and you're entered.  This month, I went bright and cheerful for all my friends and family who are sick of Winter:-((

Have a lovely week and do try this cake--it's a winner, Enjoy!