Banana Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Who among us hasn't watched a few bananas discolor on the kitchen counter and turn dark brown before we could eat them? It happens to me all the time and I usually throw the bananas in the freezer whole, wrapped up a plastic bag. When I want to bake with them, I just thaw them and peel them. I typically use the nearly rotted bananas for banana "bread" or smoothies, but decided yesterday to make a banana cake recipe I found online, at a website called Grumpy's Honey Bunch. I got off to a rough start, though, as I was about to place the pan in the oven. I was using a spatula to wipe the bowl, and a bit got on my hands, which I licked. I realized immediately that the batter had no sweetness, because I had forgotten to add the sugar. I dumped the mixture back into a bowl, added the sugar, buttered another pan, and prayed that it would all turn out alright.

It emerged from the oven looking just fine, so I proceeded to make the frosting. If you prefer just a dusting of powdered sugar, that works too. 

But this browned butter frosting with maple syrup is so delicious, I highly recommend you make it. I topped it with some candied pecans I had made last week, but just toasted pecans would be fine too.

The earlier snafu didn't seem to affect the taste or texture of the cake. It was so tender and delicious, I could have eaten half of the pan. The bulk of this went to a neighbor, but I kept a few pieces for my dessert-loving husband (and me too). It serves a lot of people, so make sure you've got a crowd coming. It's sure to be a hit.

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Banana Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

recipe from Honey Bee's Kitchen (with a couple of minor adjustments)

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2¼ cups flour
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but you don't need that much. I might even reduce it to 1 cup next time)
• ½ tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 medium bananas , mashed
• ¾ cup buttermilk (I almost never have it on hand, so I just squeeze some lemon into regular milk and wait for ten minutes or so for it to "curdle."
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup unsalted butter melted

For the Browned Butter Maple Frosting

• 2½ cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoon butter browned
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2½ tablespoon half and half (I used milk)

Instructions:

For the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk to the mashed bananas.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and mix with a hand mixer on medium speed until well blended.
5. Pour in a 9x13 glass baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

For The Frosting

1. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, cook the butter until bubbly and the solids begin to brown.
2. Pour the melted butter over 2 cups of confectioners' sugar. Add the maple syrup and the 2 tablespoons half and half (or milk).
3. Adjust with remaining sugar and half and half (or milk) as needed to make frosting of a spreadable consistency.
4. Frost the cooled cake and garnish with toasted whole pecans (if using - I used candied pecans). 

Pistachio Cannoli Cake

If you love cannoli, this cake should be on your table, with its luscious filling of ricotta, flavored with chocolate and candied orange peel. The cake batter contains pistachios, and it's also sprinkled with them along the sides. In short, it's a show-stopper of a cake that tastes divine too. It would perfect for company, especially with Easter not far off. 

Not surprisingly, the recipe comes from domestic goddess Martha Stewart. However, after my first attempt that turned out less than perfect, I made a few tweaks. The cake didn't rise well enough on the first try, and I attributed that to a couple of things: I didn't have all the ingredients at room temperature, and I didn't alternate mixing the dry and wet ingredients. I had to try a second time incorporating the changes, and as a consequence, the cake rose higher and was lighter in texture. 

I also deleted the heavy cream from the filling the second time around. Without it, it's much more like a cannoli filling, with the chocolate bits and candied orange peel. But there wasn't enough to make a substantial amount to fill all the layers, so I doubled the amount of ricotta. 

As I do with many recipes containing ricotta, I drained it overnight to eliminate excess water. Look how much came out:

Cut the two layers into four, then stack them together, brush the edges with melted chocolate, then pat the chocolate edges with minced pistachios. Then separate each layer and stack them on individual sheets of waxed paper while you mix the filling.

Spread the filling on each layer, then top with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

If you have extra candied orange peel, decorate the top with it (find my recipe here for making it) or with more chopped pistachios.                                                                

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Martha Stewart's Pistachio Cannoli Cake (my changes in italics)

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans

• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

• ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons shelled unsalted pistachios (3 ½ ounces) (Use more because the side won't be covered properly otherwise)

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ¼ teaspoon orange-flower water (optional) (I used 1 teaspoon)

• 2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks, room temperature

• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Filling

• 2 ¾ cups fresh ricotta (about 1 ½ pounds) (I used 4 cups)

• ¾ cup heavy cream (I omitted this - not needed)

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¾ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for serving (I used 1 1/4 cups)

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (¾ cup), plus 2 ½ ounces more, melted (½ cup) (I would use mini chocolate chips to keep the ricotta whiter-looking since the shards I chopped turned the ricotta beige)

• 4 ounces candied orange peel, cut into a ¼-inch dice (I used more)

• Preheat oven and prep cake pans:

1. Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line pans with parchment; butter parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out excess.

2. Grind pistachios; reserve some and process rest with dry ingredients:

3. In a food processor, finely grind pistachios. Remove and reserve 1/4 cup ground pistachios, then add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to processor and pulse to combine.

4. Beat butter; add yolks one at a time:

5. Beat butter with granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add orange-flower water; beat to combine. Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time, thoroughly combining after each addition and scraping down bowl as needed.

6. Add pistachio mixture and sour cream:

7. Add pistachio mixture to egg mixture in three batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with pistachio mixture.

8. Divide batter between pans and bake:

9. Divide batter evenly between cake pans; smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans once, until tops spring back when lightly touched, 30 to 35 minutes.

10. Cool cakes, then refrigerate:

11. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack; remove parchment and let cool 1 hour. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

12. Make filling:

13. Meanwhile, combine ricotta and cream in bowl of food processor; process until smooth. Add salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and confectioners' sugar; process to combine. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in chopped chocolate and orange peel. Refrigerate in an airtight container at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

14. Cut cake to create layers; stack and brush with melted chocolate and pistachios:

15. Cut each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Stack on a cardboard cake round or a plate; brush edges with melted chocolate, then pat some of reserved ground pistachios onto chocolate. Separate, then refrigerate in a single layer until set, 10 minutes.

16. Assemble cake:

17. Place one cake layer on a cake stand, bottom-side down; spread 1 1/2 cups filling evenly over top, then place second layer on top. Repeat with remaining filling and cakes, finishing with a cake layer, bottom-side up. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and remaining reserved ground pistachios for serving.

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Celery, Date and Walnut Salad

 All hail the humble celery -- so underappreciated and used mostly in soups, or tuna salad (at least by me). In this recipe, however, it gets top billing. I'd been seeing similar salads all over Instagram, including one from my friend Stacey who adds apples to the mix. When I saw Philly Food Girl make it on her Instagram page and declare it was one of the top five salads she'd ever eaten, I knew I had to give it a try. It certainly did not disappoint.

For all you sitting on the fence thinking "It's celery, it can't be that good," think again. When combined with the sweetness of dates, the crunchiness of toasted walnuts and the salty umami of parmesan cheese, you get a melding of flavors that will keep you going back for more. 

The original recipe comes from The Four Horsemen, a restaurant in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has been adapted in many permutations by many people, including me. Their recipe uses Piave Vecchio cheese, but I used Parmesan, a similar hard, aged cow's milk cheese. I skipped the mint leaves the first time I made it since I didn't have them on hand. It was delicious, but if you've got mint leaves, they'll add another level of freshness and flavor.

Make it your own by adding more of any particular ingredient you're partial to. Me, I'm always going to wind up with more parmesan cheese. If you don't like walnuts, use pecans or almonds. But don't mess with the dates. They're a crucial part of what makes this so delicious. It's good leftover the next day too -- if you have any leftover, that is. Perfect to take to a dinner party or picnic too. 

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Celery, Date and Walnut Salad

Adapted from The Four Horsemen

8 stalks celery, sliced with a mandoline, at an angle

1 shallot, finely minced

10 or 12 pitted dates (depending on size), sliced

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon (or more, to taste if the lemon is small)

3 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt, to taste

fresh mint leaves, scattered in

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted in the oven and chopped

1/2 cup freshly shaved shards of parmesan cheese or more if you like 

In a medium bowl, combine the minced shallot, dates, salt, lemon juice and olive oil. 

Slice the celery at an angle using a mandoline. Add to the bowl along with the toasted walnuts and parmesan cheese and mint and toss everything together, but first save a bit of the parmesan cheese shards to sprinkle on top.  Taste for seasonings, and adjust if necessary, then scatter the remaining parmesan cheese on top.

Caramelized Onion Potato Tart

 

This is one of those recipes with a few humble ingredients that combined together, form an intense blast of flavor that you'll find hard to resist. How can you go wrong when caramelized onions meet potatoes and gruyere cheese? Place those on top of puff pastry and you've got a winner - whether you serve it as an appetizer (watch it disappear in a flash) or as the main part of your meal.

The hardest part of this recipe is caramelizing the onions. Actually, it's not hard. It's just time-consuming. It takes about 1/2 hour of slow cooking to achieve this golden goodness. Your house will smell divine. I always posit that realtors would be advised to tell house sellers to forget baking cookies when prospective buyers are expected - cook some onions instead. 

Use store-purchased puff pastry and you'll be done in a flash. Smear the mixture of heavy cream, seasonings and some of the gruyere cheese over the pastry.

Arrange slices of the cooked potatoes on top of the mixture.

The caramelized onions come next.

Then the gruyere and parmesan cheeses.

Bake it for 25-30 minutes and dig in. The recipe makes enough for 16 appetizer-size slices.

Or for four-five servings as a main course. A salad on the side helps complete the meal and cuts down on the richness of the tart. 

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Caramelized Onion Potato Tart

Adapted from Food And Wine magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 pound medium-size (about 4 ounces each) Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/8-inch slices (I used about a dozen small potatoes since that's all I had on hand, and they worked fine.)

• 2 tablespoons, plus 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons water

• 1 frozen puff pastry sheet (from 1 [17.3-ounce] package), thawed

• All-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups), divided

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• Black pepper

• Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in lower third position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place potatoes and 2 tablespoons of the salt in a large saucepan; add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium, and cook, undisturbed, until potatoes can be pierced using tip of a knife but are still firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well; let stand until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

2. Return saucepan to medium heat; add oil, and heat until shimmering. Stir in onion and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften and brown around edges, about 18 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high; stir in  water, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of saucepan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring often, until onion is browned and caramelized. Let stand until cool, about 5 minutes.
   

3. Roll puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a 14- x 12-inch rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bring up the edges all around the perimeter, about 1/2" to form a border. Prick pastry all over using a fork.

4. Stir together cream, thyme, Dijon mustard, nutmeg, and 1 cup of the Gruyère in a medium bowl until combined. Spread cheese mixture in an even layer inside scored border of pastry. Arrange potato slices in overlapping layers over cheese mixture inside border; top evenly with caramelized onions. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Gruyère and parmesan cheese.
   

5. Bake in preheated oven until pastry is puffed and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack, and let cool 5 minutes. Garnish with black pepper and additional thyme. Slice into 16 (3 1/4- x 3-inch) pieces; serve warm or at room temperature.

Candied Upside-Down Blood Orange Cake

 

I've made upside-down cakes plenty of times, including one using blood oranges that I posted years ago here.  They are all visually stunning, and are usually made in round pans. This one however, from Southern Living Magazine, was made in a 9" square pan (I increased the amounts in the recipe and baked it in a larger, rectangular pan seen in the above photo.) The design was different too, since you cut the oranges in half and "stack" them, rather than overlap whole slices in a circle. But what was most different to me were the oranges were cooked in a sugar syrup first, mitigating any bitter taste from the rind. 

They become more like candied oranges -- which redeemed the cake for me. I say redeemed because even though we ate the cake (well, we devoured what was left over from my book group meeting), it had a drawback that I find with all upside-down cakes, namely the texture. If you're starting my scratch, they rarely, if ever, have a really tender crumb, no matter what fruit you're using. Correction -- the exception is  an upside-down pear walnut cake I made that has a very tender crumb. But the plain white (or yellowish) cakes seem to get denser and heavier as each day goes by. I can just hear Paul Hollywood declare in his British accent, "It's a bit stodgy." 

Despite its texture, this cake has tons of flavor, but maybe my hesitation isn't inspiring you to make this cake. In truth, I really hope you do make it. But if you've had this same feeling about upside-down cakes you've baked (or if yours aren't stodgy at all), I'd love to hear from you with the definitive upside-down cake recipe. 

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Candied Upside-Down Blood Orange Cake

(from Southern Living Magazine)

Ingredients

2 1/2 c. granulated sugar, divided

2 medium blood oranges

baking spray

2 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 t. grated blood orange zest

4 T. fresh orange juice

2 T. neutral oil (canola or vegetable oil)

2 t. vanilla extract

2 c. cake flour

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. kosher salt

Instructions:

Combine 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar in a wide saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, trim and cut blood oranges crosswise into 14-16 slices (about 1/4 inch thick), using a serrated knife. Add oranges to boiling sugar mixture. Reduce heat to low. Gently simmer, turning occasionally, until slices start to turn translucent, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer slices to a wire rack, placed over a rimmed baking sheet. Reserve syrup in saucepan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" baking pan with baking spray.

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until browned and nutty in aroma, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer butter to a large heatproof bowl. Let cool 10 minutes.

Whisk eggs, brown sugar, sour cream, orange zest and juice, oil, vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar into browned butter until combined. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Gradually whisk flour mixture into egg mixture until combined.

Cut candied orange slices in half. Arrange in prepared pan as desired, trimming to fit. Reserve any remaining slices for another use. Spread batter evenly over slices, using a small spatula. Gently tap pan on counter a few times to get rid of any large air bubbles.

Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove cake from oven. Prick all over with a fork. Brush cake with 1/4 cup reserved syrup. Let cake cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate. Generously brush cake with 1/4 cup reserved syrup. Save any remaining syrup for another use. Serve cake warm or at room temperature. 

Spinach Gruyere Soufflé

Occasionally, I pick up the free magazine at my local grocery store (McCaffrey's, which is great, by the way) and there are one or two recipes that speak to me. This was one of them, since I had a piece of gruyere cheese in the fridge and a box of spinach in the freezer - two ingredients that would also make a fine quiche, but I didn't want to make a crust or use heavy cream. Besides, it had been an age or two since I last made a soufflé and it was a cold Sunday when I felt like creating something in my kitchen. I altered the recipe since it used the gruyere only on the buttered inside of the bowl, and I wanted the gruyere to be tasted inside the soufflé itself. So I sprinkled parmesan on the inside instead, and mixed in the gruyere with the actual egg/bechamel mixture. 

Making a soufflé is easier than most people think, requiring only careful folding of the beaten egg whites to achieve success. You could use a 6-cup soufflé dish for this recipe but I opted to use a smaller dish, and place a buttered parchment paper collar around the perimeter. It allows the soufflé to rise above the dish, making for a much more dramatic presentation. 

It was divine - so full of flavor, maybe also due to simmering a bay leaf, cloves and onion with the hot milk, so don't skip that part. It was light as a cloud, but heavy enough to fill our stomachs (along with a side salad.) I hope you give it a try. 

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Spinach Gruyere Soufflé

Ingredients

butter to grease the soufflé dish (and collar if using)

grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on the greased soufflé dish 

1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded

1 10-ounce box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water

2 1/2 cups milk

1/4 large onion

1 large bay leaf

2 whole cloves

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Grease a 5 cup soufflé dish with butter, then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Take a piece of parchment paper large enough to fit around the perimeter of the soufflé dish (folding as necessary), and butter that as well, then attach it to the upper part of the dish, tieing with a string. If you don't want to do this, use a larger soufflé dish, but the smaller one with the collar makes a more impressive presentation.

Let the spinach thaw completely, then squeeze out as much water as possible. Mince with a knife.

Simmer the milk gently over low heat for 10 minutes, with the onion, bay leaf and cloves. Remove the seasonings with a slotted spoon.

Make the bechamel by melting the butter, then whisk in the flour, cooking for a couple of minutes. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking until smooth. Let it cool slightly (I placed the pot into a bowl with ice to speed the process.) Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, to the bechamel mixture, then stir in the spinach and the Gruyere cheese.

Fold the beaten egg whites to the spinach/cheese mixture, but not all at once. Start by folding in 1/4 of the mixture, then continue until everything is blended. Don't overmix though, or you'll deflate all those egg whites and your soufflé won't rise well.

Place soufflé on a pan (in case of drippings) and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Check it after 30 minutes, and lower temperature again to 325 degrees to prevent excess browning. Bake for another 10 minutes and serve immediately.