Brownie Banana Bread Cupcake Blunder

Hello friends,

Let's get straight to it shall we? I am sad. Just when I thought I was getting into a groove, life decided to throw me a sucker punch in the form of this tantalizing recipe for Brownie Banana Bread Cupcakes.

My bananas were getting ripe. Too ripe. But I had read somewhere on the good old Internet that you can freeze black bananas until you are ready to bake with them.

Ask me if I remembered to thaw the bananas ahead of time.

Nope.

Did I remember to take butter out of the freezer?

Nope.

But I did not let any of this deter me, even though I probably should have just taken the hint. Fate was trying, most likely, to help me out; but stubborn little me really really wanted to try one of these cupcakes. I managed to get the skin off of the bananas, much like peeling a carrot, but then thought to microwave them to get them a little less, well, frozen.

I finally manage to get everything into the cupcake pans and it's so late that I think "just not frosting them would leave me with sweet muffins. No one will know the difference". But frosting would not have saved these sad, naked cakes. The added moisture from the microwaved bananas made me increase the cooking time, to the point where the brownie became non existent, dry, and crumbly, and there still were mushy sections of cake.

It's never a good sign when one must wrestle with the cupcake wrapper to get at the actual cake. Ugh.

I guess I am still trying to get my head in the game so to speak for my senior year of college. Coming back is always exciting, but it also tends to feel a bit like a slap in the face. Reading, studying, homework, part time job, running a student organization and blogging. What have I gotten myself into?

Well, next week there will be fudge. Fudge makes everything better, right?

Right.

So until next week,

Happy Baking!

THE Best Banana Bread

Hello friends,

No, you did not misread that title. This is truly the best banana bread I've ever had the pleasure of baking and eating. I do love my Oreos, but after they inspired some kick-ass cookies and cupcakes, I was suddenly craving some serious warm, cozy, wholesome flavors that can only be administered by a well-baked banana bread.

But what recipe would ensure a satisfied craving? I began roaming through recipes, searching Pinterest and FoodGawker until I almost lost hope. Why does nearly every recipe I find have to be "Banana + other flavor I don't want detracting from my Banana Bread Bread"? Banana Coconut Bread, Banana Walnut Bread, I just want Banana Bread. Much like my feeling to carrot cake, I am a bit of a purist when it comes to this. Absolutely no nuts may permeate my bread, and I must really be in the mood for chocolate chips. No, when I bite into a piece of banana bread, I want pure, unadulterated banana flavor. No extracts or extras.

But then, on what I want to say was page eleven or twelve of my search on FoodGawker, I saw it. The Cook's Illustrated Recipe for Banana Bread. The link led me to "First Look then Cook" and wouldn't you know it, the method for preparing this bread sounded eerily similar to the preparation of a certain Banana Bread Snickerdoodle I attempted awhile back. My conclusion?

Microwaving Bananas, extracting the juices, then reducing them to a decadent banana syrup is by far one of the most awesome ideas I've ever encountered online. Merely mashing bananas? Please. Let's all step it up a bit here and take the sweet, syrupy plunge. It makes a world of a difference.

A side note though. After these photos, I've come to the realization that banana bread batter, unlike chocolate chip cookie dough or a fluffy vanilla frosting, does not look appetizing. At all. I could tell you what I think it looks like but, well, I'll leave that to your wonderful imagination.

Ah, that's better.

Do I dare tell you that I ate at least half of this loaf on my own, probably to the slight frustration of the rest of my family, also avid banana bread lovers? Do I tell you it is absolutely divine with a nice cup of hot coffee first thing in the morning? But I bet you already knew all of that...So bake, eat, enjoy; revel in the delicious flavor of this banana bread and share it (or not!) with all your friends. You'll be glad you did!

Happy Baking!

Cook's Illustrated Banana Bread
Via FirstLookthenCook

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
4-5 large, peeled, very ripe bananas
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease one 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with cooking spay.
2. Place bananas in microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave for 2-5 minutes, until the bananas give off about 1/3 cup liquid. Transfer bananas to fine-meshed strainer over a small saucepan. Let drain for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl and set aside.
4. Once bananas have drained, place bananas into large bowl and set the saucepan with the banana liquid over medium-high heat, allowing to reduce to about 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes).
5. Pour banana liquid over bananas and mash together until you reach a relatively uniform consistency. Whisk in eggs, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla.
6. Fold flour mixture into banana mixture, being careful not to over-mix. A few streaks of flour are okay.
7. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, sprinkle 2 tsp of sugar over top, and bake at 350 for 55-75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Banana Split Cupcakes

 Hello all,

So did any of you guess what this post would be about from my hint last week?

Well if you guessed Banana Split you get an A+ in my book. 'Banana Split' you may wonder 'how on earth do you turn an ice cream sundae into a cupcake?' My friends, it was hard for me to believe too, at first, but it's been done in the most perfect way by ConfessionsofaCookbookQueen and I am so delighted to share it with you here.

Step 1 - Take a French Vanilla Cake Mix and turn it into a delicious, soft, moist Banana Cake. Then proceed to cut a decent sized hole in the center of the cupcake and fill it with, would you believe it, Marshmallow Fluff.

As if this wasn't enough to make you drool, Step 3 is whipping up some decadent homemade Strawberry Buttercream and piping a unhealthy sized amount on top to hide the fluff and all it's marshmallowy goodness from unsuspecting taste-testers.

Now here's where I deviated. She suggested using Chocolate Sauce (like Hershey's chocolate syrup for example) but for me, I planned on having these around for more than a few days and needed a chocolate topping that was a little more sustainable and a little less "it's going to drip all over the kitchen table all week". So I opted to melt chocolate chips and drizzle it on top of the Buttercream instead. Add a dash of sprinkles and a cherry and voila!

Banana Split Cupcakes. I can't even express in words how amazing this cupcake is. It could very well be my most favorite miniature-sized dessert ever in existence. Though I do have an unhealthy obsession with cake pops...see now if we could turn this into a cake pop THEN we'd be getting somewhere.

And honestly, it's not that overwhelming to create yourself. It's a little more time consuming than other cupcakes, but just in that there are many steps to go through. The fact that she doctors a cake mix will save you tons of time (and less mess!).

Plus, if you're like me and need a distraction every now and then, just do these cupcakes in steps throughout your afternoon. I baked the cupcakes, then let them cool while I read half of one novel for class; then I'd frost them and read the other half of the novel, etc.

See? Procrastination can be turned into progress with the help of cupcakes!

Happy Procrastinating Baking!

Banana Split Cupcakes Via ConfessionsofaCookbookQueen

1 box French Vanilla Cake Mix
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) melted
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1 jar (7oz) marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2-12 cup muffin pans with liners.
2. In a large bowl combine cake mix, eggs, water, bananas, and melted butter. Beat with a hand mixer on low for one minute, then on medium/high for another 2 minutes.
3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full (I always use a 1/4 cup measuring cup for a guide) and bake at 350 for 12-16 minutes or until cupcakes spring back lightly when touched. Let cool completely before frosting.

4. Once cool, cut a small hole in the center of each cupcake and fill with marshmallow fluff. (I suggest placing the fluff in a large plastic bag, snipping off an end and piping into said holes).

For the Strawberry Buttercream:

1 cup sliced strawberries, pureed
1 cup butter (or shortening)
5-6 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat butter and sliced strawberries together until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Assembling the Cupcakes:

1. Pipe Strawberry Buttercream onto the cupcakes, covering the marshmallow fluff center completely.
2. Use chocolate syrup OR melted chocolate chips to pipe the "hot fudge" onto the cupcake. Quickly add rainbow sprinkles and cherry on top.

Banana Bread Snickerdoodles

Friends,

I have found it.

The cookie to end all other cookies.

Don't laugh; I am dead serious here. It is called the Banana Bread Snickerdoodle and it has now become my most absolute favorite cookie in the entire world.

I am actually going to take a moment here to personally thank the creator of these cookies, Mrs. M.O.B. over at Mind Over Batter.

Dear Mrs. M.O.B.,

Your cookies are so amazing that I think you could end all the arguments currently happening on Earth by making just one cookie for every person on the planet.

Please let me know if you need help in doing so.

Best,

Jessica 

 

Now that that's out of my system - you NEED to make these cookies! She has you microwave the bananas and then take the juice from them and turn it into a syrup that goes BACK into the cookie dough. I know. It's that intense.

My whole kitchen smelled like a banana bread bakery during all of this. It was the best smell. ever.

A little bit more work than your average snickerdoodle I'll give you that. But it doesn't matter. If you consider yourself a lover of banana bread or snickerdoodles, you must must must make these cookies.

The recipe makes over 3 dozen, which sounds like a lot. However, see how much it makes when you are face-to-face with the delectable and dangerously delicious dough. Go ahead, I dare you; try not to eat an unhealthy-sized spoonful of it.

Enough said. Get going on making these cookies and start achieving world peace with their awesomeness.

Banana Bread Snickerdoodles By Mind Over Batter
makes roughly 4 dozen cookies

3 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 medium very ripe bananas, peeled and chopped
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
 1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp banana syrup (recipe follows)

For banana syrup:

1. Place chopped bananas into large microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 2-3 minutes, or until the bananas start to let out juice.
2. Mash bananas through a fine mesh strainer, put banana mash aside.
3. Take banana juice and place in small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Heat until syrupy, about 2 minutes (it should reduce to about 2 tbsp). Allow to cool before using.

For cinnamon sugar:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Mix together with hands until well incorporated.

For cookies:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and cinnamon into a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl cream butter until fluffy, about 1 minute. beat in both sugars and the mashed bananas until fully incorporated.
3. Mix in egg, vanilla extract, and banana syrup until well combined. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredient mixture roughly one cup at a time. Be sure to chill dough at least one hour before baking.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or grease liberally with cooking spray).
5. Use a cookie scoop or small spoon to scoop out tablespoonfuls of dough. Roll into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place at least 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie ball slightly with the bottom of a glass.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until cookies are slightly firm. Let cool five minutes on pan before transferring to wire cooling rack.

Baby Banana Cakes

There is no better scent than ripe bananas, vanilla, and cinnamon.

I love baking around the holidays; it gives me the best excuse to whip up tons of sweets. Though, now that I work at the computer lab at my college, I really don't need an excuse - there's always hungry students ready to taste test my kitchen experiments.

But this week I am home with my family for Thanksgiving, and I wanted a chance to try out this wonderful beauty that my mom also managed to score with her American Express Rewards.

Beautiful, is it not? I have waited years to get my hands on one of these babies, and now, I wanted to use it to bake up a more contemporary dessert midst the classic apple and pumpkin pies.

What's more contemporary than cake truffles?

Yes, I know cake pops are all the rage, but I love the tiny balls of delicious cake whether or not they happen to stay on a lollipop stick (since in my case, they usually fall right off the stick into the melted chocolate).


But what kind of cake truffles should I make for the holiday? Well, pumpkin was out since we make pumpkin pie, and I wasn't in the mood for apple so...

Banana!

Banana Bread is one of my favorite desserts of all time. It's not overly sweet, but it's warm and wholesome and oh so good. Not to mention I tried a banana cake truffle up in Chester that blew my mind.

I found this recipe for Banana Cake on Food Network, and apparently it's famous, from Flour Bakery in Boston. Having now made this cake, I see why. I used my BabyCakes Cake Pop Maker for these, but you could go the "authentic" cake pop method and bake the cake, mix it with frosting, and then form the balls. If I can tell you the whole truth though, I just like these kind of cake balls better. They are not so sweet that I feel like I need an insulin shot after I eat more than one. Now that's not to say that there's never a time or place for the others (because I can put those away when I'm in the mood), but I do love how much less time it takes to make beautiful little round cakes with the cake pop maker than by hand.

Then, it's just a matter of melting up some candy melts (or almond bark, which I've found is so much more affordable than the Wilton Melts) and dipping away. Fun, relaxing, and most importantly - yummy.

Or, if you're like me and manage to, once again, seize the entire bag of Wilton Candy Melts (Wilton, why do you make it so easy for me to do this?!) then these baby banana cakes are still delicious plain.I leave you with this wonderful recipe and I hope your Thanksgiving is full of family, friends, and delicious desserts.

See you all next week!

Banana Cake Truffles slightly adapted Via FoodNetwork
makes 36-40 cake balls

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 bananas, very ripe, mashed
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 
  
• 1-2 bags Vanilla Candy Melts or Vanilla Almond Bark

1. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. In another bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer) beat together eggs and sugar until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes)

3. Add oil and beat until combined. Add in bananas, sour cream, and vanilla, and beat until well incorporated.

4. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

5. Plug in your cake pop/donut hole maker, and once its preheated fill each cavity with approximately 2 tbsp of batter.

6. Bake for 3-4 minutes.

7. Remove promptly and let cool on wire rack.

8. Melt candy melts in 20 second intervals in the microwave or in a double boiler.

9. Gently dip balls and roll until coated. Tap off excess and place onto cookie sheet covered with wax paper.

10. Decorate and enjoy!

Muffins Muffins Muffins!

Oh my goodness, I know you are all just sitting at your computers and thinking "Okay, c'mon now, enough with the muffins." But you know what I say to that?

Never!

Well, maybe after this post. I did just see an awesome recipe for cinnamon roll cookies, so perhaps the muffin mania will go on a short hiatus following these two awesome recipes I plan on sharing with you.

So I work at the computer lab at college, and when I open at the ungodly hour of 7:30 on Friday mornings, I find that I never have time to make breakfast before I go. I thought to myself "I must solve this - or my stomach will eat itself every Friday morning in defiance."

Now you see where my new love of muffins has arisen.

I can just make a bunch the night before and whamo! Instant amazing breakfast when I'm on my dark, dreary way to the computer lab at 7am. Not to mention, my co-workers are all for this, since they get to taste test every recipe.

Last week I made two different recipes, mostly because the first recipe (albeit awesome) only yielded 12, even after I doubled it. You might say "12 muffins sounds like plenty" but reader, in college, 12 muffins is never enough. No amount of any baked good is ever enough, or any amount of food for that matter.

But now, my lovely friends, you get a 2fer post. I present to you the French Breakfast Muffin AND the Maple Banana Oat Muffin.

If I had to pick JUST one of these, I'd have to go with the French Breakfast Muffin. Despite its higher level of  commitment and work than the Maple Banana Oat, who can resist a muffin that is almost in every essence a delicious donut? But that's not to say that the Maple Syrup in the Maple Banana Oat Muffin isn't to die for.

Seriously, both these recipes are so worth the try, and if you have to be up early for work like I do, these are a simple fix. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

French Breakfast Muffins via VelvetLavaCafe


2/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I bet you could use cinnamon as well if you don't care for nutmeg)
1 cup milk
For Topping:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, melted
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease 12 cup muffin pan
2. Combine dry ingredients (sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg) in a large bowl
3. Combine wet ingredients in medium bowl.
4. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, stirring until just combined. Consistency will be thick.
5. Scoop even amounts into muffin cups, about 3/4 way full
6. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, just until they start to turn golden
7. Stir together sugar and cinnamon. Dunk muffin (I am so not kidding) into the melted butter, then dunk in cinnamon sugar.
8. Inhale immediately.


Maple Banana Oat Muffins via LipstickBlogger


1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup  oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp melted butter 
1/2 tbsp maple syrup


1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease or line 12 cup muffin pan
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. 
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients (except for topping ingredients) in a medium bowl and mix until well blended.
4. Stir wet ingredients gently into dry ingredients; do not overmix. It is okay if tiny bits of oats still show.
5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 way full.
6. For the topping: combine first 4 ingredients until blended. Then add melted butter and maple syrup and mix until consistency becomes crumbly. Sprinkle topping over muffins liberally before putting into the oven.
7. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Muffins are Just Ugly Cupcakes

As the name of the post implies, it's all about muffins vs. cupcakes today. The title actually comes from a t-shirt I own that has this neat little graphic of a cupcake and muffin arguing. The cupcake says to the muffin "muffins are just ugly cupcakes" and the muffin replies "cupcakes are haters."

I have to say I agree with both statements. The line between muffin and cupcake has blurred considerably since I was younger. I never liked muffins; they always made me want a cupcake. They were never sweet enough and they were (gasp) healthy: never what a young child wants to hear about a snack. But now, when I go to a coffee shop to buy a muffin, I am greeted with these "ugly" naked cupcakes, which are just about as bad for you (or worse) as real cupcakes without the frosting. Don't get me wrong; I love these new muffins. I think they're great, but it does make me wonder why cupcakes are "haters" and have been put on such high pedestals recently, what with shows like Cupcake Wars and DC Cupcakes. Why not Muffin Wars? Or Muffin Mania?

To add to my confusion, I wanted to make Banana Muffins today, after reading Brown Eyed Baker's Top Ten Muffin List yesterday. So I went to find a good Oatmeal-Banana Muffin Recipe (since I LOVE banana oatmeal) and wouldn't you know it - there's one for Banana Oat "Cupcakes" in one of my cookbooks! The caption reads "these cupcakes are so moist - they don't even need frosting!"

Don't need frosting? Oh, you mean like a muffin? Bananas, oats, honey...cupcake? Lies! Why? You got me swinging. Why not just call it a sweet muffin? No one says your muffin recipe has to be healthy - just because it has butter doesn't mean you have to call it a cupcake.

So now I am curious to see how these turn out. I happen to have these wonderfully overripe bananas anyway, so I may as well put them to good use before they end up in the trash.

The recipe calls for putting cupcake liners in the pan, but I refused to continue the charade that these were cupcakes. Instead I just greased the muffin pans really well, and set about baking these...cupcake-muffins? muffin-cupcakes? Let's go with muffin-cakes.

I'll include the recipe in full at the bottom of the post, but I just wanted to highlight some interesting points. This recipe truly is trying to be a cupcake, but for some reason wants to be a muffin as well.

Creaming butter and sugar? Point Cupcake
Mixing (not beating) in eggs and honey and bananas? Point Muffin
Adding dry ingredients to wet all in one shot? Point Muffin
Mixing until dry ingredients are just barely moistened? Point Muffin
Using cupcake liners? Point Cupcake

Final Tally = Cupcake: 2 Muffin: 3 - So far it's a pretty close game. 

But wait! What is that amazing scent filling my kitchen? It's so familiar...like banana bread. Not Banana cake, but banana bread.

And look! These adorable little bite-sized treats look just like...well, hmm...that's a good question. Sort of like cupcakes, sort of like muffins - I'll have to go with muffin-cakes.

Whatever they are - they're FAB. Perfectly golden brown and with nice little bits of banana suspended throughout - these are definitely a make-again (and again).

Muffins are indeed just ugly cupcakes, although I think these little guys are rather cute, don't you?

Banana-Oat Muffin-Cakes makes 1 1/2 dozen
from Gifts for Giving


1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
3/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously (and I mean generously) grease two muffins pans.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, honey, and mashed bananas, stirring well. In another bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients.

3. Stir dry ingredient mixture into wet ingredients; mix only until dry ingredients are just moistened.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for ten minutes in pan then carefully remove from pan and let cool on wire cooling rack.