Lovin' From the Oven

Archives for January 2009

Banana Cake w/Cream Cheese Frosting

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Yay for finally being home and being able to bake! Baking really is such a great stress reliever for me. I was supposed to go out last night but the plans fell through, so I stayed home and baked instead. My mom had some ripe bananas (I swear she buys fruit in bulk so that I would make something out of them when they’re too ripe to eat) and suggested that I make something with them. I’ve already made banana bread a million and two times, so I settled for a cake instead. Honestly, there isn’t that much of a difference between banana bread and banana cake. They both taste the same.. one’s just a tiny bit lighter than the other. I added a bit of yogurt and oil to make the cake a bit moister, and that definitely did the trick. I baked the batter in one 9 inch pan and the other into a mini loaf pan. I don’t think there was enough batter to make two 9 inch cakes, but there would be for an 8 inch round pan. The cake was just okay in my opinion, but I’m not really a fan of banana desserts unless it’s banana flambe. Mmmmmm… banana flambe…

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugar.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Add bananas and vanilla extract; mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into the prepared pans.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Cool and frost cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

4 ounces low-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 stick ( 4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 pound or about 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract
Finely chopped toasted pecans and toasted pecan halves

In a large bowl, working with your mixer of choice, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and keep beating until the frosting is very smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

Frost the cake and decorate the sides with the chopped walnuts.

Apple Crumble Pie

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My little sister has been nagging me for the past couple of days to make her apple pie, apple crisp, apple crumble, baked apples, or apple turnovers… basically, anything with baked apples. I’d been away at school and so busy figuring out my schedule, buying books, getting prepared for my classes, reading, etc.. (First week of the quarter just started for me) that I really didn’t have any time to bake. As the weekend came, however, I finally gave into it (because I was secretly craving an apple dessert as well) and made this apple crumble pie. To me, pie’s just ok… but make it with a crumble top and I’m sold! I’d much prefer a streusel topping rather than a flaky crust top. This was delicious and definitely hit the spot.

Let the pie cool a bit before cutting it, otherwise all the juices will leak out and you’ll freak out about baking such a liquid-y pie. If you let the pie cool a bit before cutting, that juice will turn into more of a thick apple syrup, keeping the apples moist for storage. Also, I added a bit of cinnamon into the streusel topping for a little extra kick cause you can never have enough cinnamon with apples.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
  • 5 cups apples – peeled, cored and cut into thin pieces (I just diced mine and used about 6 large apples)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.) Arrange apple slices in unbaked pie shell. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
  2. Mix 1/4 cup white & brown sugar with flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Spoon mixture over apples.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and top is lightly browned

Easy Peasy Sugar-Coated Roasted Pecans

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I had a huge bag of pecans at home that were about to expire soon.. so I was pondering on the list of things to do with them. I’m not really a fan of nuts in my baked goods, so I figured.. heck, let’s just eat them as is! This recipe is extremely easy and results in a very addicting snack. Once you eat one, you can’t stop! My dad was a huge fan, along with my boyfriend. They’re so great because you can take them anywhere stored in a Ziploc bag and snack on them at any time– whether on a road trip or watching a movie. They’re guaranteed to please.

I used a SILPAT to bake these nuts on and I highly recommend getting one if you haven’t already. It’s such a handy tool in the kitchen, especially for baking these. Nothing sticks to the surface and it can withhold such high temperatures. It’s a bit pricy, but worth every penny. It’s also simple to clean… who can complain with easy clean-up?

  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 pound pecan halves
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet or use a Silpat. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

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