Lovin' From the Oven

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

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I was walking through the grocery store for baking ingredients the other day and walked right past the floral section. That got me thinking… Who was the first boy that gave me flowers? As I pondered it for the next 5 aisles, my mind drew a complete blank. I had no idea who it was! I still don’t know who it was!
Funny thing is, I remember every detail about the boy that gave me my first cookie. It just goes to show you: the way to a woman’s heart might be the same as a man’s— through her stomach!
Cookies, brownies, cupcakes… you name it, I’ll eat it all. These cupcakes were a tad bit dry and could’ve used some oil or another banana to give it some moisture, but besides that, peanut butter and banana go together like milk and cookies. It’s meant to be. The frosting is very thick and decadent… definitely not for the light-hearted. Mix it with a light cupcake, though, and you’ve got yourself a winner!
From Framed Cooks, who got it from Bon Appetit.

  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 very ripe large bananas, peeled
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
  • Chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts (optional)
  1. Preheat to 350°F and line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
  2. Mash bananas with fork until smooth. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla.
  3. In another bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) until incorporated.
  4. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (generous 1/4 cup for each).
  5. Bake cupcakes until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and cool completely.
  6. Sift powdered sugar into large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Beat mixture until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes and enjoy!

Nutella Swirled Banana Bread

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The grand opening weekend at work is finally over! It has seriously been one hectic work week. I even managed to sleep 12 hours one night after working for 12. I didn’t even know that I was capable of sleeping for that long!
Exciting news… I’ll be visiting Paris in April with my family! Finally, I’ll be able to eat macaroons and bread and butter, galore. I cannot wait! Anyone have any recommendations for must sees/go to places in Paris?
This bread came out a bit dry, but the taste was all there. I’d add an extra banana or some yogurt to the batter next time. It sure did turn out looking beautiful, though! Usually in Nutella baked goods, you can never taste the Nutella. But you can definitely taste them in this bread! The recipe comes from recipe girl.
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
  • 1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking soda & salt. Set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and mix well. Add banana, yogurt and vanilla; beat until blended. Next, blend in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
  4. Microwave the Nutella for about 15 seconds until soft. Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter to the Nutella and stir together.
  5. Take turns spooning the nutella batter and the plain banana batter into the loaf pan. Swirl the batters with a knife.
  6. Bake the batter for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Tres Leches Cake

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Tres Leches Cake. My boyfriend speaks fluent Spanish and I’m not gonna lie, I always say phrases to him in Spanish because I’d like to think that I’m fluent in another language besides English and Vietnamese.

No me gusta.
Te amo.
¿Qué Hora Es?
¡Ayúdame, por favor!


Nothing too special, really. Just the basic phrases you learn in Spanish I. And besides, practice makes perfect, right? How am I going to learn if I never try? I’m actually not that bad at Spanish– I used to write letters in Spanish when I was writing to my bestie on his mission in Guatemala. It’s the whole speaking part that I struggle with.

When I made this cake, I must have gone around the house saying “Tres Leches Cake!” a million times because it’s fun to say. I also took one of my formspring reader’s advice and baked something out of the ordinary– something more cultural. This cake is most popular in Latin America and I actually tried it for the first time at one of my boyfriend’s family gatherings since his grandma made it. It’s kind of strange, at first, if you’re not expecting it to be so…. wet. It’s basically a sponge cake soaked with three different kinds of milk. It may initially be very sweet, but the cake tends to mellow out if you refrigerate it overnight. I added freshly cut strawberries to top it all of, but any fruit will do. You can even leave it plain if you’d like. Recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup All-purpose Flour
  • 1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • 5 whole Eggs
  • 1 cup Sugar, Divided
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • ⅓ cups Milk
  • 1 can Evaporated Milk
  • 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
  • ¼ cups Heavy Cream

FOR THE ICING:

  • 1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping
  • 3 Tablespoons Sugar

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.
  3. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.
  4. Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
  5. Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.
  6. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.
  7. Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.
  8. Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.
    Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whatever fruit your heart desires. Cut into squares and serve.


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