Banana Peanut Butter Cake

 

This is from Karen DeMasco's "The Craft of Baking"

Moist, dense cake. with only a little over a cup of flour, it's less banana bread, more dense torte with powerful banana flavor. The buttercream is rocks. Not too sweet; makes reasonable quantity and I liked how I spread it on top for a simple but elegant look. I used crunchy PB so it gave the frosting an unexpected texture. Maybe a needed a little more than just 1/4 c, if not only to give it more of a pb flavor boost but to darken the color a shade darker than the beige.


Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

Cupcakes
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c plus 2 T grapeseed oil
3/4 c mashed banana (about 1 1/2 medium bananas, mashed with a fork)
1 L egg
1 L yolk
1/3 c plus 2 T buttermilk
3/4 t vanilla extract
1 c plus 2 T a.p. flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Buttercream
2  L egg whites (1/4 c)
1/4 c sugar
8 T butter, cut into small pieces, at room temp
1/4 c creamy p.b.
1/4 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners. (or grease an 8" cake pan)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil. Whisk in the banana, egg, egg yolk, buttermilk and vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, bs, and salt. Using a whisk, mix the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full. Bake, rotating the tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Invert the cupcakes onto a wire rack, turn them top side up, and let them cool completely.

To make the buttercream, fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring it to a simmer. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl on top of the saucepan, and whisking constantly, heat the egg mixture until it is warm to the touch, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk on medium speed until the whites become translucent and shiny and form a soft peat, about 5 minutes more

With the machine running, add the butter, a cube at a time, and mix until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and add the PB, vanilla, and salt. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, beat until the buttercream becomes shiny and creamy, about 10 minutes. (The buttercream can be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month. Before using, bring it to room temperature adn beat it for a few minutes until smooth.) Spread the buttercream over the tops of the cupcakes, swirling it decoratively.

The cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Devil Foods Birthday Cake

Sour Cream Coffee Cake -- Two ways

both cakes are based on a basic sour cream coffee cake recipe from Martha Stewart. the first one follows the recipe to the T (except I reduced the sugar to 2/3 c). I ended up just using around half of the filling recipe and since I had about a cup of sour cream left, i decided to make another cake but using oil instead of butter.

i love sour cream cakes; they always produce the most tender, moist cakes. for the oil-based cake, i also substituted a third of the flour for whole wheat white flour.


FOR THE FILLING (halve recipe)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
4 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
FOR THE BATTER
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the filling: Stir together sugar, coffee, and cocoa powder in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Butter a 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt (loaf) pan. Dust with flour, and tap out excess. Make the batter: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream. Add vanilla, and mix 1 minute.
3. Spread 1/3 of the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the filling. Spread another third of the batter on top, followed by the remaining filling. Spread remaining batter over top. Run a thin knife through batter to marbleize.
4. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 35 to 38 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Invert onto a plate.

Almond olive oil cake

i love olive oil cakes. they're easy to prepare, no advanced planning, but result in a great homey cake cake with great grassy/fruity flavor and texture. a perfect tea/breakfast cake. the "glaze" turned out to be more of a frosting since i didn't add enough milk / lemon juice to thin out the consistency. but can't say that detracted from the results. crackly, crunch top gave it another textural dimension.

this is a definitely a favorite. nothing fancy but just plain awesome.

Torta di Mandorla (Moist Almond Cake)

adapted from Gina DePalma via Serious Eats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup blanched or natural almond flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
Grated zest of 1 medium lemon or 1/4 a medium orange

1/2 cup orange juice

For the Glaze:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

3 tablespoons whole milk

A few drops of fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sliced, blanched almonds, toasted and cooled

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt to thoroughly combine them and set aside.
3. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk them lightly to break up the yolks. Add the sugar to the bowl and whisk it in thoroughly in both directions for about 30 seconds. Add the olive oil and whisk until the mixture is a bit lighter in color and has thickened slightly, about 45 seconds. Whisk in the extracts and zest, followed by the orange juice.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk until they are thoroughly combined; continue whisking until you have a smooth, emulsified batter, about 30 more seconds.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake the cake for 30 to 45 minutes, rotating the cake pan halfway through the cooking time to ensure even browning. The cake is done when it has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan, springs back lightly when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool for ten minutes in the pan, then gently remove it from the pan and allow it cool completely on a rack.
7. While the cake cools, make the glaze. Melt the butter over medium heat in a small, heavy saucepan. When the bubbles subside, lower the heat and watch the butter carefully, swirling it in the pan occasionally to distribute the heat. When the butter begins to turn a light tan color and smells slightly nutty, turn off the heat and let the butter sit. It will continue to darken as it sits.
8. While the butter cools, sift the confectioner's sugar into a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk until completely smooth but thick, then slowly whisk in the butter. Taste the glaze and add a few drops of lemon juice to balance the sweetness. Stir in the toasted almonds. Spread the almonds and glaze onto the top and sides of the cake and let it sit until set and dry.

Strawberry shortcake birthday cake

further to my preference for asian-style desserts, i made this strawberry shortcake for dad's 70th birthday. i used a sponge cake recipe from America's Test Kitchen and for the frosting i whipped 2 cups of heavy cream with 2 T of sugar. i tried using some soften gelatin to stabilize the frosting since i had to make this a day before (too much to do for dad's big day). the gelatin didn't quite combine completely with the cream creating some unappealing web-like clumps. turns out the whipped cream held up pretty well (for at least 2 days) on the cake so i don't think it's necessary for future whipped-cream frostings.

in any case, this is my favorite kind of dessert: light, fresh, not-too-sweet. i'll definitely beef up the strawberry middle layer (the sponge cake can take the load as i've learned) and continue to experiment to perfect this.

Mocha walnut marbled bundt

Here's the mocha-walnut marbled bundt cake from Dorie Greenspan's baking book i made for dad's confirmation. After much going back and forth, I made a last minute decision to go with this. it was my first attempt at "marbling" and thought it turned out pretty well.

Super moist and on the dense side; i'm not sure if I needed to beat the eggs and sugar longer for a lighter crumb or if this is how it's supposed to taste/look. Nonetheless, pretty delicious and one of those desserts that melded together and improved in flavor as the days went by.