OOOH, its a Cake

Yes it is a cake. A delicious banana bunt cake. This recipe originally came from a fellow blogger.
Though I have tweaked it a bit here and there to make it my own and I just love this recipe. It combines a wonderful way of using old bananas with one of my favorite things, Dark Rum. The other great thing about this cake is that it gets better the longer it sits on your counter which is always a plus in my book. The little bit of rum added into the batter brings out the rum in the glaze better. While I am not normally an alcohol and cake person I was shocked at how well the banana and rum flavors went together.

Banana Rum bunt cake

1-3/4 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
3 eggs
3 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup of chiobani plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plus a little more Dark Rum
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

For the icing
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Beat brown sugar and butter at medium speed of a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs beating until well-blended.
Combine banana, yogurt, vanilla, rum, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Pour batter into a 10-inch bunt pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. make sure to check it because it can go from soupy to burned easily if you aren't paying attention. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Combine powdered sugar, rum, and melted margarine; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake.
I stored this one on a covered cake plate, I think this helps the cake mature better.

Stuff to Eat in the Suburbs: Wellesley — Susu Bakery

Wellesley isn’t exactly what people think of when they are looking for a suburban food destination. The perception is that it’s difficult to get to by car or T, the people tend to be a little on the snobby side, it’s a dry town, and well, everything is really expensive. But this Bostonist has found a few gems that are well worth the trek out to Wellesley, and Susu bakery is one of them. Tucked away in a corner of Wellesley center, Susu is a sophisticated bakery with an elegant flare. Their delightful dining room boasts large tables with big comfortable chairs and booths, perfect for a lunch with the

girls or a quiet moment to yourself. Their lunch menu is simple but covers most of the basics with soup, salad, quiche, and sandwiches. Their chicken salad is particularly fine and will have you craving more about a week after your first taste, but come early, as they do run out of it. Despite the delicious lunch fare, the real attraction here is the baked goods.

This Bostonist considers herself something of a cupcake expert. She’s tried cupcakes from establishments all over town, and from Sweet to the South End Buttery, all have been disappointing. All, that is, except Susu. Here, the chocolate cupcakes are just the right balance of chocolate and sweet. They are neither so dry that they crumble nor so moist that they are sticky. The vanilla cupcakes are equally noteworthy - light and fluffy with just the right amount of vanilla, not overpowering. The cupcake feels like it might float away. In a world of mediocre frostings, Susu’s stands high above them all. The chocolate is a perfect balance of sugar and cocoa, and the vanilla has a wonderfully smooth texture and a taste that will have you straining not to lick it right off the top of the cupcake. And if you’re a coconut lover, you owe it to yourself to try one of the coconut cupcakes. All of these delicious little treasures translate into full cakes flawlessly, and cute decorations on cupcakes become elegantly designed cake masterpieces when translated to full size.

But cupcakes aren’t the only thing you’ll find at Susu. Their scones, cookies, and brownies are also well worth the trip. This Bostonist even had a passion fruit tart topped with meringue once that was such a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and fluffy meringue that she has never looked at passion fruit the same way.

While pricey, this is Wellesley - Susu is well worth the trip and the expense for the hig h quality of baked good with elegant attention to detail. This will remain a favorite of this Bostonist for a long time to come.

Easter

This Easter we went to my friend Pam's house, which was great because I didn't have to make dinner. Instead I got to volunteer for dessert. The request from my host was " something fruity". So I decided to give a strawberry tart a try. (I also made cupcakes because there were going to be kiddies there.) I found this recipe on Tastespotting and I was astounded at how easy it was.

The first major hurdle; I didn't have a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, I only had an 11 inch one. On my first try I figured, what's the difference, but the tart shell ended up coming out really thin, so the second try I made a double batch ( not easy in a standard cuisinart) and pushed as much as I thought necessary, the rest of the dough I pressed into little tart shells just to see if it would work, it did. The next problem was the cooking time, at 350 degrees, it needed 20 minutes, 25 burned it.

I have to say I have never worked with Mascarpone cheese before and I really enjoyed it I will definitely be trying to find more places to incorporate this newfound ingredient into my life. I even took the filling and tweaked it for another purpose (more on that in another post).

The only other problem that I encountered was my strawberries. They were distinctly out of season, and thus too tart and watery. The solution? Powered sugar tapped through a sieve over the berries before they were placed on the tart.

I made the crust the night before and let it sit out so that it would be ready for topping when I got up the next morning and it worked out really well. I highly recommend this dessert for dinner parties or any social gathering really. It is really easy to make and looks absolutely lovely.

• 3/4 cup sliced almonds

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

• 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cups fresh raspberries or strawberries

Preheat oven to 350F. In a food processor, pulse almonds and granulated sugar until finely ground, being careful to stop before they turn into nut butter. Add flour and salt and pulse to blend. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. With motor running, add egg, egg yolk, and almond extract and whirl until dough comes together. It will be sticky but that's ok.

Press dough evenly into the bottom (not the sides) of a 10-in. tart pan with removable rim. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then remove rim. You can let this sit overnight to cool and it will be fine in the morning.

IMelt chocolate in the top of a double boiler, stir in 2 tbsp. cream. Spread chocolate on crust and let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat remaining 1/2 cup cream to firm peaks ( no worries if you over beat it it'll still be fine). Beat in mascarpone, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Spread on chocolate-coated crust. Arrange strawberries on top. Serve tart immediately or cover with plastic wrap and chill up to overnight

Original recipe found on Berkley Cooking.

C is for cookie

I know I should be making cookies shaped like bunnies, chicks or easter eggs at this time of year, and that might come later on this week, but all I really want is a chocolate chip cookie. So last night after I made dinner and settled my husband in with his video game I did just that. These aren't particularly inventive, heck they aren't even my usual recipe, just good old nestle toll house chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes its best to just stick to the basics. More baking adventures this weekend as I prepare for Easter at my friend's parents house.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups Nestle chocolate chips

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each additionand and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Troquet, a birthday dinner, and dessert, to die for

This week was my birthday and my choice for a birthday dinner was Troquet. A small french bistro and Patisserie in the middle of the Emerson campus on Boylston street. I went with my husband and his parents. Now to preface this I have eaten there before, I once met a girlfriend for drinks and appetizers, and this was an experience I have carried with me ever since. First of all, they have a very extensive wine list and they offer 2 oz and 4 oz glasses of many of their wines. Also, their bar is one of the only in Boston to carry Ron Zacappa, a Guatemalan rum that I am particularly fond of. When you combine all of this alcoholy goodness with great tasting food you get a winning combination that I am going to want to try again.

The wait staff managed to impress me within the first couple of minutes. Instead of generic butter, Troquet waiters serve butter out of a giant wooden bucket with a odd curly knife. They place a curl of butter on each plate and then whisk in with their tasty warm rolls. I had finished my roll and had barely uttered a brief, "Oh, I'm out of bread" before another piece magically appeared on my plate accompanied by the smiling face of our waiter ready to take our appetizer order.

One thing to note about Troquet is that their menu isn't really what it seems, so ask questions. While the Short rib Cannelloni is described pretty efficiently on the menu the suckling pig, which seemed interesting but uncomplicated turned out to be a trio of creations all involving suckling pig. Something I never would have guessed from reading the menu description. The wait staff is knowledgeable and friendly so ask away about anything you're interested in.


I started off with the short rib cannelloni, one of the appetizers I had previously sampled, and it was delicious, a wonderful blend of slightly sweet tomatoy beef, combined with tender fresh pasta and a delightfully salty, and foamy Parmesan cream sauce. I recommend this dish to everyone who walks in the door.


Next I moved on to the lamb because I was fascinated by the concept of lamb bacon. While the lamb saddle was delicious, tender with none of the aftertaste that you sometimes get with lamb, the "bacon" was a bit strange, crispy on top with layer of fat in the middle and finishing off with some rather fatty lamb meat. The lamb topped a light tomato/broth that was swimming with white beans. While I thoroughly enjoyed this dish, the lamb bacon was more of an odd novelty than a culinary revelation.

Then we came to dessert. I had been warned by my friend Pam that this pastry chef was rumored to be particularly good. So I was extra excited about dessert. Because I simply love souffles and they are impossible to find I ordered the dark chocolate souffle with a grand Mainer dark chocolate sauce and Maderin orange ice cream. At my behest my husband ordered the flourless chocolate cake. An order of banana spring rolls also made it to the table.

The souffle was not exactly what I was expecting. When I hear dark chocolate I expect a chocolaty richness that was not present in this dessert. However, by eliminating the overpowering chocolate the souffle was allowed to shine. It was crispy on top while light and airy on the inside. The gran Mainer sauce was a great dark chocolate sauce with just a touch of the orange liquor, not too overpowering, which was a great compliment to the souffle. And the ice cream tasted like an less sweet creamsicle which had the entire table tasting it and going back for more.

The banana spring rolls were delightful,. They tasted like someone had wrapped a banana in thin doughnut dough and then deep fried it. They were accompanied by a carmel sauce served in an edible praline cup, delicious!


Despite this wonderful dessert bounty, the flourless chocolate cake was by far the winner of the evening. A small bar of chocolate elegantly presented and accompanied with raspberry sauce and pistachio ice cream. The cake appeared with a layer of ganache, not liquid but not quite solid either. This rich dark chocolate cake had the texture of slightly warm light fudge. It started to melt in your mouth as soon as it hit your tongue. This is by far the best flourless chocolate cake I have tasted in this city!


As we were leaving I was so excited by the cake that I felt the need to compliment the chef, something I rarely if ever do, she was very sweet and handed me a flier for their dessert only option. Downstairs at Troquet you can grab some of their pastry chef's delighful creations and enjoy a drink without having to eat dinner. And I promise I will be doing that sometime soon.

I was tired of making banana bread with my leftover bananas. I love my recipe but it makes two loafs and we can barely eat one in a week. I could freeze the other one but that would require thought and effort on my part. So I decided to try something different. This recipe is my own variation of something I found on cooks.com. This cake came out very light and fluffy and was AWESOME warm. My husband isn't a big banana baked goods fan and he asked for seconds of this cake shortly after it came out of the oven. I don't think it needs icing while it is hot but I am going to test it tomorrow and see if I think it needs some extra umph. I'lll let you know if I decide to ice it next time

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake:

Ingredients:

5/6 cup of butter ( 1 stick plus a third of a cup)

1 1/2 cup of Sugar

1 cup of sour cream ( I used reduced fat)

2 eggs

1 cup of mashed bananas ( 2-3 bananas)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups of flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup of water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 heaping cup of chocolate chips

-Preheat overn to 350 degrees
- Grease a 9 x 13 glass baking pan.

-Cream butter and sugar in a standing mixer (this will take a while go read a chapter of your book while you wait).

-Once the butter and sugar are creamed add in the eggs and sour cream, mix until well blended. -Add the mashed bananas mix until blended.

-Meanwhile, (you can leave the mixer running) whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Also, put the baking soda into the water to dissolve.

- Add in flour mixture then soda mixture, in that order.

-Add the vanilla last.

- Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Ok I am going to go beat my husband up until he gives up control of the wii. (Or maybe I'll read)