Cooking for Seven

Last weekend, we went camping. When we returned, I found three VERY ripe bananas in the refrigerator. I knew something needed to be done with them before they were completely useless, but I just didn’t feel like baking banana bread.

So I made banana cake instead! I knew from the get-go that I wanted the cake slightly more healthy (surprise surprise!) than the original recipe. So I swapped whole wheat flour for the AP flour and used maple syrup in place of the brown and white sugar. To compensate for the maple syrup, I increased the flour by 1/4 cup.

This recipe was very forgiving, even with all of my crazy substitutions. The cake was moist and flavorful and rose beautifully in the oven.

The original recipe instructed me to serve the cake with slightly sweetened whipped cream. Since I don’t take orders from recipes very readily, I just served it with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkled it with some toasted pecans.

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Maple & Pecan Banana Cake

from How to Bake by Nick Malgieri

Ingredients:

For the Cake

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 2 3.4 cups (11 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup mashed, not pureed, bananas
• 3/4 cup milk or buttermilk

For the Frosting

• 1 eight-ounce package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened but still firm
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup toasted pecans, for garnish

Directions:

To make the cake:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 13×9-inch glass baking dish and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2) In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand beater, cream the butter until soft and light. Gradually add the maple syrup and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes more, or until very light. The butter and maple syrup may separate slightly.

3) Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the bowl and beaters occasionally. Beat in the vanilla.

4) In a medium bowl, whisk together the  flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture along with the milk and bananas. Beat on low speed just until combined.

5) Scrape the batter into the prepare pan and bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack, removing the paper, and allow to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

1) In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat until smooth.

2) Store in the refrigerator until serving. If the frosting becomes too hard, let it sit a room temperature until spreadable.

To serve the cake:

Cut the cake into desired sized pieces. Spread with frosting. Garnish with toasted pecans. Serve immediately.

Makes approximately twenty-four 2-inch squares

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You may recognize this recipe from a previous post - Our Christmas Brunch. It was buttery and a little crunchy from the poppy seeds, but not so rich as to make one sick. Perfect for brunch or a light dessert.

Sister Amanda liked it so much that she decided to serve it at our Girl’s Party.

Of course, we substituted whole wheat pastry flour for part of the AP flour. And we served ours with a mixture of cream cheese and orange zest. I’m not a big fan of sugar syrup.

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:: Orange Poppy Seed Cake ::

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 sticks (1/2 pound or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup Demerara or granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• One 8-ounce container of sour cream
• 1/2 cup poppy seeds

Orange Cream Cheese Topping:

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Directions:

For the Cake
1) Grease a 9″ springform pan. Line the bottom with greased wax paper cut to size. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2) Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

3) Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until the mixture is very light, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat the batter until it is smooth after each addition.

3) Decrease speed to low and add half the flour mixture. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides with a spatula. Beat in the sour cream followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Fold in the poppy seeds to give the batter a final mix.

4) Scrape the batter into prepared pan and bake for about an hour or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the Topping

1) In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the butter and beat until smooth.

2) Add the maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of cream, orange zest, and orange juice. Beat until smooth. Taste and add more maple syrup, if needed. Add more cream if necessary to achieve the desired consistency.

Last Friday us girls hosted a party for a few friends. It was so much fun to quickly throw a menu together. Join me for a look at our splendid little party.

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:: The Menu ::

Lunch

Appetizers:

Piped Deviled Eggs

Cheese and Crackers

Soup:

Creamy Onion Soup with Croutons

Sandwiches:

Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Toasted Bread

Salad:

Fruit Salad

Dessert

Vanilla Rice Pudding with Whipped Cream

Poppy Seed Cake with Orange Cream

~

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Creamy Onion Soup, made by yours truly.

Janna made these delicious Chicken Salad Sandwiches, served on buttered, toasted bread.

Sister Amanda prepared these cute little deviled eggs. They were seasoned just right.

We decided to serve the fruit salad in tea cups. They looked so elegant.

We played a delightful little game. It is a Scandinavian tradition to place one almond in the rice pudding. Whoever finds the almond is promised to be the next to marry.

Breanna found the almond.

Amanda also made poppy seed cake. We served it with orange cream.

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Are you hungry yet? I promise to give you at least a few of these recipes. For now, I must away and roll out tortillas for supper. How prosaic.

Would you like to see more photos of our party? Stop by my photo blog.

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Monday was my sister’s Birthday. I knew she would like chocolate cake in some form, so I made her this. It is a very good basic chocolate cake recipe for you to play with. Frost with mocha icing and fill with vanilla pudding, or frost with peanut butter frosting, or transform it into a Coffee Toffee Trifle (as we did for my sister’s Birthday), or whatever you please!

My version is slightly healthier (surprise!) than the original recipe. I substituted half of the AP flour with whole wheat, and used a natural sweetener in place of the refined granulated white sugar. And it came out of the pan so easily, even without the use of parchment paper. This is certainly a keeper.

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:: Devil’s Food Cake ::

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Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) butter
• 1 1/2 cups Sucanat, Rapadura or Demerara sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons  pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (4 ounces) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) natural cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) milk or water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, two to three 8-inch round pans, or a 9 x 13-inch sheet cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, and vanilla until fluffy and light, about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa.
3. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low, blend 1/2 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then half the milk, another third of the flour, the remaining milk, and then the remaining flour. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes ( a bit longer for the sheet cake, shorter for the 8-inch pans), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.
5. Remove the cakes from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Wrap the cake in foil and store at room temperature or in the freezer.