Banana Coconut Pineapple Trifle

• 1/2 Recipe for Banana Cupcakes, baked in a cake pan
• Full Recipe of Coconut Custard from Coconut Banana Cream Pie
• Sliced bananas
• Crush Pineapple, drained
• Sliced almonds
• Toasted coconut
• Caramel Sauce
• 8 oz heavy cream, whipped

In a trifle dish, first layer cake, then caramel, then custard, then whipped cream, then banana, pineapple, almond and coconut.  Continue to layer, ending with whipped cream on top.  Garnish with coconut around the rim

This was made for a build-your-own burger party at Gail’s house.

Mini Apricot Cakes (from Bon Appetit, June 2013)

I served these at my Sip and Swap.  They were such a hit, I didn’t even get to try one for myself!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• good pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 small apricots, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 4 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 4 tablespoons raw sugar

Preparation

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat until combined.
• With mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, a third at a time, alternating with the milk, ending with dry ingredients.  Divide batter among muffin cups (cups will be only 1/3 full) and smooth tops. Top with apricot slices, almonds, and sprinkle with raw sugar.
• Bake at 350 degrees until cakes are golden and a tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 20–25 minutes.
• DO AHEAD: Cakes can be made 1 day ahead.

Whole wheat blueberry almond pancakes!

One of the best things about summer are the wonderful fruits in season. This past week, we’ve font through pints of blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. My mom sent homegrown cherries, we harvested THREE peaches from our backyard, and B’s parents sent us home with some more exotic fruits-rambutans and cherimoyas!

This morning, I treated B to some special pancakes after our trip to the gym. They turned out light and fluffy with just enough butter flavor that there was no need to spread any extra over the finished pancakes. I prefer to add the blueberries and almond to each individual pancake to ensure more even distribution

DRY INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

WET INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
2 tbsp melted butter (unsalted)
1 1/3 cup buttermilk

PANCAKE FILLING
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl
2. Whisk wet ingredients in a separate bowl
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir with spatula to combine. The batter should stay lumpy and be slightly thickened
4. Using a 1-oz scoop, add the batter to a buttered griddle. I used an electric griddle set at 325 degrees. Add a few blueberries and a sprinkling of almonds to each pancake. Flip pancakes when the bottom has browned. Keep on a warmed plate and cover with foil until serving
5. Serve with blueberry maple syrup (recipe below)

Yields 16 4-inch pancakes

INGREDIENTS FOR BLUEBERRY MAPLE SYRUP
2 cups blueberries
1/3 c sugar
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup maple syrup

DIRECTIONS FOR SYRUP
In a small saucepan, heat blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice. Mash blueberries with the back of a spoon and cook till reduced to about 1/2-3/4 cup. Turn off the heat and stir in syrup. Serve warm