Banana Pineapple Cake and Brown Butter Frosting for out little monkey

Made a banana cake to celebrate V’s 2nd birthday as she is so into monkeys! The bananas weren’t very ripe, so I made it into a sort of hummingbird cake. The frosting was delicious and you can get away with less sugar since it has savory notes any ways. I filled the cake with vanilla pudding/Cool Whip, sliced banana and crushed pineapple, but coconut cream would also be good, especially if toasted coconut is added to the batter. 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts could be added as well.

CAKE:

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

4 bananas (2 cups)

16 oz crushed pineapple, drained. you can also use the juice by boiling it down to a few tablespoons. If pineapple not available, you can sub with 1 1/2 cup buttermilk and add 1 tsp baking powder.

3 eggs

2/3 cup oil

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Bake at 350 degrees

FROSTING

1 stick salted browned butter heated on medium for about 5 minutes and cooled

1 stick softened salted butter

block cream cheese

powdered sugar to taste

vanilla to taste

Cornmeal Olive Oil Cake

from Bon Appetit

INGREDIENTS

• 1¼ cups olive oil
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups cake flour
• ⅓ cup fine-grind cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon or orange zest
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon or orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs

Special Equipment

• A 9″-diameter springform pan

RECIPE PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 400°. Drizzle bottom and sides of pan with oil and use your fingers to coat. Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and smooth to eliminate air bubbles; coat parchment with more oil. Generously sprinkle pan with sugar and tilt to coat in an even layer; tap out excess. Whisk cake flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to combine and eliminate any lumps. Stir together amaretto, lemon juice, and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed (use whisk attachment if working with a stand mixer), beat eggs, lemon zest, and 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar in a large bowl until mixture is very light, thick, pale, and falls off the whisk or beaters in a slowly dissolving ribbon, about 3 minutes if using a stand mixer and about 5 minutes if using a hand mixer. With mixer still on high speed, gradually stream in 1¼ cups oil and beat until incorporated and mixture is even thicker. Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with amaretto mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold batter several times with a large rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Scrape batter into prepared pan 9 inch springform pan, smooth top, and sprinkle with more sugar.
• Place cake in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 350°. Bake until top is golden brown, center is firm to the touch, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–50 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 15 minutes.
• Run a thin knife around edges of cake and remove ring from pan. Slide cake onto rack and let cool completely. For the best flavor and texture, wrap cake in plastic and let sit at room temperature at least a day before serving.
• Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 4 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

Cornmeal Strawberry Cake

from BonAppetit

Yield 9X13 sheet. May be halved for 8 inch square pan

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz. strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup plus 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided, plus more for pan
• Kosher salt
• ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan
• 1½ cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (60 g) fine-grind cornmeal
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 3 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sour cream
• Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup strawberry jam (preferably Bonne Maman)

RECIPE PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 350°. Gently toss strawberries, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Let sit, stirring occasionally, until ready to use.
• Grease a 13×9″ pan with oil. Line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on 2 long sides. Grease parchment with oil. Generously sprinkle pan and parchment with sugar, tilting to coat pan in an even layer; tap out excess.
• Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, 1 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla in a large bowl until well combined. Add dry ingredients to sour cream mixture and whisk gently to combine. Using a spatula, gradually fold in ¾ cup oil until batter is smooth and homogenous with all of the oil incorporated.
• Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Using a small spoon, dollop jam onto surface. Using a butter knife or small offset spatula, gently swirl jam into batter. Arrange reserved strawberries on top of batter in even rows, touching at widest points. Sprinkle all over with remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar.
• Bake cake until risen and deeply bronzed with no damp spots in the middle and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes.
• Do Ahead: Cake can be made 4 days ahead. Cover with foil and store at room temperature.

Olive Oil Lemon Cake

Made this for breakfast this Friday, marking 5 weeks of shelter-at-home during the COVID-19 pandemic. We got a great deal on prime aged rib-eyes and cocktails from a high end steak house selling the raw steak for about half the restaurant price, which includes curbside pick-up!

The cake itself is less sweet, where the olive oil is truly the forward flavor. I tossed in a few blueberries at the end which, of course sank to the bottom despite tossing them in flour ahead of time. I think that the bake time is too long, so they all eventually settle on the bottom. Not too much of a problem though. The extra sprinkling of sugar before baking really lent to a crisp, almost crackling top. I tried adding lemon zest on top along with the sugar, but it became bitter during baking. I would consider carefully adding thyme and subbing orange for lemon to give it a more sophisticated twist.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
• 2 cups cake flour
• ⅓ cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Handful of fresh blueberries (optional)

1. Combine the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside
2. With a hand mixer of stand mixer with a whip attachment, beat eggs and sugar until pale and thickened until the mix forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Slowly stream the olive oil into the egg mixture to make an even thicker batter.
4. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the vanilla and lemon juice. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in the blueberries
6. Pour into a greased and lined 9-inch Springform pan. Bake for 7 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Continue to bake for a total of 40 minutes.

Gail’s Citrus Olive Oil Cake with Marscapone Whipped Cream Frosting

My friend brought over the absolutely stunning and delicious cake for CNY. Had to ask for the recipe. Although she used two different citrus infused olive oils and skin of home grown oranges, hopefully, the result will just as good with a light olive oil. I’ll just have to remember to do it during citrus season. This cake apparently sinks in the middle and get better with time, so could be make ahead of time. This makes one-layer. Double the recipe for a two layer cake.

• 1 1/2 cups (195g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups (380g) sugar
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 2/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 2/3 cup olive oil

1. Butter a springform or 9-inch cake pan. If using a cake pan, line the bottom with greased parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients
3. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs, then gradually add the sugar, beating until thick and pale yellow. Beat in the orange zest till well combine
4. In a measuring cup, combine the orange juice and oil.
5. Add the dry ingredients and the oil to the egg mixture, alternating and in thirds.
6. Bake at 375 degrees. Check after 30 minutes and cover if it’s browning too quickly. Should bake for about 50 minutes.
7. Try opening the oven and leaving the cake in there to minimize the falling.
8. Let cool and top with powdered sugar or the frosting below

Marscapone and Whipped Cream Frosting (for 1 layer)

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2-4 TBSP cup powdered sugar
• 4 oz marcapone cheese
• few TBSPs of citrus curd or jam
• orange zest

Doctored TJ’s Cake Mix-Raspberry

One box of vanilla cake mix probably would be been just enough to make a two-layer 6-inch cake. Made this cake for V’s first birthday cake. I was intrigued by this cake mix because the ingredient list is very similar to a homemade cake and not full of artificial ingredients and stabilizers. This would be great with fresh raspberries and whipped cream frosting

• One box of TJ’s vanilla cake mix
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 bag of TJ’s freeze dried raspberries
• 1/2 cup of whole milk raspberry or whole milk Greek yogurt or plain sour cream
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 eggs

1. Pulse raspberries in a food processor to make a fine powder. Let soak in the milk.
2. Beat in eggs, oil, butter and yogurt into the milk. Then add cake mix.
3. Pour into pans and bake at 350 degrees until the center is done

Red Velvet Cake (2022)

• From Sally’s Baking Addiction
• 3 cups (345g) cake flour (spoon & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 Tablespoons (10g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (240ml) canola or vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs, room temperature and separated
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• liquid or gel red food coloring
• 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans.
2. Make the cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the oil, egg yolks, and vanilla extract and beat on high for 2 minutes. (Set the egg whites aside.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 2-3 additions alternating with the buttermilk. Beat in your desired amount of food coloring just until combined. I use 1-2 teaspoons gel food coloring. Vigorously whisk or beat the 4 egg whites on high speed until fluffy peaks form as pictured above, about 3 minutes. Gently fold into cake batter. Combine baking soda and vinegar. Add to batter. The batter will be silky and slightly thick.
5. Divide batter between cake pans. Bake for 30-32 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the cakes need a little longer as determined by wet crumbs on the toothpick, bake for longer. However, careful not to overbake as the cakes may dry out. Remove cakes from the oven and cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.

Red Velvet Cake from Divas Can Cook

BEST Southern Red Velvet Cake Recipe

https://divascancook.com/the-best-red-velvet-cake-recipe-easy-homemade-moist-with-southern-flair/

My friend made me this cake to congratulate me on my job promotion in 2022. I was impressed that she remembered that this was one of my favorite flavors, and this cake was amazing!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened, cocoa powder
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil or canola
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-2 oz. red food coloring, more or less depending on how deep you want the color
• 1/2 cup plain hot coffee, prepared (don’t skip this ingredient)
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 325 F.
• Generously grease and flour (2) 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
• Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and red food coloring until combined.
• Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
• Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing after each addition, just until combined. (Batter will be thin)
• Pour the batter evenly into each pan.
• Bake in the middle rack for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Do not overbake as the cake will continue to cook as it cools.
• Let pans cool on a cooling rack until the pans are warm to the touch.
• Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan.
• Gently remove the cakes from the pan and let them finish cooling. (The warm cake will be very delicate)
• Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting when the cakes have cooled completely.

Carrot Pineapple Cake

Made this for dad’s 71st birthday and is my favorite version to date.  I made this recipe in two 6-inch pans to make a small layer cake topped with cream cheese frosting.

From Ina Garten: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/carrot-and-pineapple-cake-recipe-1953437

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 pound carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Beat the sugar, oil and eggs.  Add vanilla cinnamon, baking soda and salt

Spoon in flour and Beat till combined

Stir in carrots, raisins, walnuts and pineapple

Spoon into a buttered and lined 8 inch cake pan (double the recipe for a two layer cake) at 350 degrees for 50 minutes

Cornmeal Blueberry Cake

The best part of this cake are the crispy edges!  If the top browns before the cake is done, cover with foil for the remainder of the baking time.

Adapted from a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 TBSP butter, room temperature
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 TBSP buttermilk
• 1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, lemon zest and salt in a large measuring cup. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until  light and well-incorporated.  Add the egg and vanilla.
4. Beat in half of the flour mixture into the egg mixture.  Add the buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture, beating in between.  Scrape the sides down as needed .
5. *If doubling the recipe, add flour mixture in thirds, combining the last third of flour with the blueberries before folding it into the batter.
6. Fold in the blueberries.
7. Spread into the green oval Le Crueset baking dish.
8. Baking until golden brown and the edges are crisped, about 45 minutes.

The recipe as is yields a thin crisp cake, almost cross-between a cookie.  Doubling the recipe would likely yield a thicker more cake-like structure.

Guiness Chocolate Cake

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate_guinness_cake/

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Guinness stout
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

METHOD

1 Preheat oven, prepare pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

2 Heat Guinness, butter, add cocoa and sugar: In a large saucepan place the stout and butter. Cook over medium-high heat until the butter has melted. Add the cocoa powder and sugars and whisk together. Take off heat and allow to come to room temperature.

3 Beat sour cream, eggs, vanilla, then add to stout butter mixture: In another bowl beat together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract until very, very well combined. Add to the butter-stout mixture and whisk together.

4 Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, add to stout-butter mixture: In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the stout-butter mixture and whisk together until it just comes together.

5 Bake: Pour into the prepared pan and give the pan a few short drops onto the countertop to shake the air pockets in the batter to the surface and out of the cake. Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes.

6 Cool: Allow to cool on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge to separate the cake from the pan and pop the ring off the springform.

7 Top:  Dust with powdered sugar.

8 Serve:  Dollop whipped cream (maybe spiked with Bailey’s)