Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Whole Wheat Banana Bread (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 256) 

I would be willing to bet that Banana Bread is one of the most popular recipes around. Here in the Pacific Northwest in late summer, zucchini bread is equally as popular when they begin to ripen. 

For a long time now, I've been using Flour's recipe for Banana Bread as so many people claim it to be the best. It is good, however, I have always found it to be really heavy and on more than one occasion, it did not bake properly (it does have 1/2 cup of oil). I've been on a King Arthur phase lately and I recently tried their Whole Wheat Banana Bread recipe and I think it was one of the best I've made. 

Now I've finally tried Maida's recipe which uses both whole wheat and white flour as well as buttermilk. It tastes a lot like the King Arthur recipe and is delicious. I do believe I like the King Arthur recipe the best.

And finally, here is an additional tip that I learned in the past but can't remember where I found it - Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the cake before you put it in the oven. It makes a crunchy topping that brings it up a notch. Delicious!

1 cup sifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mace
1 1/3 cups mashed bananas (about 3-4 ripe bananas)
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 oz. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter or spray a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Sift together both flours, baking soda, salt and mace and set aside.

Combine the bananas and the buttermilk.

Cream the butter and add the vanilla and the sugar.

Add the egg and beat well.

On low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the banana and milk mixture.

Stir in the lemon rind and the nuts.

Turn into the pan and smooth the top. (Add the sugar and cinnamon mixture I mentioned in the intro for added deliciousness).

Bake 50-55 minutes until a tester comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing from the pan.

Big Daddy's Cake

Big Daddy's Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 68) 

I think of Tennessee Williams every time I hear the name of this cake (or maybe Blanche DuBois!)

This a monster of a cake and a delicious one at that! You will need a 10-inch Bundt pan to hold it all. The cake tastes like a pound cake with a delicious ribbon of nutty chocolate running through it. The chocolate ribbon is initially places at the top of the batter but sinks to the bottom during the baking process.

Note - I forgot to toast the nuts first but I thought they were delicious anyway. I was also short one stick of butter and used shortening instead. 

The cake turned out delicious. It is very much like a pound cake but the layer of chocolate and nuts brings it to another level. This one is a keeper!

2 cups toasted pecans
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 oz. semisweet chocolate
3 TBS. hot water or black coffee
3 TBS. whipping cream
12 oz. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350. Thoroughly butter a 10-inch bundt pan or a pan with a 12-14 cup capacity.

Chop half of the pecans coarsely and chop the remaining half very fine.

Sprinkle the finely chopped nuts in the buttered pan and shake to distribute them evenly.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Add the water or coffee. Whisk in the whipping cream and set aside to cool.

Beat the butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and almond extracts. Mix in the sugar. Beat for 2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl as necessary to fully incoroporate.

On low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk.

Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth the top. Use a large spoon to create a 1/2 inch canal around the perimeter. Spoon the melted chocolate into the canal.

Sprinkle the remaining coarsely chopped pecans over the top of the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, then cover the pan loosely with foil and continue to bake an additional 15-20 minutes (total baking time will be 1 hour and 5-15 minutes). Test doneness with a tester. 

Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Carefully invert onto a wire rack. Be careful as the cake is very heavy. Cool completely before applying the glaze.

Glaze

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces

2 tsp. vegetable shortening (I used butter-flavored shortening because that was the only thing I had on hand. It should not matter. You could use butter as well.)

Melt the ingredients in a double boiler. Pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake, allowing it to run down the sides.

Light Rocky Roads

 

Light Rocky Roads  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 134.

A very easy and very quick recipe. I doubled it and made them in a 13" x 9" pan. I thought the crust should have been thicker (she says it makes a thin crust and it certainly does). I wanted to use pecans instead of walnuts but I didn't have enough on hand. I simply like pecans much better than walnuts.  Either is fine. 

I would advise you to line the pan with baking paper. The recipe does not specify this but I suspected that it would be hard to remove them neatly from the pan otherwise.

There is also a "Dark Rocky Roads" with a chocolate layer and glaze but I have not tried that one yet.

(Makes 18 bars)

1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, finely cut

Preheat the oven to 350. Use the lower third rack. Butter or spray an 8-inch pan and line with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. In another bowl, combine the egg, sugar, vanilla and butter. Add the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts. Spread the mixture into the pan and smooth out evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust springs back when lightly pressed.

Topping

I cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Have the topping ingredients ready so that they can be applied to the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven. Immediately cover the crust with a layer of marshmallows, then the nuts and the chocolate chips.

Place the pan back in the oven on the top rack and bake for only 2 or 3 minutes just until the chocolate is softened. Use the back of the spoon to spread the chocolate over the marshmallows.

Let it sit until it has reached room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Cut into squares with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.