Banana Crumb Cake (Cuca de banana)

Pin It

 

 

 

I know I haven't been around here a lot lately, but I have good reasons for that. The best one is that I got a new job. It's a job I believe it's perfect for me, but I will talk more about it at another time.

For now, I would like to share this recipe with you: Banana crumb cake. I learned this recipe back home when I was studying in the south, where the German influence is very strong and therefore there is plenty of German dishes. I suppose the Germans originally made it with apples, but bananas are definitely more "Brazilian". There are two ways I do this cake, this one is what I call the tall version, layered with banana filling. There is another type of "cuca" (I have no idea where the name came from. If anyone out there knows, please share!) that is's more simple and has no layers, it's normally baked in a shallow square pan. The second one resembles more the types of crumb cakes I find here in the U.S. I hope you like this one. According to Andrew, it goes very well with a glass of milk.

On another note, I wanted to thank everyone that joined my Facebook page so far. You are welcome to post questions or comments over there too.

Banana Crumb Cake Recipe:

makes one 9 inch round cake

You will need:

 

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup of brown sugar

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

 

For the cake:

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

3 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 cups of cake flour

1 tablespoon of baking powder

4 bananas, peeled and sliced

3/4 cups of milk

 

Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan.

Make the crumb topping by mixing all the ingredients with a fork until you have  pea size crumbs. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and the baking powder together. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the yolks, butter and sugar on medium-high until it gets pale and creamy. Add the vanilla. Turn speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture and the milk, alternating both and finishing with the milk. Fold in the egg whites into the batter.

Pour half of the batter in the prepared pan. Make a layer using half of the bananas and half of the crumb mixture. Pour the remaining batter on top of it and repeat the layer of banana and crumb topping (crumb topping last).

Bake it at 350 until the toothpick tester comes out clean. This cake takes me about 1 hour to bake, so be patient. Cool it for 15 minutes before slicing it.

 

Enjoy it!

 

 

	A spring form pan will make it easier to keep the crumb topping intact and give you a nicer presentation,  but it's not necessary as you can just take slices straight from the pan.

 

Fresh Peaches Poached in Spiced Coconut Milk Topped with Granola

Pin It

 

 

I am a big fruit person, but I normally eat them fresh without any cooking involved.  Peaches are especially nice fresh, when they are juicy and have a wonderful aroma. Sometimes though, I like to try something different. This time I decided to poach the peaches, and as I was opening the can of coconut milk I thought about how nice it would be to add some spices to it, like cinnamon and cloves. These spices are normally used during cold month desserts, but they worked very nicely here. The granola on top is optional, but I like the crunch. Fresh whipped cream or ice cream would work well too, specially if you are a fan of cold and hot contrast on a dish.

 

 

Peaches Poached in Spiced Coconut Milk Recipe:

serves 4

You will need:

 

2 fresh peaches, ripe but still firm

1 can of coconut milk

1 cinnamon stick

10 whole cloves

1 -2 tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you want it to be)

Granola (optional)

 

Peel the peaches, cut them in half and remove pit. Place peaches in a small sauce pan and cover with the coconut milk. Add the spices and sugar. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, without boiling.

Pour each half peach in individual bowls and top it with some of the coconut milk. Top it with granola, if using. Serve immediately.

 

 

Dobos Torte - Daring Bakers

Pin It

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of

A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos
Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus:  Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

This was the first time since join the Daring Bakers that I was not completely  pleased with the results. The Dobos Torte tasted very good, which was not a surprise. White sponge and lots of chocolate ganache, how bad can that taste? My problem was with the presentation, and it probably had a lot to do with my decision to cut the recipe in half (lesson learned).

Since it's only the 2 of us, and I was  recently told by my doctor to decrease my sugar intake , I thought  I would make just a small cake for us to share. The problem of making small amounts is that if something goes wrong, you don't have much back up, and that is what happen to my sponge cake. It all went well for the first batch, but the second one stuck to the baking paper and I couldn't remove it. So I ended up with 1/4 of the sponge cake from the recipe. That is the reason you only see a small slice of my "torta"....

The chocolate buttercream was easy to make and tasted great, the only thing is that it melts pretty fast so it has be kept in the fridge. Even after the layers were assembled, I had to keep it refrigerated or the layers would slide off and melt.

A typical Dobos Torte is topped with  a caramel-covered sponge layer, normally sliced into wedges. Since I was already running short of cake layers, I decided to skip the caramel altogether.

I ended up with a multi layered mini torta that tasted great (just like store bought actually), but didn't exactly look that attractive., specially if you think of Dobos Torte as a beautiful, tall cake with a crunchy and shinny caramel topping.... Mine wasn't any of that.... 

Although Dobos is a wonderful dessert, certainly elegant (when made properly), I don't think I will be making this again anytime soon. Perhaps it is a little too rich for my taste, but as a true Daring Baker, I am happy that I tried it.

 

For more beautiful photos of Dobos Torte (and too see how they are really suppose to look like), head over to the Daring Kitchen. And for the complete recipe for this particular Dobos, click here or here.

Grilled Romaine Hearts with Warm Peas

Pin It

 

 

 

On my last post I declared my love for all things grilled, so here it another grilled recipe. This time it's romaine lettuce that takes a trip to the barbeque.  Don't be so surprised, grilled lettuce is really good. I love how charred they get, a little burnt on the edges, warm but still crunchy in the middle. The trick is to brush it well with oil and cook for a very short time. You can use grilled lettuce in salads, with some grilled cherry tomatoes and red onions. It's delicious and unexpected. This recipe is for grilled romaine hearts that are topped with a warm peas and shallots mix.  I like the combination of peas and lettuce a lot. This makes  a perfect side dish for a barbeque party.

 

Grilled Romaine Hearts with Warm Peas Recipe:

 serves 2 as a side dish

 

You will need:

1 tablespoon of olive oil *

1 tablespoon of chopped shallots (use red onions if you don't have shallots on hand)

1/2 cup of peas, fresh or frozen

1/4 cup of either water, chicken or vegetable broth

salt and pepper

1 lettuce head, preferably romaine hearts

Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

 

 

First make the warm peas mix. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan or skillet, add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the peas, your liquid of choice and cook until warmed up, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Cut the lettuce in half lengthwise leaving the root still attached ( it holds the leaves together). Rinse with cold water and let it dry. Brush cut sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Grill the lettuces cut side down over a medium hot grill for about 5 minutes (start checking after 3 minutes as grill temperatures vary). Remove from the heat.

Plate lettuce halves cut side up and spoon the warm pea mix on top (reheat it if necessary). Top everything with shaved Parmesan, if using and serve immediately.

 

* If you like butter (who doesn't?), go ahead and use it instead of the olive oil for a richer dish.

 

Enjoy it!

Potato and Olive Pockets in the Barbeque

Pin It

We bought our BBQ about 5 years ago in Canada. It was the simplest and cheapest gas model in the store (in the two digits category...). Since then, it has traveled to Seattle, endured a couple of really bad winters (specially last year) and the constant, terrible wind that hits our balcony all the time. The metal plate inside of it is broken, as is the lid. It's a very small grill and I do my best to keep one side of it vegetarian, although that is not always possible.  Nevertheless, I love our barbeque. I can't imagine my life without it. Sometimes I fantasize about buying one of those super grills, with a rotisserie motor (for making gyros), and it almost feels like I am cheating on our my loyal companion, our cheap BBQ grill. I use it pretty much everyday, all year around.  During the cold months (in our case, that's 9-10 months), I roll it close to the  balcony door so that I don't have to step outside, but can still grill on it from the inside of the apartment. I use our old, broken BBQ to cook just about anything I feel like. 

This time it was potatoes. I like to grill potatoes but I don't like to have to boil them first (too much work, too much clean up). So I bought some very tiny ones (from Trader Joe's), that could go straight into the grill. The foil keeps the moisture in and lets the potatoes cook nicely. The olives give a nice saltiness and a touch of  Mediterranean flavour. Sometimes I use green onions (scallions), sometimes it's chives, whatever I have in the fridge. Next time I make these potatoes, I am thinking sun-dried-tomatoes might be good addition to them.

 

Potato and Olive Pockets in the Barbeque Recipe:

serves 4 as a side dish

You will need:

 

1 lb of very small potatoes such as Trader Joe's Tiny Teeny Potatoes**

16 mixed olives

4 teaspoons of olive oil

4 teaspoons of butter

4 tablespoons of fresh chives or green onions, chopped

salt and pepper

 

Wash and rinse the potatoes, scrubbing the skins to remove any dirt.

Cut 8 squares of foil paper (about 10x10 inches each) to make 4 double-lined pockets.  In each pocket, put 1/4 of the potatoes, 4 olives, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of chives or green onions). Season with salt and pepper (keep in mind olives are very salty ) and close tightly. Place pockets in a hot barbeque grill, cover and let it cook for about 20 minutes.

Be careful when opening the pockets, they will be hot and the potatoes steamy. Serve immediately.

Enjoy it!

 

** If you can't find tiny potatoes, use small new potatoes cut in half.

 

Pure Honey Ice Cream

Pin It

 

 

This ice cream is the ultimate proof that when it comes to good food, less is often more. With only 3 simple ingredients (plus a pinch of salt), you can make this delicious ice cream that tastes so homemade and pure. Because the recipe is so simple, it is important to use the best ingredients that you can find and afford. Local, organic eggs and dairy are wonderful and easy to find this time of year. The final product will taste exactly like the honey you use, so choose something that you really like. I used a raspberry honey that I picked up last week at my local farmer's market.

This ice cream can be a starting point for many other variations. I kept it simple, but you may want to add some chopped walnuts to it, or some chopped semi-sweet chocolate. You can also infuse the base of the ice cream with herbs or spices such as basil, mint, cinnamon, vanilla. On this case, just add the extra ingredient to the simmering dairy base, let it rest for at least 2 hours, strain it and proceed with the recipe.

Another great way of using this honey ice cream is to make smoothies and shakes. Try blending it with fruits like peaches, bananas and strawberries.

Pure Honey Ice Cream Recipe:

You will need:

4 egg yolks

2/3 cup of pure honey

1 1/2 cups of half-and-half

1 1/2 cup of whole milk

a pinch of salt

 

Bring the cream and the milk to a simmer, do not let it boil.  While the cream mixture warms up, whisk the yolks, honey and salt together until pale and fluffy.

Slowly incorporate the warm cream mixture into the eggs, one ladle full at the time, whisking vigorously. Return the egg and cream mix to the stove and cook over low heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Do not let it boil. The custard is ready when it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail if you pass your finger on it.

Cool custard completely in the fridge before putting in the ice cream maker. Follow instructions of your ice cream machine.

Enjoy it!

Milano Cookies - Daring Bakers

Pin It

 

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

We were given a choice of making both cookies or only one of them. I chose to make the Milano cookies because I am not  a big marshmallow fan. The cookies were very easy to make and the dough reminded me of my first Daring Bakers challenge, the Tuiles. Remember them? This time the dough was piped and had a much thicker consistency. The filling of the cookies was as simple as a chocolate ganache can be, with the addition of some orange zest.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and I did not make much changes to it. I did, however, omit the lemon extract (didn't have any), and halved the entire recipe. I ended up with about 16 cookies. If you would like to see more  Milano cookies or the chocolate covered marshmallow cookies, head over to the Daring Bakers site and have fun!

This is the original recipe given to us. I halved all ingredients (using 3 egg whites) and omitted the lemon extract.

Milan Cookies
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

 

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

 

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Banana and Chocolate Tart

Pin It

 

 

I know very little people (if any) that don't like chocolate or bananas. The combination of both is even better, so when I ended up with an extra tart shell from my last Daring Bakers challenge, I knew exactly what to do with it. It's hard to go wrong with chocolate and bananas.

If you have already a tart shell frozen or if you are using a store-bought one, this dessert comes together in no time at all and can easily be made on any busy week night. If you are going to make the dough from scratch, than you'll have to add some extra time, but this dough is really easy to work with. For this recipe, I used an already blind-baked tart shell,

The idea here is to make a layer of chocolate on the bottom of the tart shell and top it with fresh bananas. A no-brainier, really. I also added some possible variations and additions to make this tart even more delicious.

 

Banana-Chocolate Tart Recipe:

makes one 9 inch round tart

 

You will need:

1 tart shell, homemade or store-bought , par baked and cooled (recipe for sweet short crust pastry as well as how to blind bake a tart shell, here)

4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 cup of cream or half and half

3-4 ripe bananas, depending on their size

1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons of  brown sugar

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the cream just until bellow boiling point. Pour it over the chocolate and stir until you get a smooth consistency. Let it cool.

Peel the bananas and half them lengthwise. Squeeze the lemon juice over the bananas and add the sugar. Mix well.

Spread the chocolate sauce on the bottom of the tart shell and top it with the bananas, cut side up, forming a circular pattern.

Bake it until tart is golden brown and bananas are soft, about 30 minutes.

Serve warm by itself or alongside some vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy it!

 

Possible variations:

Sprinkle the bananas with some chopped peanuts or walnuts half way trough baking.

Place a layer of shredded coconut between the chocolate and the bananas.

Use cinnamon-sugar instead of the brown sugar.

 

 

Barley and Avocado Salad

Pin It

 

 

This dish works well in a household where there are both vegetarians and meat eaters (like mine). That is because this filling salad can serve as the main dish for a vegetarian as well as a side for some grilled chicken for a meat eater. This dish is so healthy and tasty, you won't get tired of it. You can think of it as a kind of deconstructed guacamole with the addition of barley. Kind of.

I like to cook a big batch of barley every once in a while and keep it in the fridge for different uses during the week. It makes salads like this one a cinch to prepare.  To cook the barley, I simply add lots water to a pot, bring it to a boil, add the barley and cook it for about 45 minutes with a semi open lid.

 

Barley and Avocado Salad Recipe:

serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side

You will need:

 

1 hass avocado

1 cup of coked barley

1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon of chopped basil leaves

1 tablespoon of chopped red onion

1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt

fresh pepper to taste

 

Half the avocado and remove the pit. Cut the avocado flesh into bite size pieces.  Mix together the avocado, barley, tomatoes, herbs and red onion. Make a dressing for the salad by mixing the lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and whisk it until it comes together. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir it to combine, being careful not to squeeze the pieces of avocados. Serve it immediately.

Enjoy it!

 

Short Pasta with Zucchini, Peas and Mint

Pin It

 

This is a summer pasta dish, and the best part for me is that it comes together in less than 30 minutes. It's a "sauceless" kind of pasta, just tossed together with sauteed vegetables and fresh herbs. Delicious and healthy. Whenever I make this at home, I start by heating the water for the pasta, then move on to prep the veggies and cook them. By the time the pasta is cooked my vegetables are done and I just scoop them out of the water and drop them in the skillet with the vegetables. It's that easy. I like using  short pasta in this recipe because I cut the zucchini in batons so they all have a similar size. The pasta on the photo is a whole wheat rotini, but you can use any kind of pasta that you like. This recipe makes 2 servings and can be easily doubled.

Short Pasta with Zucchini, Peas and Mint Recipe:

serves 2

You will need:

2 cups of uncooked short pasta (rotini, penne)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1 teaspoon of salt

pepper to taste

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 small-medium zucchini, cut into batons

1/2 cup of peas, fresh or frozen

1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint

 

Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente.

While the water heats and the pasta cooks, make the vegetables.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for another 30 seconds. Add the zucchini and peas and cook until the zucchini is cooked but still somewhat firm. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and save some of the water. Add the pasta to the vegetables in the skillet and some of the pasta water to make it a bit moist. Add the fresh mint and mix well.

Enjoy it!