America Test Kitchen's Banana bread

A couple of weeks ago I was watching America's Test Kitchen and they were making the ultimate banana bread. The whole time I was thinking who is going to go to these lengths to make banana-ier tasting banana bread. Next thing I knew I was making it. Well my sister gave me 6 ripe bananas one afternoon and I had 5 myself. I remembered the recipe and decided to get rid of all the bananas at once by doubling the recipe. I must confess, it was good. In fact the best tasting banana bread I've made.

the bananas after being zapped in the microwave

see all the liquid?

sorry for the fuzzy picture

here is the youtube clip of the episode

Recipe

by ATC

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 large very ripe bananas (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled (The 6th banana is sliced for the top of the loaf, so if you have only 5 that will work)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.

3. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 cup liquid).

4. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1⁄4 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth.

5. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

6. Slice remaining banana diagonally into 1⁄4-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1 1⁄2-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.

7.Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes.

On the home front...I am a HGTV & DIY addict. I decided to take the plunge and make bookshelves for the dining area (of course with help from my dad). My kitchen area is a mess at the moment and so is my patio. The first bookshelf is done and I am painting the last coat on the second one. They didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, but not bad for my first big home project.

Strawberry Chiffon Cake

This is the June issue of Martha Stewart.  Isn't the cake just lovely?! I can't wait for summer...for lazy days, bbqs, for my tomatoes to ripen & to take walks around the lake.   
 

i received this egg separator as a gift...i finally got to use it

see how the egg white oozes out?! i love how it clips itself to the bowl

whipping egg whites to a stiff peak. so pretty!

the yolk mixture

adding the flour mixture little by little

whisk until smooth

now for the fun part...gently folding in the egg white!

such a nice batter

ready for the oven

assembly time & playing around with instagram

fresh whipped cream

tada! my version of the cake...i didn't have a tube pan.

The cake was really good! I would definitely make it again for a summer potluck.  The only change I would make would be to buy more strawberries and heavy cream. I also added some vanilla to my heavy cream. 

Here is the link to the recipe.  

http://www.marthastewart.com/901686/chiffon-cake-strawberries-and-cream

raspberry almond bars

I only made slight adjustments to this recipe. Martha calls them blondies, but to me they were more like dense cake bars. If you like almond flavored things this is a good recipe. You can swap out the raspberries for cherries or anything else that pairs well with almonds.

toasting nuts in a pan

raspberry almond bars 

recipe from Martha Stewart (I made very minor changes)

1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1 cup packed light-brown sugar 

 2 large eggs 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted 

1 cup or more raspberries (I used frozen)

powdered sugar, for dusting 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper.  Butter or spray (I use a baking spray)

In a bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 

Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract; mix until combined. 

Add flour mixture, and beat on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until well incorporated. Mix in half of the almonds into batter. 

Pour batter into prepared pan; spread with a spatula. Scatter berries and the rest of the almonds on top of the batter.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until nice and golden brown.  

Once cooled, dust with powdered sugar and then cut into squares.

Buttermilk muffins

I was craving buttermilk muffins from Mimi's this past week except I didn't have any muffin liners on hand and I kept forgetting to grab some while I was at the store. But I caved and made them in my mini muffin tin. I was on the phone while they were in the oven and I forgot about them and they came out dry.  So sit by the oven because they only take about 8 minutes.

little lovelies ready for the oven

Mimi's Buttermilk Muffins 

1 cup Sugar
½ cup Butter
3 Eggs
2-½ cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Nutmeg
½ tsp. Cinnamon
¾ cup + 1 tbsp. Buttermilk

Topping:
½ cup Sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
½ tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375°.  

Make the nut topping: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. 

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix for another minute or so.

In a bowl, sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.

Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. Add the wet and dry ingredients alternately.

Line muffin tins with paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin.

Bake at 375° for about 20-25 minutes for regular sized muffins and about 8 minutes for mini muffins, until light brown.