Food: Banana Coconut Cake

When Jonathan's parents were in town a couple of weekends ago, I decided to bake them a birthday cake (his Mom's birthday was on St. Patrick's Day and his Dad's birthday was right before Easter). I had originally planned to make this, but didn't realize chocolate had been given up for Lent. So I decided to whip up something a little more tropical...and (selfishly) make a recipe that had been taunting me for weeks sitting at the top of my literal stack of things to try.

Regarding the fully assembled cake, if you want a little less raw banana flavor, I'd recommend finding a recipe for caramelized bananas and use those in the middle instead of raw slices (they were a little tart tasting since they were raw). Also, I didn't have two cake pans so I cooked one layer and then the other, trying to make sure the batter was about equal. It worked out just fine...only took a short time longer than baking both layers at one time. And make sure your custard is cooled completely before applying. A spatula/"spoonula" like this works great for scooping and then spreading. Putting the coconut on the cake will make a mess all of the countertop...but when you see how pretty the finished product turns out, you won't be complaining. Besides, the countertop coated with toasted coconut is relatively easy to clean up (luckily it's not sticky).

Chalkboard Menu Generator

Banana Coconut Cake

Adapted from the Food Network

INGREDIENTS

Cake

• 7 oz unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 3 extra large eggs
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 1/3 c all purpose flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/3 c roughly chopped hazelnuts

Filling (Coconut Custard)

• 1, 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 c skim milk
• 2/3 c sugar
• 5 egg yolks (MM Tip: You can freeze the egg whites to save them for another use...thaw in the refrigerator overnight prior to use)
• 1/3 c cornstarch

Other

• 2 bananas, sliced
• Zest from one orange
• Fresh juice from one orange
• 1 T sugar
• 1 bag unsweetened coconut flakes, gently toasted on the stove top until golden brown (be careful not to burn)

DIRECTIONS

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Butter and flour one 9-inch cake pan
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition, and continue to beat until very light and fluffy
• Add buttermilk and mashed banana and mix well
• In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together (flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder), then add to batter and mix at low speed on the electric mixer until moistened
• Fold in hazelnuts and pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared cake pan (If you have two, 9-inch pans, you can bake both of these at one time)
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
• After removing the cake from the oven, allow them to cool for five minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack
• Repeat with second half of the batter
• Assemble cake when thoroughly cooled

Coconut Custard

• Combine the coconut milk and milk and stir together
• In a bowl, mix 2/3 cup of sugar with 1/3 cup cornstarch and stir with a fork until free from lumps
• Mix the sugar and cornstarch together with the egg yolks and 1 cup of coconut milk mixture; Whisk until smooth and set aside
• In a heavy saucepan, bring the remaining coconut milk mixture to a boil and then pour it into the bowl with the egg yolk-sugar mixture, whisking constantly
• Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium and continue stirring, cooking until small bubbles start to form on the surface - you have just made custard!
• Remove from the heat and pour into large, wide bowl
• Cover the top of the custard with a sheet of parchment touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming
• Cool completely in the refrigerator

To assemble the cake

• In a large bowl, gently toss banana slices with the orange juice, zest, and sugar
• Place one cake layer on a serving dish or cake plate
• Spread over the top of the layer with a thin coating of custard
• Place bananas completely over bottom layer, so that no cake is showing
• Spread with another layer of coconut custard over the top of the bananas
• Place the second cake layer on top of the first and generously cover the entire cake with coconut custard
• Garnish liberally with toasted coconut flakes

Food: Carrot Cake

Several weekends ago when my family came to visit, my mother arrived bearing a freshly baked carrot cake. It's a recipe she's used for years and years and there's something about it that causes instant delight, which makes it a rather grand thing to share amongst friends. For example, this past October, mom brought one of her carrot cakes to my 30th birthday celebration. It was so popular, I ended up sending out the recipe to every female in attendance. One friend quickly wrote back and said she planned to make a cake the very next day. Talk about enthusiasm about a few cups of shredded-up carrots! The cake is nicely dense, perfectly spiced and has great textures - attributed to shredded carrots, plump and juicy raisins, crunchy walnuts and smooth, tangy frosting.

The recipe is from a cookbook by Marian Morash published in the early '80s. For a time, Marian was the series chef on The Victory Garden (PBS), a show I remember watching with my dad when I was a kid. I can't say at that age I was super interested in gardening (or cooking for that matter). And I highly doubt I absorbed much the hosts were saying or trying to teach the viewer. But I'm sure it must have had some sort of influence in my life - if it's only for the carrot cake legacy it's left to my family.


Carrot Cake
Recipe from The Victory Garden Cookbook (c 1982)

Ingredients

• 2 C. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp/ baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. mace (can use nutmeg)
• 1 1/2 C. sugar
• 1 1/4 C. oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 C. finely shredded carrots
• 1 Tb. finely grated lemon peel
• 3/4 C. chopped walnuts

Directions

• Sift together the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and spices; set aside.
• Beat together the sugar and oil.
• Gradually beat in the eggs and then the flour mixture.
• Stir in the carrots,lemon peel, and nuts.
• Oil a 10 " tube pan. Pour in the batter, tap on the counter to release any air bubbles, and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool on a rack for 15 min. Invert and remove from the pan. Cool completely prior to icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 6 Tb. butter, room temp.
• 1 tsp.vanilla
• 2 - 2 1/2 C. confectioner's sugar

Directions

• Combine the ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.

Food: Rhubarb Strusel Bars

If you haven't figured it out already, I greatly adore rhubarb (hence my second posting featuring the ruby-red veggie in the past two weeks). So when I was flipping through magazines last week looking for inspiration, I got so excited when I saw this recipe, I immediately ripped the page out of my Better Homes and Gardens magazine almost tearing it in half (oops!). I don't know how I could have missed it (yes, this recipe was from the May 2008! issue, page 198). The fact I still have year-old magazines sitting around my house is kind of embarassing, but it was a fun to discover something new...and clean my house at the same time ;)

Since I'm not big on super-sweet desserts (sweet-tart is more my style), I decided to leave off the ginger icing and crystallized ginger on the top. This ended up being a good call since the cookie bar-base is very sugary. If I make this recipe again I would probably double the amount of rhubarb and hope it didn't make the crust too soggy since I thought this turned out to be more strusel than rhubarb-flavored. But it was still good nonetheless.

Oaty Rhubarb Streusel Bars

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened sliced rhubarb
• 1 recipe Ginger Icing (see recipe)
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8x8x2-inch baking pan with heavy foil extended beyond pan edges.
• In large bowl stir together oats, the 1 cup flour, and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 cup oats mixture. Press remaining on bottom of prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl stir together granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and ground ginger. Add rhubarb; toss to coat. Spread on hot crust. Sprinkle reserved oats mixture; press lightly.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until top is golden and filling is bubbly. Cool on rack. Drizzle icing, sprinkle crystallized ginger. Lift from pan; cut into bars. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 2 days. Makes 16 bars.
• Ginger Icing: In small bowl sitr together 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, and 3 to 4 teaspoons apricot nectar, orange juice, or milk.

Food: Roasted Rhubarb and Yogurt

One of my favorite things about spring isn't the fact the weather is getting warmer or the flowers have begun to bloom (even though I look forward to both of these). Instead, it has to do with the availability of one of my favorite vegetables - the ruby pink, celery-looking sticks of the rhubarb plant.

It's interesting to me that anyone ever thought to try rhubarb stalks since their roots and leaves are poisonous and an initial passing of the raw, crunchy veggie on your tongue would make your mouth pucker in disdain over the not-so-pleasant experience.

And no, to those of you who think you've really tasted rhubarb before, if you're counting the one time you had Strawberry Rhubarb pie, it doesn't count (in my opinion, when cooking with rhubarb, it should always be the main star of the dish or sauce, not a seeming afterthought).

So how did I become to love rhubarb so much? It starts with my mom. Although I love to cook, my mom and sister are the bakers of the family. And my mother is a queen when it comes to making pies. Over the years she has completely perfected pie crust. Hers is an amazing, light, flaky shell that makes you never want to attempt to try store-bought or restaurant pie ever again. But my favorite element of any pie she makes is the filling - particularly rhubarb. She probably gets tired of asking me what kind of pie I would like when my answer is always, never failingly, "rhubarb, please." I could probably eat an entire rhubarb pie in one sitting (although it probably wouldn't be a good idea).

Since I haven't learned my mom's craft and the favorite part of a rhubarb pie to me is the filling, I was estatic when I found this recipe for Roasted Rhubarb on the Wednesday Chef's blog. Yes, it's shown here in a plastic container - I brought it to work with my lunch one day (which if you do this, be sure to pack the yogurt and rhubarb separately and combine them right before eating to avoid watery yogurt). I'm sure some of my co-workers (male management consultants where are definitely not foodies) were looking at what I was eating like I was a little strange. I mixed it here with Dannon 100% Natural Vanilla yogurt and I'm sure it would be even more decadant with Fage yogurt (although this time I was looking for something low-in-fat).

Rose Gray's and Ruth Rogers's Roasted Rhubarb
via the Wednesday Chef

Ingredients

• 14 ounces rhubarb
• 1 blood or navel orange (or 1 lemon)
• 2 vanilla beans or 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (or more to taste)
• 3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (more if you're using the lemon)

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cut the rhubarb into 2-to-2 1/2-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl. Finely grate the zest of half the orange over the rhubarb and then squeeze the juice of the whole orange into the bowl. Split the vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds and place both in the bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine.
• Pour the rhubarb into a baking dish and arrange the pieces so that they lie flat. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the vanilla pods.