Are you ready for a sugar post??!! I think we have a little something for everybody here, so grab the drink of your choice and let's get crackin'!
Carol made:
Monkey Muffins
My oldest grandson, Stephen, stayed with us for a few days on his school vacation....and the one thing I learned about him is that he LOVES peanut butter....just as much as his Dad does......that's a LOT!
I had 3 bananas sitting on the counter needing a new home but wanted to make something other than banana bread. When I ran across these muffins, I knew they'd be the PERFECT solution....the bananas would be used up....AND the peanut butter would make him very happy-not to mention a little chocolate as a bonus.
The thing I love about mini muffins (or cupcakes) are they're the PERFECT 2 bite snack. We have to eat dinner later than I'd like since Bob works until 6 and has a long commute home, so one of these around 4:00 would hold him just long enough to be hungry for dinner.
These are SO good and SO moist.....the peanut butter flavor is subtle-the banana really shines through.....and that little burst of chocolate adds a nice touch. Each bite gives you another little pop of each flavor.
The recipe stated it makes 6 dozen......I got 5 dozen out of it....maybe I filled the cups a little fuller, I'm not sure.....all I know is I got a nice Rubbermaid container full of these cute little morsels.
Stephen took some of them home to share with his little brother Nicholas....and I'm sure his Dad snuck a few out of the bag. Oh-and I couldn't resist...I held back a few for us too.....they're just too darned good!
Carol
MONKEY MUFFINS
(Source: Simple and Delicious magazine Sept./Oct. 2009)
Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. plus 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 c. mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
2/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Cream butter and 1 c. sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas, peanut butter, milk and vanilla.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture, stirring until just moistened. Do not overmix. Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill greased or paper-lined miniature muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Makes 5-6 dozen.
Cyndy made:
Dark Chocolate Soup & Cinnamon Toasted Pound Cake Croutons w/ Jacques Torres Caramelized Bananas
I have the cookbook "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey". In it is a recipe for Chocolate Soup. The recipe makes 8 servings. Since there are only two of us, I didn't want to make 8 servings so I cut it in half. For the soup in the photo, I used two different recipes and adapted them to our tastes. I made the recipe from the SCMG book, and used the Caramelized Bananas from Jacques Torres chocolate soup recipe. The dark chocolate and caramelized bananas with rum are a tantalizing combination.
I left out the espresso since I was using the caramelized banana recipe, and used the full amount of sugar and water. What they don't tell you is that the caramel will seize if you put in the cold half and half, so I warmed the half and half/cream in another pan and added it to the caramel... it melted fine. I used the rest of the caramel that was left over from the bananas once I removed them from the caramel (and set aside) and put that into the cream mixture as well. When the mix was ready, I added the chocolate. It was a bit thin. I had a thought....hmmm....I did make Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes today and had 3 egg yolks left over. I took one cup of the chocolate mixture from the pan and added it to two of the eggs and whisked quickly. I then added them back into the chocolate mixture on the stove. PERFECT, it thickened nicely. Of course I wanted a nice sheen to the chocolate so I added a pat of butter to the mix and stirred until thick. I placed the bananas in the cup (a generous amount), then added the soup and topped it with the pound cake croutons.
It's creamy, it's thick and it's SOOOO chocolatey good!! The pound cake croutons are buttery and crunchy good too!
I know it will thicken more into a custard when it gets cold, but we like it that way too.
I think I'll keep the changes I made to this since it worked great for us. I chose not to use the meringue in Jacques Torres recipe and used the croutons instead. I'll post both recipes as they are written. My changes are in brackets. The pound cake referred to is a basic cream cheese pound cake.
Cyndy
Dark Chocolate Soup & Cinnamon-Toasted Pound-Cake Croutons
Adapted from: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth by Jill O'Connor
Caramelized Banana's Adapted From: Jacques Torres
Dark Chocolate Soup with Cinnamon-Toasted Pound-Cake Croutons
with Jacques Torres Caramelized Banana's
First prepare the bananas as they have to cool
For the Caramelized Bananas:
4 large bananas, peeled and diced {used 2}
1/4 cup dark rum {used full amount}
1/2 cup sugar {used full amount}
1 tablespoon unsalted butter {used full amount}
Prepare the caramelized bananas:
Place the diced bananas in a medium-sized mixing bowl with the rum and toss to coat. Set aside to let macerate at room temperature while you prepare the caramel.
Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat. If it starts to smoke, it is too hot and you need to run it under cool water, dry it, and start again. When it is warm sprinkle the sugar into the pan. Try to keep the sugar in an even layer to allow it all to caramelize at the same time. As soon as you see the sugar begin to melt, start moving the pan over the burner to keep the sugar from burning. Tilt the pan from side to side so that the melted sugar runs over the unmelted sugar. Cook until all of the sugar is a light golden brown. Chef Torres usually adds a tablespoon of butter at this stage because it makes the caramel smoother. Add the bananas and rum and spread evenly in the pan. When cooking with alcohol, there is always the chance of it catching on fire, so be VERY careful when adding the rum. Continue to cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the bananas are soft but not mushy; they should still hold their shape. Remove from the heat and pour the caramelized bananas onto a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool for about 20 minutes. Covering the hot bananas with plastic wrap keeps the caramel from drying as it cools.
Chocolate Soup
Serves 8
Ingredients:
½ cup sugar {used full amount}
¼ cup water {used full amount}
Pinch of salt
6 cups half-and-half {used 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup half and half}
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder {omitted}
1 1/2 pounds bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped {Used Godiva dark chocolate bars}
Cinnamon-Toasted Pound-Cake Croutons (recipe follows){cheated and used a Sara Lee Pound Cake}
8 scoops vanilla ice cream{omitted}
Directions:
Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling gently from time to time, until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and boil until the syrup turns a deep amber color, about 4 to 5 minutes. (Watch carefully, as it can burn quickly.) Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and half-and-half. Bring the mixture just to a gentle boil, stirring to dissolve the caramel into the half-and-half, about 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat; stir in the espresso powder and chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Divide the soup among 8 shallow soup bowls. Carefully place a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center of each bowl and float 4 pound-cake croutons around each scoop of ice cream. Serve immediately.
Cinnamon-Toasted Pound Cake Croutons
Instead of plain, square croutons, feel free to use a heart, star or other cookie cutter to give your croutons a more fanciful shape.
Makes 32 croutons
Ingredients:
1 loaf (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches)
My Favorite Cream Cheese Pound Cake or purchased pound cake
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat the broiler.
Cut a razor-thin slice from both ends of the pound cake to reveal the interior. Cut the trimmed loaf of pound cake into 8 equal slices. Trim each slice to form perfect, uniform, squares.
Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Brush both sides of the pound cake slices with the melted butter and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar. Place the slices on a large baking sheet and broil until the sugar on top starts to bubble and turn brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the slices over to broil the second sides in the same way. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack to cool.
Use a serrated knife to carefully cut each slice into 4 equal squares
Bunny made:
Pastel de Tres Leches
One of my friends on Facebook is Chef Mario Daniel Jarero. Chef Mario and I were chatting one day and he asked me what my favorite cake was. As I sat thinking about all the luscious cakes I've had and trying to pick just one, Mario very quickly replied that the best cake he's ever had was a Tres Leches Cake. I was still mulling the question over... he didn't even hesitate! Of course his choice peaked my interest because I've never made one.
Off I went on a recipe search. I found out that is cake is thought to have originated in Nicaragua and has become a favorite of many Latin countries. I started this recipe from Epicurious by making a cinnamon flavored sponge cake in a 10 inch spring form pan. The cake is very light and airy , perfect for absorbing the 3 milks that are spooned over the top.
Other recipes called for baking the cake in a 13x9 inch baking pan. But I liked the idea of a nice tall cake, so I made it in a 10 inch spring form pan.
It baked up beautifully! In my recipe search, I found that other cakes required you to poke holes in the top of the cake so the milks would abosorb easily....not so with this recipe....
This cake bakes with a slight crusted dome on the top, when removed, either by cutting it off or as I did peeling it off ( I couldn't cut a straight line if my life depended on it!), it reveals a light cake with air holes perfect for absorbing the milks.
After combining the 3 milks (evaporated, sweetened condensed, cream and vanilla), I spooned the milk syrup over the cake. I was fascinated at how the cake absorbed it all!
That last little bit of milk on top soaked into the cake as well! I chilled the cake, then prepared my topping. This recipe called for a meringue topping, but I wanted whipped cream. I have a wonderful recipe that Carol sent me a few years ago called Chef's Secret Whipped Cream that I use whenever I need a whipped topping for a dessert. This recipe uses gelatin and keeps the whipped cream from weeping...even the next day. I use it for all my summer desserts...it's like Cool Whip only homemade!
I piped the whipped cream on top, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Now to taste....the first bite gave me the cinnamon in a moist soft cake. It's not soggy...it's not heavy. The milk becomes part of the cake and makes it so moist and light...yes, light!
Thank you Chef Mario...this is one heavenly cake!
Pastel de Tres Leches
Epicurious
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour cake pan, and line with parchment paper. Sift flour with baking powder and cinnamon. Using a standing mixer with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites until frothy, then slowly add sugar to tighten whites to semi stiff peaks. Add yolks one at a time. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk.
Pour batter into pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until the middle springs back when touched and edges pull slightly away from pan. Cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
For Rum Milk Syrup:
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Whip thoroughly with a wire whisk and reserve. (If made in advance, refrigerate and stir before using.)
To Assemble:
Unmold cake while slightly warm, and slice off the hard top with a serrated knife. Place cake on serving platter and spoon rum syrup over cake a little at a time, until it is all absorbed, repeat until all the syrup is used. Ice the top of the cake. Refrigerate until cool.
Chef's Secret Whipped Cream
makes about 4 cups whipped cream
1 envelope Knox Unflavored Gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups heavy or whipping cream ( 1 pint)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Chill large mixing bowl about 15 minutes. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over cold water; let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. In chilled bowl, while beating cream on low speed, gradually add gelatin, then beat on medium speed until thickened about 5 minutes. Add sugar, then beat till soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.
Hint: If you plan on piping beat until stiff peaks form.
Variations: For a flavored whipped cream add your favorite extracts or liqueurs to taste and proceed as above.
