Banana Chocolate Walnut Cake

This one looks to die for! When I'm in the mood for something with a little bit of pizazz I'm coming back to this recipe! I don't think this recipe will go into the "very healthy" file but we can't always deprive ourselves!!! :)


Serves8
Active Time:30 min
Start to Finish:2 1/2 hr
February 2008 Gourmet Magazine

A great way to use very ripe bananas, this easy-to-make cake incorporates everything you love about banana bread and adds a few more favorites—chocolate, walnuts, and cinnamon—for good measure. (It's also much more tender, with a light, moist crumb.)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
2/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (3 1/2- to 4-oz) bar 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts (3 oz), toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan.
Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Beat together softened butter (1 stick) and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in eggs 1 at a time until blended. Beat in bananas, yogurt, and vanilla (mixture will look curdled).
With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Toss together chocolate, nuts, cinnamon, melted butter, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Spread half of banana batter in cake pan and sprinkle with half of chocolate mixture. Spread remaining batter evenly over filling and sprinkle remaining chocolate mixture on top.
Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, right side up.

Cooks' notes: Cake can be made 2 days ahead and kept in a airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe By Ruth Cousineau
Photograph by Romulo Yanes from Gourmet Magazine

Whole-Wheat Bread with Walnuts and Cranberries

You really can't go wrong with any Gourmet magazine recipe. Here's my first recipe that's not a "cake" bread that requires kneading and yeast! I'm going to make 2 loaves and keep one in the freezer....it's got to be tasty!

Makes2 loaves
Active time:30 min
Start to finish:3 hrs (includes cooling)
October 2008 - Gourmet Magazine

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 (1/4-oz) package fast-acting yeast such as Fleischmann's Rapid Rise yeast
1 cup warm water (120° to 130°F)
1/2 cup warm milk (120° to 130°F)
1/4 cup molasses (not robust or blackstrap)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups walnuts (8 oz), lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (7 oz)

Whisk together flours, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Whisk together water, milk, molasses, and butter in another bowl until combined well, then stir into flour mixture until a wet dough forms. Stir in walnuts and cranberries. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to prevent dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 7 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled bowl, turning to coat, then let rest in bowl, uncovered, in a draft-free place at warm room temperature 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half and form into 2 balls. Arrange about 4 inches apart on a large baking sheet. Loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lowest position.
Lightly sprinkle dough with some flour and bake until golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Cooks’ note: Bread keeps, wrapped well, at room temperature 2 days or frozen 1 month.

Recipe and photo from October 2008 - Gourmet Magazine

Carrot Bread

Amy Frank (now Amy Walsh....married this past May!) has shared her Carrot Bread Recipe with me. Looks good!!! Here it is:

2 cups grated carrots
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two medium loaf pans by greasing and dusting with flour or lining with parchment paper.
1. Grate and measure the carrots and set aside.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Whip the eggs together in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar in and then add the oil, extract, and milk.
4. Make a depression in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture along with the carrots and nuts. Mix with a spatula until combined.
5. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the loaves test done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle of the loaves. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks.

As simple as 1 - 2 - 3 - 4......5!  This recipe is fantastic. I made two loaves and they came out brilliantly. This is a keeper! The walnuts go perfectly with the recipe. Big hit!

Where did you get this recipe Amy?  Family recipe?

Orange Yogurt Bread

I am very excited about making this one! I have organic plain yogurt in the fridge that I used for the last batch of breads so I wanted to find a recipe that I could incorporate it in and bingo! Orange YOGURT bread:)
It came with rave reviews but you know how that can be.....stay tuned.......

Ingredients
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Glaze:1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar2 to 3 teaspoons orange juice

****They recommend grating an extra teaspoon of orange zest and add it to the glaze. Also they recommend poking holes in the top of the bread with a toothpick before spreading it with glaze.

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt, orange juice and peel. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly). Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.
4. For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and enough orange juice to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled bread.

Recipe source: The Taste of Home Baking Book

OK- so this is pretty tasty. I actually didn't do a glaze for this. It didn't seem necessary to add all that extra sugar on top. It was the right decision! The crust is delicious on top-no glaze needed.
This did take about 10 minutes longer than anticipated. About an hour and 10 minutes.

Also, I didn't realize how much sugar was needed for this plus the sugar from the orange juice. I think I might avoid this recipe for next time. The light n' luscious banana bread only had about 1/2 cup! That recipe is looking better and better every day.

Banana Bread Recipe

Delicious! This, is your classic banana bread recipe. Very moist with great flavor!
This took about 1 hour 15 min in my oven.
This recipe calls makes two loaves so I'm thinking of cutting the ingredients in half and if it turns out that I love this recipe I think it's a great idea to make 2 loaves to have one now and freeze the other for the following week.

Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
2 cups sugar
7 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions:
Makes two loaves.
1. Cream the butter and sugar. Blend in the bananas, vanilla and eggs.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. Add to the banana mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into two greased 9x5 inch loaf pans.
4. Bake at 350F. Check on the bread after 35 minutes (it may take up to 60 minutes). Banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the banana bread in the pan for 10 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe and photo from Moms Who Think.com

Light-n-Luscious Banana Bread

I made this bread last week and I have to say that is was OK. Keep in mind that I have high standards for breads. Given the nutritional value of this recipe- it's pretty damn good. I think I'll give this recipe another try however I will modify it a bit. It was a little bit too "Light, " I prefer it to have a little bit more sweetness that I hope to achieve by adding another banana and maybe add walnuts to increase the fat content. Everyone loves nuts! Even though they do add more fat to the recipe it's the good fat that we need in our diet. Also, I read that you really need to find or let your bananas ripe enough so their skins are black. This will provide the best banana flavor in your breads. I'll try this and let you know what I think!

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground flax meal
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup fat free or low fat plain yogurt
3 very ripe bananas, smashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch x 4-inch metal loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside. Whisk together both flours, baking soda, flax meal, 2 teaspoons of the ground cinnamon and salt; set aside. Cream together butter with sugar using a mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in yogurt, bananas and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Spoon batter into loaf pan. Stir together turbinado sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the banana bread. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, then remove from baking pan. Chef’s Tip: If using a glass baking pan, decrease cooking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Per serving (about 3oz/71g-wt.): 170 calories (40 from fat), 4.5g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 40mg cholesterol, 190mg sodium, 29g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 13g sugar), 4g protein

Recipe from Whole Foods Market

Apricot Bread

Best one so far! This was an instant hit and was instantly gone! I highly recommend this one if you're a fan of apricots.


Ingredients

3/4 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and set aside. Soak apricots for 20 minutes in hot water to cover. Drain and chop apricots into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside. Beat sugar, oil and egg together in a mixing bowl. Stir in water and orange juice. Add white flour, pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing until thoroughly combined. Stir in walnuts and apricots. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Nutrition
Per serving (About 1 Slice/76g-wt.): 250 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 5g protein, 40g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 18g sugar), 25mg cholesterol, 380mg sodium

Recipe and photo from Whole Foods Market.