Chocolate Marble Banana Cake

What do you do when you have ripened bananas in your kitchen? Usually I make banana nut bread. Today I made chocolate banana cake instead. I made chocolate ganache and swirled it into the the batter, and baked it in a Bundt pan. Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

Chocolate ganache:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bars, finely chopped

1/2 Cup heavy cream

Cake:

3 large ripe banana, mashed ( 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

Method:

Ganache:

1. Place finely chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer.

2. Pour it over chocolate, then let it sit for a couple minutes.

3. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Set aside.

                                                         

  

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F(177 C) and generously grease a 10- inch Bundt pan.

2. Mash the bananas until there's hardly any lumps. Set aside.

3.Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside. 

                                               

                                                   

4. Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy (1 minute).

                                

5. Add both sugars and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape the sides and bottom.

                                 

6. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.

                                                        

7. Beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape the sides and bottom of  the bowl. The mixture would appear curdled.

                               

8. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. The batter will be thick with some lumps.

                               

                                                         

9. Pour about 1/3 of the batter evenly into prepared pan. Drizzle half of the ganache on top. Swirl with a knife or toothpick.

                               

       

10. Evenly pour another 1/3 of the cake batter on top, followed by the rest of the ganache, then the rest of the batter. Swirl everything together with a knife or toothpick.

                                 

11. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 hours inside the pan. Then, invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cooling rack or serving dish. cool completely before serving.

                                         

Notes:

1. If you are topping the cake with ganache, double the recipe for ganache. Use two 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars and 1 cup heavy cream.

2. Make sure you swirl the ganache and cake layer for marble effect. This was my first time making a marble cake, and I did not swirl it all the way through.

3. You can prepare the ganache up to 5 days in advance. Make sure to warm the ganache before using. Ganache for swirling should be slightly thicker and thin for topping.

Cauliflower Steak

 I wanted to try something different with the cauliflower in my refrigerator, instead of the usual aloo Gobi subji or cauliflower paratha etc. I had come across an interesting recipe on Instagram last week. I tried it out today, boy was it amazing. It was a nice low carb dish made in the air fryer. I had it with my favorite Mac n Cheese. I was in heaven. Recipe adapted from hungryhappens.net.

Just 5 minutes to prep, and 25 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

1/4 Cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven or air fryer to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, mix oil, grated parmesan, spices, and salt and pepper.

3. Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower, leaving the stalk in place. Slice the cauliflower in half. Then slice the two pieces in half to create your "steaks". 

          

                                                

4. Place the "steaks" on the parchment paper. Brush the cauliflower all over with the oil mixture.

5. Air fry or bake until the stalk is tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes in air fryer ( flip half way through), 20 minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Place back in the oven until melted. 

 

                                  

Roasted Vegetables Burrito

When you are low on vegetables and running out of options, you have to be innovative. Last night I made burritos for dinner with roasted vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, cut in small cubes

6 baby Bella mushrooms, sliced

kernels from 1 fresh corn

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and sliced

2 mini colored peppers, diced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

salt to taste

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Cup shredded Monterey pepper jack cheese

1 avocado, mashed

salsa

sour cream

4 tortillas

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the vegetables on  a baking sheet. Add the spices and oil. Stir to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, turning the vegetables half-way. 

                               

2. Slide the vegetables onto a baking dish. Top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted. 

                                 

3. spoon mashed avocado in the center of the tortilla.

                                                   

 Spoon roasted vegetables along with lettuce. Top with salsa and sour cream.

                                                    

 Carefully roll the burrito. Serve with extra sour cream and taco sauce.

                                       

Peanut Dosa (Crepe)

Dosa is an integral part of South Indian cuisine. Basically, it is a crepe or pancake made from a batter of soaked and ground rice and lentil. There are so many different varieties of dosa. Last week my sister told me she made peanut dosa. She has little kids and her daughter is into sports, and my sister tries to add more proteins in her diet. I love peanuts and this sounded nice and easy to make, with just 3 main ingredients; roasted peanuts, chickpea flour, and rice flour. I made it for dinner tonight.

Ingredients for 10 dosas:

3/4 Cup roasted peanuts, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes

1 inch ginger

3 green chili 

1/2 Cup chickpea flour (besan)

1/2 Cup rice flour

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon paprika or red chili powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

handful chopped fresh cilantro

salt to taste

oil to make dosa

Method:

1. Drain peanuts and place in a blender, along with ginger and green chili. Grind to a smooth batter by adding 1/2 cup of water or little more if required. Add besan, rice flour, required salt, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, and paprika. Blend to a smooth batter with 3/4 cup of water. Check for salt. Add chopped cilantro. 

                             

                             

2. Pour half cup batter in the center of a hot skillet. Gently spread to make a thin dosa. Drizzle 1 teaspoon oil around the dosa.

       

Cover and cook for couple minutes before flipping and cooking both sides. Cook om medium heat.

                        

Serve hot with chutney or milagai podi.

                                          

                                            

Note:

You can add grated carrot to the batter. I sprinkled  chopped onion and cilantro over the batter.

Baba au Rhum

A close friend of ours turned 60 last month. I came to know recently that his favorite pastry is Baba au Rhum or Rum Baba. It is a  French pastry, a small yeast cake saturated with rum, hence the name.  It is usually made in individual servings, and served with fresh cream. I made Baba au Rhum and surprised my friend on his birthday. He had a kick out of it ;)

Recipe adapted from food network (Ina Garten)

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup dried currants (raisins)

1 Tablespoon dark rum

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 Cup milk

1 Package dry yeast

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

1 2/3 Cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Rum Syrup

3/4 Cup apricot preserves

1 Tablespoon water

Whipped Cream

For Rum Syrup:

1 Cup sugar

2/3 Cup dark rum

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

For Whipped Cream:

2 Cups heavy cream

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

                                                   

Method:

1.Combine raisins and rum in a small bowl and set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and brush a 5 cup tube pan or muffin pan with the melted butter. Be sure to coat every crevice of the pan. Set aside.

                              

2. Heat milk and pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir in the yeast and sugar and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

           

3. With mixer on low speed, first add the eggs, then the flour, salt, and 4 tablespoons of butter. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes. 

           

4. Scrape down the bowl and beater to form the dough into a ball. It will be very soft. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow it to rise until doubled in size, 1 hour.

         

5. Drain the currants, fold them into the dough with a spatula, and spoon into the prepared pan.

         

6. Smooth the top, cover the pan with a damp towel, and allow to rise until the dough reaches the top of the pan, about 1 hour.

                                                       

7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and make the Rum Syrup.

Rum Syrup:

8. Place sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a cup and allow to cool. Add the rum and vanilla and set aside.

                             

                                

9. Bake the cake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, before removing from pan and onto to a cooling rack.

                                                   

10. one at a time, dunk the cake in the rum syrup for a few minutes until well soaked, and arrange on a tray.

                                  

11. Heat the preserves with 1 tablespoon of water until runny. Press it through a sieve, and brush it on the cake. 

          

Whipped Cream:

12. Whip the cold cream in the bowl of  an electric mixer that has been chilled and fitted with the whisk attachment. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until cream forms stiff peaks.

                               

13. Pipe whipped cream on the cake before serving.

                                                      

Notes:

Be sure to use fresh yeast for the dough to rise well and for cake to be be fluffy. 

Take care not to over beat the cream, then it would turn to butter.