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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Hummingbird Cake

What a name! I made this cake for my friend BP's birthday lunch last Sunday. It's a cake my friend MY told me so much about, but was readily forgotten until being reminded by Martha Stewart on her Baking DVD. Seeing that woman made the cake on her DVD almost guaranteed the delicious factor of the cake itself. So, I decided to make this moist and light cake for BP. And added heaps of delicious cream cheese frosting as backup. You know, just in case the cake turned out too bland.

The cake proved that my worry was unnecessary. It was moist and tender. Thanks to the mashed banana and crushed pineapple. For the uninitiated, the Hummingbird cake tasted like a cross between banana cake and carrot cake. Martha's version used coconut flakes, which I omitted. I found another version from Southern Living that used almost the same proportion of all ingredients with good reviews and decided to use it instead of Martha's. I think I will give Martha's version a try when I got some bananas again.

I guess I should also mention that it's one of the easiest cake to make because you can stir everything together in a big bowl without the help of a mixer. Perfect for a novice baker like myself!

Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas
Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.
Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 16 servings

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Yield: 3 cups

Note: To cut down on fat, the hummingbird cake can be made in a Bundt pan without the frosting, or with a simple drizzle of icing sugar.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Cleaning the Freezer Part 1: Banana Cake with Caramel Espresso Frosting

As anyone who have moved before can attest, moving to a new place is a hassle. It often involves lots of packing and cleaning.All the clothes,books and other stuffs that one may have well forgotten their existence until being confronted in the most unlikely places. I have to confess that we haven't done much on the packing part. Mostly because we think (1) We still have time (2)We don't have many things to pack (3) I may still need to use that pan/book/CD or wear that jeans/sweather/coat/shirt.

However, I have certainly made some progress with the cleaning part. Cleaning out the freezer that is. There was some scone dough that I baked for OCT to munch on during his busy lab day, and chocolate hazelnut sables dough that I sliced and baked to bring to a dinner party. As I reached deeper into the freezer, there was a bag of bananas. I know I am going to make a batch of my favorite banana bread to bring with us to Atlanta. And the rest would have to be used in other recipes.

Like the banana cake with caramel espresso frosting from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book . I have made so many recipes from this book that makes the purchase worthwhile! If you may kindly divert your eyesight from my horrible frosting, I would love to tell you more about this cake.

Moistened with 3 large bananas and 1/2 cup of non-fat yogurt, and flavored with ground cardamom and ground cinnamon, this banana cake is wholesome on its own, without the frosting.

Having said that, the frosting is definitely one not to be missed! Imagine caramel made from scratch, combined with espresso powder and lots of butter using the french buttercream method. I was full of anticipation as I watched eagerly at the candy thermometer as the temperature rose to the desired degree. And then the caramel was slowly poured into the egg mixture in the mixer. A few seconds of mixing, followed by more caramel pouring, and more mixing later, the kitchen smells like a candy store. Some sticks of butter later, it turned out to be a luscious caramel espresso buttercream that gild right down one's throat.

Honestly, although the cake is great, I think the buttercream is the reason one should give this cake a try. Unfortunately, for the same reason, I decided to use as much buttercream on the cake as possible. Hence explains the catastrophic appearance of the cake. Can you tell from the piping that I was trying to squeeze in all the buttercream onto the cake?

I was really happy when I learned from one of the tasters that the cake was devored within 5 minutes when it made its appearance in the meeting. That shows I am not the only one who doesn't care about the apperance of food, as long as it tastes nice! :D

Want more recipes with bananas?

Banana Chiffon Cake
Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
Hummingbird Cake

Banana Cake with Caramel Espresso Frosting
adapted from The Cake Book

for the banana cake:
2.5 cups cake flour
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
0.25 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
0.25 teaspoon ground cardamom
1.5 cups mashed bananas, from about 3 large bananas
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt (the original recipe uses sour cream)
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons canola oil or other neutral vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
0.5 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped walnut/pecan (i used walnut)

Caramel Espresso Buttercream:
(This recipe yields 5 cups of buttercream, I halved it to save some calories and it has enough frosting to cover the cake)

1.25 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown, because that's what I have on hand)
1.25 cups (300ml)heavy cream
0.5 cup light corn syrup
0.25 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon espresso powder, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

To make the banana cakes:
Position a rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pan, and dust with flour.

Sift together the cake flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cardamom into a medium bowl, whish to combine and set aside.

Combine the yogurt and mashed banana in a small bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy, and add in the oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat at high speed until creamy and light, about 3 minutes. At medium speed, add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scrape down the sides as necessary. Beat in vanilla extract. At low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the banana mixture, and mixing until blended.

Stir in the walnut/pecan by hand and divide the batter into two prepared pans. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cakes on wire racks for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Note: The cake can be made in advanced and store unfrosted at room temperature, covered with foil for up to 5 days.

To make the caramel espresso buttercream:

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, heavy cream, corn syrup and salt to cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring and increase the heat to high.

Meanwhile in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with te whisk attachment, begin beating the eggs at medium speed. When the sugar syrup reaches 225F on a candy thermometer, increase the speed of the mixer to high. Continue to cook the sugar syrup until it reaches 238F.

Remove the pan from the heat and with the mixer off, immediately pour about 1/4 cup of the hot syrup over the beaten eggs. Beat at high speed until blended, about 10 seconds. Turn the mixer off and add another 1/4 cup syrup. Beat at high speed for another 10 seconds. Repeat this process until all the syrup is used. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat at medium high speed until the egg mixture is completely cool, about 5 minutes. When you touch the mixing bowl, it should be cold.

At medium speed, beat in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the vanilla extract and coffee mixture, increase the speed to medium high and beat the buttercream until it is smooth and shiny, about 4 minutes.

The buttercream can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 6 hours, or refrigerate for up to a week; bring to room temperature before using.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Another week has passed.....

My life is pretty boring at the moment. I have been flipping through Desserts by Pierre Herme with "ohh" and "ahh", getting really excited and making mental notes to make this and that recipes. Well, except I am still bumming around, staring at my laptop screen. Sadly, I have done nothing.

Last week was pretty hectic, having to look for a dress to attend OCT's commencement, attended the actual event itself (which I had to sit under the merciless sun for almost 3 hours ALONE!) followed by the hooding ceremony.

I was pretty exhausted by the end of day and had to cancel the downtown walking tour that we intended to go with some of our friends.

Because I wasn't at my top form, I decided not to be over ambitious when it's time to make a birthday cake for our little friend Benjamin who is going to be three years old. As a result, I made a Hummingbird cake, which was also the same cake I made for his mum-BP last year.

I picked out all the large strawberries as decor on the cake but realised later that the smaller one would have looked better on the cake. Lesson learned. Bigger doesn't always mean better.

As last week simply flew past with a blink of an eye, dinners were the usual fare without much fuss. I managed to try a new dish though. It was good enough that OCT had the delusion of hearing it called his name on our vegetarian night.

This is the dish I am talking about : Beef and Mushroom Ragu.

I also made the bacon with miso glazed corn, which I like. And ready made Japanese Vegetable Curry! Actually it was an accident. I thought I bought the curry paste. But turned out that it's an all in one instant japanese curry with vegetable. It wasn't too bad and the gravy went well with rice. .

Here's a snapshot of one of our dinners last week.

Hopefully, there will be more new recipes coming up on my blog this week.

Shredded Beef and Mushroom Ragu
adapted from Cookinglight May 2007

1 cup hot water
2 cups dried porcini mushrooms (about 2 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 beef short ribs, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced cremini mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
2 cups thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth

Preheat oven to 350°.Combine 1 cup hot water and porcini mushrooms in a small bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Drain mushrooms through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms; set aside.

Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper over ribs; dredge ribs in flour. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ribs to pan; cook 12 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove ribs from pan. Add porcini mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; cook 12 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen brown bits. Add mushroom liquid and broth; bring to a boil. Add ribs to pan; cover. Place pan in oven; bake at 350° for 2 1/2 hours or until ribs are tender. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove meat from bones; discard bones, fat, and gristle. Shred meat with 2 forks; return meat to pan. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cool completely. Place mixture in an airtight container or heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; freeze.

Thaw meat mixture overnight in refrigerator. Place mixture in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently.

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Hummingbird Cake

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Cleaning the Freezer Part 1: Banana Cake with Caramel Espresso Frosting

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Another week has passed.....