Good News and Classic Sandwich Bread
May 15, 2008 at 5:44 pm | Posted in savory things, yeast breads | 23 Comments
I woke up this morning to some good news: my Rhubarb-Filled Yogurt Cupcakes won Cupcake Hero’s Earth Day event! I’m so excited, and not to brag (hahaha), but it’s actually my second CH win! Thanks so much to Laurie, Tempered Woman, Joy and Leigh, who collect, bake and round-up the CH entries each month. That takes not only heaps of ingredients, but lots of time, effort and witty paraphrasing skills as well. Definitely check out the round-up to see all the Earth loving cupcakes they received last month.
Now, onto the bread. I have some bread baking experience, but it’s pretty limited. I’ve made zillions of batches of brioche, bagels and English muffins through my various jobs, and I make my own pizza dough all the time at home, but I never bake my own baguettes or dinner rolls, and I rarely even make a simple loaf bread.
What brought this on then? Laziness may sound like a weird reason to bake your own bread, but that’s what it was, pure and simple. I was too lazy to walk the 25 minutes down to the grocery store (I don’t drive). R has been in Malaysia on business the last couple days. If I were in New York and R was away, I’d likely use that freedom to go and get bombed with my single friends if it weren’t a work night (you can keep that on the down-low), or at least order some yummy delivery if it were. Since I don’t know too many people in Sydney to go boozing with, and there aren’t really any delivery options where I live, it was a tuna sandwich and the company of Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style for me last night. I can’t manage a whole can of tuna myself, so I still had half my salad to eat for lunch today. But…you guessed it…no bread.
Being lazy today, I’m lucky that making this type of bread is so freakin’ easy. I had originally wanted to use a recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum, but it required making a sponge starter and then it needed three rises for the dough. While it would have had great flavor, it also wouldn’t have been ready by lunch-time, and that was the whole reason for getting the yeast out! Then I remembered a recipe that I’d torn off a bag of King Arthur flour a couple years ago. It only takes about two hours of total rising time, and if you use a stand mixer, measuring out the ingredients is really the only work there is. It’s baked in a loaf pan, so there isn’t even any tricky shaping to do. And I don’t know if it was because the bread was so fresh and soft, or if it was because I was so antsy after waiting for it to cool down, but that was one tasty tuna sandwich!
In true lazy fashion, I’ll just show you the way to King Arthur’s recipe, rather than type it myself. I made mine in my stand mixer, using the dough hook. I know that King Arthur’s AP flour has a higher protein content than most. Since I can’t kind KA flour in this neck of the woods and I have no clue as to the protein content of the flour I buy here, I substituted 1/4 cup of the AP flour in the recipe with bread flour. I substituted another 1/4 cup with whole wheat flour, just for fun. Be sure take your baked bread out of the loaf pan and cool it on a rack for about an hour before slicing into it. This rest period helps set the bread’s texture and crust.
Tuesdays with Dorie: Florida Pie
May 13, 2008 at 4:08 am | Posted in groups, pies & tarts, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 57 Comments
“What the heck is Florida Pie?” you ask. It’s basically a key lime pie with a couple of coconutty embellishments, and it happens to the TWD pick o’ the week from Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes. Dorie’s Florida Pie has the standard crumb crust and lime juice/condensed milk filling, but it also has a layer of coconut cream in between said crust and filling, and coconut folded into the meringue topping. I decided to go for mini pies, and half a recipe of filling gave me three babies. Mini pies do have a higher crust to filling proportion than full size pies, so I probably used about 2/3 recipe of crust.
I didn’t stray too far from Dorie’s instructions this time, but I did make a couple tweaks. I used regular (not key) limes and condensed low fat milk in the filling, which worked nicely. And for the coconut cream layer, I used way less cream than she called for, probably just a few tablespoons, and wound up with something more like a tasty goo. I also toasted my coconuts (both the shredded stuff I used in the goo, and the fine desiccated stuff I folded into the meringue), because I think it really brings out the flavor of packaged coconut, which can be pretty lackluster as-is.
“How did it taste?” you ask. Pretty darn good. Next time, I’ll add a little lime zest to the filling. I really like the combination of coconut and lime, but if you aren’t a coconut fan, just leave out the cream layer and keep your meringue unflavored. You’ll still wind up with a fantastic key lime pie. If you’d like to be transported via baking to Key West, Del Boca Vista, or the Floridian destination of your choice, put on your Lilly Pulitzer and check out the recipe here on Dianne’s Dishes, or in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to go look at the TWD Blogroll!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Peanut Butter Torte
May 6, 2008 at 4:27 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 65 Comments
There are a few recipes in Baking: From My Home to Yours whose pictures and titles are so alluring, I’ve been surprised no one’s chosen them for TWD yet. Well, the time has finally come for one of these, as Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food has picked Dorie’s Peanut Butter Torte as our recipe of the week! Kind of like the Snickery Squares, I think Dorie has played candy bar dress-up here, except this time the candy in question is a Reece’s cup. I don’t mean to sound like a buzzkill, but the ingredient list is a little frightening, I have to tell you…Oreos, peanut butter, cream cheese, heavy cream, chocolate and peanuts. April was my busiest posting month to date, so that means it was also a very busy eating month. If I didn’t want to feel my heart racing (in a bad way) with each bite, I knew I had to tweak this torte a bit.
It was a given that was not going to make a full-sized torte. I rarely make a full-sized anything for the two of us. My six-inch springform would be prefect for a half recipe, and I’d still get six pieces out of it, but even a half batch seemed like so much cream and peanut butter. After some intense volume calculations (not really), I decided that I could still use my six-inch pan and get away with just a quarter recipe of the filling. Sure, it wouldn’t be as high as the one in Dorie’s picture, but I didn’t mind if my torte looked more like a tart.
I am a peanut butter fanatic, and I love the sugary, salty, junky stuff. I am sorry to say though that I don’t think the Aussie peanut butter is very good…it’s pale and doesn’t have peanuty specks in it. That may explain why, according to an informal poll taken by yours truly, it doesn’t seem to be a popular food item here (I was even told by someone that my favorite lunch, PB&J, is gross!). No matter–I’ve been “importing” my own peanut butter since my first trip back to the States. My current PB of choice is reduced fat Jif (smooth, never crunchy) so that’s what I decided to go with in this torte.
Back in the US, I wouldn’t think twice about swapping full fat cream cheese for the light Philly they label “Neufchâtel.” Here, though, the light Philly doesn’t have the same consistency at all…it tastes good, but even straight out of the fridge, it’s incredibly soft. Further inspection of the package says that it’s a blend of cream cheese and cottage cheese, so I guess that’s why. I didn’t think my filling would set up properly if I used it, so I went with the light version of a New Zealand brand called Mainland.
I also decided that rather than using Oreos to make my crust, I’d save a few more fat grams and use some almond cookie crumbs that I had in the freezer already. Adding cocoa powder turned them into chocolate crumbs.
I’m happy to report that my filling set up nicely after several hours in the fridge, and although I can imagine how wonderful the full blown PB torte would be, the skimpy version was still great! I loved the chocolate-peanut crunchy bits throughout the filling. Now you know my tricks, but you can find the original version of this recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and on Elizabeth’s site. Don’t forget to go check out the TWD Blogroll!
Cupcake Hero: Rhubarb-Filled Yogurt Cupcakes for Mother Earth
April 30, 2008 at 5:55 pm | Posted in cupcakes, events, sweet things | 28 Comments
Kermit the Frog summed it up best when he sang, “It’s not easy being green.” I tell ya, you want to buy organic products, but they’re nowhere near local. You take your own tote bags to the grocery store, but you still have to practically wrestle the plastic ones out the the cashier’s hands. You try to recycle as much as possible, but then your neighbor throws her baby’s dirty diapers into the plastics recycling bin (nice!). And it’s expensive, even more so in Sydney than in New York. You should see the amount of cazash I plonk down at the growers’ markets here ($27 for an organic chicken last week!), and the enviro-friendly cleaning products cost a small fortune.
What’s a little frog to do? The best she can, I guess. I’m happy to see that a lot of bloggers have gone green during April to celebrate Earth Day. These may not be the most kid-friendly cupcakes, but I wanted to make something earthy, delicious and maybe even slightly healthy for Cupcake Hero‘s own celebration of the planet. We all know that cupcakes make the world go ’round!
These should be called “rhubarb-filled yogurt cupcakes with lemon butter icing and pistachios,” but that’s a little long, don’t cha think? To make these, I used as many organic and/or local products I could. The exceptions are the baking powder and baking soda (which I think exist in organic form, but I couldn’t find them at the health food store) and the icing sugar (which although not organic, and certainly not local, is unrefined). The pistachios, lemon and rhubarb came from a local farmers’ market, and everything else from either the regular grocery store (which stocks a good range of organics) or the health food store. None of these items even required a car ride…all were picked up within reasonable walking distance from my place. And, while I am the first to admit that my giant collection of cupcake papers borders on the crazy, in efforts to make as little waste as possible, I baked these au naturel .
The cupcakes are delicious, moist and not too sweet. Their brown color comes from Alter Eco’s organic ground cane sugar. This is more like a soft brown sugar than a white granulated one. The cupcakes domed a bit in the oven, which at first had me a little peeved, but then I used it to my advantage, as they appear to have a huge mound of frosting on top, but really the amount is quite modest. My favorite part is hidden inside–the rhubarb compote, which you can modify according to your own sweetness preference. I made a big bunch, because whatever doesn’t get used in the cupcakes is amazing on top of oatmeal or with granola and yogurt. The icing is so simple, and it is great with the rhubarb. The refined icing sugar (I used Billington’s) is less harshly sweet, if you know what I mean, than regular powdered sugar and it is and a beautiful ivory color…I should always use this stuff.
Rhubarb-Filled Yogurt Cupcakes– makes 6 regular-size cupcakes
-Start by making and chilling the rhubarb compote (process below).
-Bake and cool the yogurt cupcakes (recipe below).
-If your pistachios have papery skins on them, blanche them for a minute in boiling water. Drain them, and once cool enough to handle, slip off the skins. Chop them roughly.
-Make the lemon butter icing.
-To fill the cooled cupcakes, use a small knife or round cookie cutter to cut a plug out of the center of each (going in from the top). Save the top bit of each plug. Fill each cavity with rhubarb compote. Cover with the top bit so the filling is not exposed.
-Top with the icing and sprinkle on the chopped pistachios.
Rhubarb Compote
Note: This is more of a process than a recipe, and can be adjusted depending upon the amount of rhubarb you have and how sweet you would like it to be. I’d use at least 6 stalks, and any leftover compote is great on oatmeal or with yogurt.
-Trim off the tops and bottoms of each stalk of rhubarb. Use a pairing knife to peel away any strings. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
-Weigh the cut rhubarb. Measure out sugar equal to 1/4 to 1/3 of the weight of the rhubarb, depending on how sweet you’d like it. If you don’t have a scale, you can eyeball or use cup measurements.
-Put rhubarb pieces and sugar into a heavy-bottomed pot. Add a small splash of water (just to keep the rhubarb from burning) and place over medium heat. Stir frequently to keep from sticking to the bottom.
-Simmer for several minutes until the rhubarb releases its juice and the sugar is dissolved. The rhubarb will soften and break down and the liquid should be reduced (although if you have an excessive amount, you can tip it out). All this will probably take about 10 minutes, unless you are working with a very large quantity.
-Transfer to a container and chill. This will keep for a week or two.
Yogurt Cupcakes– makes 6 regular-sized cupcakes
heavily modified from The 1997 Joy of Cooking
Note: I used salted butter in this recipe, as it is the only organic kind sold here (therefore, there is no added salt in the ingredients list). If you are using unsalted butter, add a 1/4 t salt in with the dry ingredients.
1 c sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 1/2 T salted butter, room temperature
1/2 c sugar
1/2 egg (break egg into a cup, whisk it and pour out half)
1 egg white
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 c plain yogurt (full or nonfat), cool room temperature
-Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and spray and flour six cavities of a muffin tin (or line with six paper cups).
-Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
-Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light in color and texture. (The amount was too small for my stand mixer, so I did it by hand. Handheld electric beaters would also work well.)
-Whisk together the 1/2 egg, egg white and vanilla. Gradually beat into the butter/sugar mixture until thoroughly combined.
-Add the dry ingredients and yogurt in three parts, alternating and beating smooth after each addition.
-Divide the batter in the tin, and cook for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tins for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Lemon Butter Icing– makes enough to generously frost 6 cupcakes
adapted from Everyday by Bill Granger
4 T butter (salted or unsalted), room temperature
3 3/4 oz powdered sugar, sifted
2 t lemon zest (finely grated)
2t lemon juice
-Beat the butter until very soft and white. Beat in the powdered sugar, lemon zest and juice. (You can adjust consistency with either extra powdered sugar or lemon juice.)
Tuesdays with Dorie: Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
April 29, 2008 at 4:18 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 45 Comments
This cake reminds me of the kind of thing my Italian nonna would make, if I had an Italian nonna. No wonder my husband, who is half Italian, scarfed this up! Caitlin of Engineer Baker chose this, Dorie’s Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake, as our TWD recipe of the week.
Polenta in this case is just another name for yellow cornmeal, so the cake had sort of a sweet cornbread feel to it, but combined with ricotta and honey, it was quite moist. And you can’t tell from the outside, but hidden in the cake are…dried figs! Normally, I am not a fan of dried figs (a lasting side effect of my childhood aversion to Newtons), but they work really well here. Their little seeds give a pleasant crunch to the cake. I did use a couple less than the recipe called for, though, and I chopped them into quarters so I could more evenly scatter them throughout the batter.
I wanted to follow Dorie’s suggestion to put a few thyme leaves into the batter, but then of course I forgot! So I made thyme whipped cream instead, by rubbing thyme leaves into the sugar that sweetened it. Please, no judgements about the massive amount of cream in that photo–I know I went a little overboard!
This was a lovely cake…simple and homey and good for breakfast (maybe without the mountain of whipped cream). I made a half batch, which fit perfectly into my 7 1/2-inch tart pan. Early reports from some other TWDers were that the cake was a bit too sweet. I went a little skimpy on the measurements for both the sugar and honey, and it came out just right. The only thing that left me scratching my head was the extra little hunk of butter that gets dotted on top of the cake before it goes into the oven. It didn’t seen to do much but make some pale colored spots on top…I think I’ll leave it out if I make the cake again.
You can find this recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and on Caitlin’s site. Now go check out the TWD Blogroll!
Daring Bakers in April: Cheesecake Pops
April 27, 2008 at 2:10 pm | Posted in cakes & tortes, cheesecakes, daring bakers, groups, sweet things | 51 Comments
I must admit that I almost skipped making these cheesecake pops, this month’s Daring Bakers challenge. Even though I went out and searched around for lollipop sticks at the beginning of the month, I hadn’t really been in a cheesecake mood. Then I realized that the photo opportunities here were too good to be missed! The recipe, from the book Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor, was chosen by co-hostesses Deborah from Taste and Tell and Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms.
I found a recipe calling for five bars of cream cheese to be a bit much to swallow (literally). I scaled the recipe way back to just one bar and baked it in a small loaf pan. I put the batter together my favorite way– in the food processor. As long as all the ingredients are room temperature, you will never get a lump. It baked up nicely, but even the tiny amount that I made took about 20 minutes longer than the suggested time.
After a night in the fridge, I used an ice cream scoop to form the set cheesecake into rough balls, and put them into the freezer for half an hour before reshaping them a bit. They still came out looking a bit…ummm….individual. Not that that’s a bad thing! The sticks are really wooden craft sticks (I had no luck finding the paper ones here), and I loved their fun colors. The packet said non-toxic, so let’s just hope that’s right!
I’m not embarrassed to say that hundreds and thousands are my favorite cake decoration! Just looking at them makes me smile!
I decided to roll a couple in some almond cookie crumbs mixed with a little cinnamon to get kind a cheesecake crust thing going on. In the center of these ones, I managed to hide a blob of strawberry jam. Sneaky!
The cuteness factor is unbelievable, and they taste pretty good too! Just what I needed put myself into a cheesecake mood! Thanks Deborah and Elle! You can find the recipe for the pops on Deborah’s site. I’ve looked at a bunch of posts, and the DBers did a beautiful job this month, so please check out the DB blogroll!
Speakeasy Cake
April 26, 2008 at 3:20 pm | Posted in book review, cakes & tortes, sweet things | 14 Comments
Here’s the third recipe I made from Melissa Murphy’s cookbook The Sweet Melissa Baking Book (well actually the fourth–the ice cream in the photos is her brown sugar vanilla ice cream, and it is divine). It’s a dense, moist chocolate cake that she calls the “Speakeasy” because of a whopping 2/3 cup of brandy in the batter!
It’s a cousin of Dorie’s Almost-Fudge Gâteau, but not quite as dark and fudgy. If you prefer semi-sweet chocolate to bittersweet (and like a little booze with your chocolate), then you will like this one.
Speakeasy– makes one 8-inch cake
from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. All rights reserved. Copyright © Melissa Murphy, 2008
For the cake:
6 ounces best-quality semisweet (58%) chocolate
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup brandy
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
For the chocolate glaze:
6 ounces best-quality semisweet (58%) chocolate
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Before you start:
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter an 8 x 2-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with an 8-inch round of parchment paper.
To make the cake:
– In a medium bowl set over a pot of simmering, not boiling, water, melt the chocolate with the butter and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the brandy until smooth. Set aside to cool.
-Separate the eggs. Place the yolks in a large mixing bowl, and the whites in an electric mixer bowl.
– Add half of the sugar to the bowl with the yolks and whisk until thick. Add the chocolate mixture to the yolks and whisk to combine. Sift the flour, cinnamon, and salt over the chocolate batter and stir to combine.
-In the bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, make a meringue by whipping the egg whites until foamy. In a slow steady stream, add the remaining sugar. Whip until the whites hold stiff but not dry peaks.
-Briskly stir one-third of the meringue into the chocolate mixture to lighten the batter. Gently fold the remaining two-thirds of the meringue into the batter until no streaks remain.
– Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spin the pan to level the batter. Bake for 80 to 90 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. (Do not do the skewer test until the cake has been baking for at least 70 minutes or you will deflate the batter!) Remove to a wire rack to cool before glazing. (Steph’s note: I made a half-recipe in a 6-inch cake pan and it took only 40 minutes to bake.)
To make the glaze:
– When the cake is cool enough to glaze, coarsely chop the chocolate and place it in a medium bowl.
-In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the heavy cream until scalding, or until the cream is steaming and tiny bubbles have formed along the edges. Do not boil.
-Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Stir in the corn syrup.
To complete the cake:
-Place the cake upside down on a rack set over the prepared cookie sheet.
-Pour the glaze over the cake, letting the glaze spread itself. You may have to push it over the sides a bit, and use a small metal spatula or butter knife to smooth the sides. Try not to touch the top though, so it will be glossy and unmarred. Let the glaze set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Once the glaze is set, transfer the cake to a serving plate.
*The cake keeps in a cake saver at room temperature for 2 days. For longer storage, refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Taste&Create VIII: Greek Feta and Tomato Pasta
April 24, 2008 at 1:07 am | Posted in events, pasta, savory things | 8 Comments
For Taste&Create VIII, I was hooked up with Teresa from I’m Running to Eat. Teresa is an avid runner and cooks healthy meals for her family. I had no problem finding something from her blog to highlight here, but I cringe to think of Teresa’s reaction to the billion-calorie sweets I post– sorry Teresa!
From Teresa’s site, I chose Greek feta and tomato pasta, a recipe that she says is a favorite, and although it’s vegetarian, even the carnivores in her family love it. Since I eat a mainly vegetarian diet, but R could live off steak, that sounded perfect for us.
This came together in a snap. It’s one of those dishes where the sauce is basically made in the time it takes the pasta to cook–I love that! Rather than the thin spaghetti the recipe calls for, I used farfalle here. I wanted to take advantage of the last hurrah for fresh tomatoes before the cold sets in in Sydney, and used cherry tomatoes on the vine, cooked just until they burst. And since I had a giant bunch of basil on the counter, I tossed some in at the end. My favorite part of this dish, though, was the feta, which just barely melted from the heat of the pasta, and turned really creamy.
Thanks Teresa for a great dinner (or lunch…I’ve made it three times already, actually), and Nicole from For the Love of Food for hosting T&C!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Bill’s Big Carrot Cake
April 22, 2008 at 5:08 am | Posted in cakes & tortes, groups, layer cakes, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 47 Comments
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting…I probably don’t need to say much more than that.
But of course I will. Carrot cake is a favorite here, but not made nearly enough, so I was glad when Amanda of slow like honey gave me the excuse I needed to get grating, by choosing Bill’s Big Carrot Cake as this week’s TWD recipe. This one is *big* and loaded with carrots (of course), coconut, walnuts and dried cherries.
As per usual, I set out to do a half recipe of this cake, only to realize that I don’t have three 6-inch cake pans. Crud. I thought about making two larger layers and possibly splitting them into four, or using my 6-inch springform as the third pan, but I decided that this amount would probably fit perfectly into my quarter-sized sheet pan (my favorite and most useful sheet pan). So instead of a round cake, I baked a sheet cake that I cut into three strips (the baking time was reduced, of course). Once layered up with icing, it made a rectangular cake that I could cut into thin slices or chubby squares.
Armed with some tips from a great post by Joy, I made a gorgeous cream cheese frosting. I flavored mine with vanilla bean paste and orange zest, rather than the lemon juice that Dorie uses. This cake is tall, and moist and delicious…a winner of a carrot cake. And since I just did a half recipe, I made the whole thing, cake and frosting, easily by hand.
You can find this recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and on slow like honey. Thanks Amanda, and of course thanks Bill! Now go check out the TWD Blogroll!
Mom’s Banana Apple Bread
April 20, 2008 at 5:35 pm | Posted in book review, breakfast things, cakes & tortes, events, muffins/quick breads, simple cakes, sweet things | 58 Comments
Well, not my mom’s. I’m guessing Melissa Murphy’s mom’s, since it’s in her new cookbook The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. You know, I really don’t like bananas in their raw form (not even in smoothies), but once they are baked into something sweet, it’s a whole ‘nother story. R does like to have bananas in his cereal, but sometimes he buys more than he can eat. When that happens, I wrap them up and stash them in the freezer…after I’ve accumulated a few, it’s time for banana bread, cake or muffins!
What makes this particular banana bread extra-special are the bits of caramelized apple throughout. Most banana bread has a pretty good shelf life and can even get better after a day of so. This one is no exception, as the sweet apples just meld more into the spiced bread.
I was so happy with this, that I’m entering it into Sydneysider Not Quite Nigella’s Banana Bread Bakeoff event. If you have a favorite banana bread recipe, go check out her bakeoff, too.
Mom’s Banana Apple Bread– makes one 1 1/2-quart loaf pan
from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. All rights reserved. Copyright © Melissa Murphy, 2008
For the apples:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the banana bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups very ripe mashed bananas (2 to 3)
Before you start:
Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour a 1 1/2-quart loaf pan.
To make the apples:
Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and brown sugar and heat until bubbling. Add the apples and cinnamon and sauté until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
To make the banana bread:
-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
-In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
-In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and vanilla.
-Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the orange juice mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each flour addition. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined. Then stir in the reserved apples.
-Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool further.
*Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The banana bread keeps well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Defrost (still wrapped) at room temperature.
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