Dubbel Mashed Sweet Potatoes

On to the next Thanksgiving side!

Forget the marshmallows and pecans. Serve up these mashed sweet potatoes with a surprising twist! A Belgian dubbel's subtle spice and banana notes will sing when served alongside this dish. Again, I turned to Boom Island for their HooDoo Dubbel. Chimay Red, Ommegang Abbey, Goose Island's Pere Jacque and Rochefort 6 will work wonderfully in a pinch. Or omit the beer all together and stir in chicken or vegetable stock instead.

Recipe adapted from Rachel Ray
 
serves 8

Ingredients:
• 3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 overripe banana, sliced
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 cup Belgian dubbel (or stock)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
• Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with 1 to 2 inches of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook potatoes until tender. Drain potatoes and set aside.
• Return the pot to the stove top over medium heat. Add butter and bananas to the pot. Cook bananas 5 minutes and add the juice of 1 orange to the pot, reserve the zest. Allow the juice to cook out, 1 minute.
• Add the potatoes to the pot along with the Hoodoo and brown sugar. Mash potatoes, banana, stock and sugar together until well combined. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper and orange zest, to your taste.
• Mash to combine spices and serve

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I always seem to have too many bananas on hand. So when I came across this recipe I had not choice but to give it a try. Not only did the muffins call for a whopping 5, FIVE! bananas, it also incorporated peanut butter. As a child I loved spreading peanut butter onto bananas. Why I never thought to bake with this combination until now is beyond me.

Of course, now I want to try this recipe out with a healthy dose of bacon. Viva Las Vegas!

adapted from American Heritage Cooking

yields 15 muffins

The Ingredients:
For the Muffins
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup Greek yogurt
½ cup chunky peanut butter
5 overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tps baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

For the Streusel
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp peanut butter

The Process:
Pre-heat the oven to 350°.

Line 15 standard muffin tins with liners.

For the Streusel:
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add the peanut butter and mix with a fork until coarse crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.






for the Muffins:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar with the butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the yogurt, bananas peanut butter and vanilla. Mix on medium until well combined.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
 
Using a spatula fold the dry ingredients into the wet, , scraping the bottom with each fold, until just combined. Do not to over mix!

Fill each muffin tin to the upper edge of the liner. Crumble a generous portion of the streusel topping onto each muffin, pressing down slightly.

Bake in preheated oven for 15-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean

Allow the muffins to cool 5 minutes in pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Banana Mini Muffins

Everyone has their "perfect" banana bread recipe. Mine fluctuates all of the time, though I too have settled on a favorite. But never will I claim to have the best, or most moist, or "to die for" recipe. Tastes are far too complex and too many wonderful variations exist for me attempt to exult a recipe.

However, one thing I do love to do is use previously frozen bananas. I never get  around to eating our bananas before they become over ripe. By the time I do notice, usually I'm in no mood to turn them into baked goods. So into the freezer the freckled fruits go, to be used at my leisure. When ready, I defrost them for an hour or so on the counter. Of course now the bananas are an unappealing brown mass. Peeled and plopped into the recipe they are oozing with sweet fragrant juice. I've heard some microwave their bananas to yield similar results. To each their own.

UN-frozen overripe bananas will work equally as well.

 The recipe is my own

Yields 36 mini muffins or 12 regular sized muffins

The Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly beaten 

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil   

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2 over ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries, finely diced 

The Process
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly oil the mini muffins tins.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, sugar, flours, bananas, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Stir until just combined. Fold in the strawberries.

Spoon by heaping Tbsps into the prepared mini muffin tins.  Bake for 10-14 minutes,  or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer muffins from the tin to a wire rack to cool.

Banana Beer Bread

Yard work is futile today.  The sun teased me for about an hour before the dark clouds rolled in and the downpours began.  At this rate, I may never get our front yard redone and our trees planted.  But at least a good chunk of weeds are gone.

So now that I've been forced indoors, what better to do than whip up some banana bread with those three gloriously be-speckled bananas starring at me forlornly from the corner.  It may be a bit too late for breakfast, but it may make up for the lacking of grilling this evening, should the rain decide to not move along.

The banana recipe base is one I've been using for years courtesy of my sister.  I have no idea where the original came from.  I did increase the flour to accommodate the extra liquid, as well as decrease the sugar from the original.  I like my banana bread extra fruity, so in went another banana.  And for an added twist, the pan is dusted with a 50/50 blend of flour and dry malt extract.   If you do not have access to malt extract, all-purpose flour works as well.

I used Lakefront Brewing Company's Wheat Monkey.  It only seemed appropriate.

adapted from my sister's beer-less banana bread recipe.
yeilds 1 loaf

The Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 overripe bananas

The Process:
Preheat the oven to 350.  Generously grease a 9x5 loaf pan and dust with a 50/50 blend of flour and dry malt extract.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.  In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy.  Beat in the egg, one at a time, until well incorporated.  Mash in the in the bananas.

Fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is just moistened.  Stir in the beer.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan.

Quinoa Banana Pudding for Two

Most days, I cook as though I'm expecting company.  But in reality only two of us regularly take advantage of the bounty of our kitchen.  Usually not a problem.  The leftovers are always welcome for lunch or a rushed evening dinner later in the week.  However, when it comes to sweets, less is probably more.  We really don't need four dozen cookies lying around.  And a full pan of brownies is really far too tempting...rarely will they last more than two days.  As a result, I've been looking in to small portion desserts.  Cupcakes for two are all the rage on Pinterest at the moment...as are those single serving desserts in a cup.  Pardon my lack of enthusiasm over the latter.  Microwaves and I usually do not cross paths unless it involves popping popcorn or reheating coffee...

This recipe for some reason stood out to be scaled back.  I loved how Corrina tweaked a well loved tapioca recipe to incorporate quinoa. To date, my quinoa experiences have largely involved salads and sides that would have otherwise used rice.  The quinoa doesn't have the same gummy, slimy texture that tapioca is often associated with...a huge plus in my book.  I hate tapioca.  But I do adore rice pudding.   The quinoa had a firmer texture and a nuttiness much more akin to some of my favorite rice pudding experiences.  An overly ripe banana that had been stashed in our freezer offered an amazing banana flavor; no hint of the cloying artificial banana essence in this pudding!  The pudding itself was a tad sweet in the end.  But the perfect consistency.

I certainly had no shame liking this dish clean. 

adapted from Corrina at Veg Mother

serves 2

The Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup milk 
1/3 cup quinoa
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
2/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 over ripe banana, mashed

The Process:
Whisk the coconut milk and milk together in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the quinoa and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a separate saucepan whisk together the egg, sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk and vanilla. Place over medium high heat and stir constantly, bring the mixture to a gentle boil.  Continue to stir as the mixture thickens, about 5-7 minutes.  It will start to thicken very rapidly once it comes to a boil, be prepared!  Remove from heat.  Stir in the mashed banana and quinoa, mixing until well combined. 

Ladle the pudding into individual serving dishes.  Cover and chill in the fridge until firm...about two hours.   Serve with a dollop of cream and sliced banana, if you can hold off for such presentations.

Yogurt Banana Muffins with Streusel Topping

This is not a healthy muffin.  I know, I know!  But it uses yogurt!  Half the flour is whole wheat! It uses fruit and wheat germ! How can it not be healthy!  Well...the stick of butter certainly doesn't help.  Or the sugar.  Never mind the fact that's it's mostly a carb bomb...

Okay, these may be a more healthful version than many out there...particularly among the pre-packaged varieties.

But don't be fooled.  These aren't health food.

Know what, though?  I don't care.  They're still darn tasty.

I had started out with a recipe at food.com, but honestly was so taken aback by the amount of butter and sugar I almost started over with another recipe.  Thus commenced a lot of tweaking.  Less sugar...and using more brown sugar than granulated.  Halving the amount of butter.  Increasing the yogurt.  Adding some spice.  And a streusel topping.  Still not a healthy muffin.

muffin recipe adapted from Sharon at food.com and BHG
topping adapted from the BHG Cookbook

yields 12 muffins

The Ingredients:
for the muffin:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 2-3)
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon 

for the streusel topping:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

The Process:

Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly grease a 12-count muffin tin (do not use baking liners...they will stick). 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Mash in the bananas and yogurt.   In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Add the dry to the wet, mixing until just combined.  

For the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Pour the batter into the muffin liners, filling about 2/3 full.  Sprinkle the streusel generously over the top.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the tin for 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

The Review:

I won't say these are the best ever banana muffins out there.  Far too many muffins already lay that claim, and I know I'm no pastry chef.  But they are a favorite by far. 

The muffin texture was unlike many a quick bread I've tried.  It was less crumb and more bread like.  Spongy and soft.  Wonderfully moist.  The banana flavor was not as strong as other banana breads.  Which I personally loved. 

These will be a regular use of those over ripe bananas from now on.

Banana Waffles with Nutella

Sunday has come again, and with it my obsession with my waffle iron and a use for a banana or two from my freezer.  Does that happen to you?  Bananas are purchased with every intent on eating them within the next few days only to see the brown spots creep in almost overnight.  Rather than throw out the perfectly ripe fruit, the banana is banished to the freezer until time is made to concoct something wonderful at a later date...preferably not endless loaves of banana bread.  Before you realize it and army of frozen banana has begun to take over...

The recipe is an attempt to hold the bananas at bay...at least for a while.  Its dancing partner was inspired by a childhood joy of spreading Nutella on bananas as a snack.  Okay, maybe more of an adult joy...I didn't truly discover and come to appreciate Nutella until college.  As a child, pre-Nutella, I actually preferred dipping bananas in strawberry yogurt and rolling it in Grape-nuts.  Did anyone else ever do that?  But yogurt/Grape-nut/banana waffles doesn't sound quite as appealing as banana Nutella waffles...

This waffle recipe is a nice alternative for those too groggy to beat egg whites to soft peaks first thing in the morning.

waffle recipe adapted from Waffles of Insane Greatness at foodnetwork.com

serves 3-4

The Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 overripe banana, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla

for topping:
1/3- 1/2 cup Nutella
1 ripe banana sliced


The Process:
Preheat the oven to 200.  Preheat and lightly oil the waffle iron.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and soda, salt and sugar.  In a medium bowl blend butter and mashed banana until well combined.  Whisk in egg, buttermilk and vanilla.  Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry, folding and stirring until just combined.  Do not over mix the batter. 

Cook waffles according to iron manufacturer's directions.  My waffle iron used about 1/2 cup of batter.  This batter is thicker than some and may need to be spread before closing the iron.  The batter also puffs up a lot more than other batters I've tried, so be careful not to overfill the iron.

Once cooked, set waffle aside on plate in the oven to keep warm.  Prepare other waffles in the same manner.

The make the topping, heat the Nutella in the microwave at 20 second intervals or in a double boiler on the stove top until liquid enough to pour.  Drizzle each waffle with about 2 Tbsp of Nutella and top with sliced banana.

The Review:
After beating egg whites for waffle batter during my last few waffles, it was nice to give my wrist a break (my hand mixer bit the dust and for those who actually have a stand mixer...do you really want to haul that thing out just to beat one egg white?).  I may have found my go to waffle base for future fruit additive varieties.  The original recipe called for 1/3 cup of oil.  Figuring the banana would sub well for the wet, I nixed the oil...but did add in a little butter.  I also kept the sugar on the low end knowing the Nutella topping was going to be pretty sweet.

The banana flavor was wonderfully subtle, just enough real ripe fruit flavor to make the waffle interesting.  The waffle wasn't quite sweet or flavorful enough on its own, but with the Nutella and sliced bananas on top, it was a match made in heaven.  I would like to find a way to may the Nutella into more of a sauce.  The chocolate nut butter does not stay very fluid for long.

The waffles puffed up a lot and remained soft in the center, though a bit dense.  The outside reached my platonic ideal of crispness and retained the soft to crunch ratio even after topping.  With syrup though, I'm not sure how soggy they may become, nor how quickly.  But there are many a future Sunday to find out.

Banana Caramel Brownies

About two weeks ago, a wonderful classmate of mine from Stevens Point posted this brownie recipe on her blog "The Baker Chick" and they have been on my mind ever since. Finding uses for overripe bananas is a perpetual dilemma in our house. There are only so many variations of banana bread and banana muffins I can take. I was really excited to see Audra sing the praises of her successful chocolatey treat and secretly relished the thought of finding a new use for that pesky be-spotted fruit.

Adapted from Audra's recipe at "The Baker Chick"

The Ingredients:
Caramel
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp kosher salt

Banana Layer
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas

Brownie Layer
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
5.5 oz dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

The Process:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside.

Prepare the Caramel :
Melt butter in a heavy sauce pan over medium high heat, add sugar and stir frequently until sugar is a golden brown. As soon as the sugar starts to smoke, remove it from the heat and with caution whisk in 1/2 cup of cream. It will bubble up like lava. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Let cool while you make the other layers.

For the Banana Layer:
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

For the Brownie Layer
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and cocoa powder together. Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth.

Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. Add 1 egg to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining egg and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

Assemble the layers
Pour the caramel over the banana layer, trying to avoid the edges if possible.
Spoon or pour the brownie batter evenly across the caramel layer. Using a spatula, gently spread it over the caramel to make an even layer over the top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely before cutting.

*Baking Note: The individual recipes only called for 25/30 minutes in the oven. For some reason though, these needed a bit more. (Maybe because of the caramel.) Start low and add more time if needed.

Modifications:
I made no modifications to the recipe as written.

The Review:
When Audra stated the caramel bubbles like lava when the cream is added, she was not kidding! Be extremely cautious of the steam that will escape as the cream is incorporated.

I did have some issue with the brownie layer. The batter ended up exceedingly fudge like...almost a cement. The tickness made the batter incredibly difficult to "spread" over the caramel and banana layers. I'm not sure where the error lies...it may be likely I accidentally used a full cup of flour instead of the 3/4 listed. So instead, the batter was spooned into little island of chocolate afloat in a sea of caramel over the bedrock of banana.

So as a result, I did not have the beautiful layers that posed Audra's amazing photos. The banana cake swelled up to envelope the spooned bits of chocolate brownie with the caramel bubbling up between. I found mine to be finished baking at 30 minutes...which is odd as my oven tends to need more time for most baked goods.

But you know what...they still tasted absolutely amazing. The chocolate was thick, rich and fudge-y, the banana cake was sweet and cloud-like, the caramel was a complex dance of sugar and salt.

These will be made again!

And if you have a moment, and don't mind drooling a bit more...do check out The Baker Chick. Give her a "buzz" for Foodbuzz and "like" The Baker Chick on Facebook to keep updated on her baking adventures. You won't regret it!