Donna Hay's Banana Cake

Just when the bananas on my shelf were planning their revolt (I always forget how quickly bananas spoil in the summer), I decided to try Donna Hay's Banana Cake.

And, of course, it's a Bundt. I think the intervention is coming soon...

Everything comes together pretty quickly. I left the butter and eggs out overnight so I could make it half-asleep this morning.

Donna has a caramel sauce of brown sugar and cream...but I didn't have the cream so I made a powdered sugar, milk and vanilla simple glaze. A glaze made of powdered sugar and maple syrup would be awesome as well.

My co-workers said, "Banana...GREAT!" I tried to tell a few of them that is wasn't health food (one stick butter, three eggs and 3/4 c sour cream)... but they just saw the banana.

Heck, I'm with them. This cake is totally on the my food pyramid.

To Southern California Friends:
If you are in town this weekend (July 11-12), check out the Renegade Craft Fair in downtown Los Angeles. My friend, JustJenn is one of the exhibitors!

Recipe:
Banana Cake from Donna Hay's Simple Essentials: Fruit, page 76
These blogs have the recipe posted:
Banana Cake Recipes
Piggy's Cooking Journal (in metric)
Cooked from the Heart

National Library Week Day 2 with Chocolate Amaretti Torte and Banana Cinnamon Chip Cake

Tuesdays with Dorie Baking Group - Chocolate Amaretti Torte
&
Day 2 of The Food Librarian's Celebration of National Library Week

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Holly of Phe/MOM/enon picked 15 Minute Magic: Chocolate Amaretti Torte, page 276 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I used some great Italian cookies picked up at Surfas to make this nutty, big, pretty "brownie" with lots of almond flavor. It all comes together in the food processor while your oven preheats.

Thanks Holly for picking a great recipe! Check out Holly's fantastic blog, Phe/MOM/enon for the recipe. See other creations made by the hundreds of other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Did you know it's National Library Week? All this week, I'm highlighting a library thing. Today, it's Downloadable Media. First, do you like audiobooks? Want to read and bake at the same time?! (Yes, listening to audiobooks is reading in my book). Well, audiobooks are the answer! Your public library might have audiobooks on CD or cassette...and the newest form is downloadable media. That's right, download audiobooks straight to your computer, and transfer them to an iPod or MP3 player. It's easy, free, and have no overdue fines because they just stop playing after the check out period. Two popular services include OverDrive and NetLibrary. Search the OverDrive's website to see if your library offers this fantastic service!


To celebrate Day 2 of National Library Week, I'm giving away the following to one lucky winner:
a. Paper mini-loaf pans (package of 50)
b. Handmade beaded bookmark (designed by my friend Sumi!)
c. Disneyland book bag

Aren't these 4" x 2" paper loaf pans so adorable? You can make bite-size carrot, zucchini and a host of other breads - perfect for the holidays or a lovely hostess gift. Win a pack of 50 of these oven safe, paper mini-loaf containers (purchased at Surfas - if you come to Los Angeles, visit Surfas and Disneyland! :)

I made the Banana Cinnamon Chip Cake from Two Peas and Their Pod. Maria was recently on TV in Utah demonstrating the yumminess of this cake - watch it here! She's fantastic and the next Martha! And this cake has no oil or butter, and yet it is moist! Standing with the cake is the Librarian Action Figure. Read more about her on yesterday's post. (Southern Cal friends, I finally found Cinnamon Chips! I went to a big, nice Albertsons with a large baking aisle. They say you can make special requests at other Albertsons so you might want to give it a try!)

To enter the Day 2 Giveaway, simply leave a comment below (one entry per person) and I'll pick the winner from a hat. Deadline: Monday, April 20, 2009 at midnight PDT. If your comment isn't linked to a blog where I can find you, please leave your email or check back on Tuesday, April 21st to see if you won. Shipping to U.S. addresses only (sorry, I'm buying all this stuff myself and international postage is too expensive).

Also, check out yesterday's post to enter Day 1 Giveaway for mini-cake pans (yes, I DO have an unnatural obsession with mini stuff...but I'll go to therapy later), bookmark and bag. Deadline is also Monday, April 20, 2009! Thanks for visiting!

Banana Cream Pie (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Banana Cream "Pie"

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Oh. Sorry.
That was my head hitting the keyboard as I struggle to stay awake. It is 8:15 pm.

I'm so tired today. I yawned so much at work my co-workers are starting to think my life isn't as boring as it really is. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to go to bed in a few minutes.

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Amy of Sing for Your Supper chose Banana Creme Pie, page 342 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. I made 1/4 of the recipe and skipped the pie crust. Instead, I used these lovely ginger Japanese cookies and some thin ginger cookies from Trader Joe's (watch the blog next week for giveaways that include these cookies!)

My pastry cream was a little too cooked and ended up a little "tough." Ah, I need to practice more on the puddings, custards and creams.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

And check back next week! It'll be National Library Week and I'm celebrating with giveaways all week long! :)

Strawberry Banana Muffins

(California) Strawberry Banana Muffins

Whoo Hoo! California Strawberries are in season! I went to two local Farmer's Market for the last two weekends and more and more vendors are pulling out their red gems of deliciousness.

(And no, I'm not working for the California produce lobby with my recent posts of California goodness...but I need to remind myself of reasons why I love living in a land where I can't afford any real estate.)

I made Strawberry Banana Muffins from Joy of Cooking's website.

Yummy California Strawberries!

This recipe calls for 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries and 1 cup mashed bananas.

I topped the 12 muffins with some sanding sugar for a nice crunch on top.

Inside view with lots of strawberry pieces.

These were okay, but there weren't my favorite muffin. I think it boils down to the fact that I like my strawberries raw or macerated in sugar...not baked. However, I do want to try a strawberry cupcake in the future. My banana wasn't terribly ripe, so that might have been an issue too. Why don't you give them a try and let me know how you do? :) Here's the recipe for Strawberry Banana Muffins from Joy of Baking!