Zoe Bakes – Banana Bread with Nutella Swirls

It’s funny the things that build food memories and then triggers them years later. Back in my pre-teen days when I was in the cub scouts, my pack had a tradition that was done at every monthly pack meeting. It was designed to help build social skills. One of the pack fathers was designated as Mr. X. One of the pack mothers was designated to bake a cake for that month. We cub scouts were then supposed to socialize and shake everyones hand before the meeting started. The designated Mr. X was given a number and whoever was that number to shake his hand and speak to him won the cake.

One month I was lucky enough to win the cake and when I was called up to receive my prize it was an enormous 4 layer banana cake, filled and frosted with dark chocolate frosting. I know my eyes must have grown to 5 times there normal size because I have really vivid memories of standing in front of the pack holding that enormous cake and feeling even smaller that I was. I also have vivid memories of getting home and my mom slicing me a piece of that wonderous cake. From my first whiff of the hearty bananas and lush chocolate I was hooked. Banana cake has since been one of my favorite cakes.

While going through Zoes’ book I came upon this recipe and knew I had to make it. It isn’t really a cake but a banana bread tea loaf which goes down really well with me as a have a morning tea ritual and am always looking for something to have with it besides the usual scones. This really fits the bill.

It is a simple quick bread. Combine melted butter, eggs, brown sugar, bananas, milk and vanilla in a large bowl and mix well to combine.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in a few additions and blend well.

Grease and line two loaf tins and add the a quarter of the batter to each. Melt Nutella in the microwave just until it is softened and pourable. Drizzle the nutella over the banana batter and swirl through it with a knife. Add the rest of the banana batter to each pan and repeat the nutella step.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan, then remove from the pan and cool completely.

Zoe Bakes – Vanilla Bean Pound Cake

Now that I am retired I wanted to get back into baking and fire up my blog again. A while back my sister introduced me to the show Zoe Bakes on Discovery+. I was immediately hooked on it. I enjoyed Zoes easy manner and approach to baking as well as her simple homey recipes without a lot of fuss. I thought this would be a good way to get back into baking on a regular bases and decided to bake through her book Zoe Bakes Cakes.

Now that my cookbook collection has approached the massive stage I need to be selective when buying new books as I am simply running out of space for them. I have gotten into the habit of checking a possible book out of the library to see if I really do indeed want it for my collection. After trying for months to get this book from the library and always finding it checked out I figured it must be popular and have some merit so I just broke down and bought it. It arrived yesterday and I was indeed pleasantly surprised to see that it also has Zoes no fuss down home simple recipes. The book is divided into sections starting with simple and moving to the more complex. I decided to start at the beginning with the plain cakes and this is the first one in the book. Vanilla Bean Pound Cake. Not only is it very simple to make but also happens to be one of my favorite cakes, The added bonus is that the recipe makes two loaf cakes so you can eat one and share one.

Assembly couldn’t get much easier. Cream the butter until very fluffy. Add the sugar in 3 additions and beat until combined, then beat on high speed until very fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to combine. Add the flour in three additions, scaping the bowl after each addition. Divide the batter between two loaf pans and bake until done, about an hour.

It is a standard pound cake recipe. A pound of butter, a pound of flour, a pound of sugar and a pound of eggs. In this case, she uses confectioners sugar instead of caster or granulated sugar. Flavoring comes from vanilla extract, vanilla been seeds and some optional citrus zest. I opted for orange zest as opposed to the usual lemon zest.

Blood Orange Tart

I was lucky enough to find some blood oranges at the farmers market this week and as I was invited to my neighbors for drinks and dinner this evening I decided to make a nice citrus tart out of them. This is just the standard citrus custard tart that I have been making for years. It works well with all citrus (my personal favorite being Meyer Lemon) but I couldn’t resist trying it out with the Blood Oranges. I think it worked well although I think it is a bit sweeter than most citrus and next time I will reduce the sugar a bit.

DOUGH

2 cups all-purpose flour
9 tbsp chilled buffer, cut into cubes
¼ cup granulated sugar 
1 large egg
1-2 tbsp water

FILLING

9 large eggs
1¼ cups heavy cream    
grated zest and juice of 5 medium to large citrus fruits
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar  
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
citrus slices to decorate

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

11 in (28cm) loose-bottomed fluted tart pan

Put the flour into a large bowl. Add the butter and cut in with a  pastry blender or rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

Stir in the granulated sugar, then blend together with the egg and water to make a soft, pliable dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and line the tart pan. Bake blind for 10- 15 minutes until the base has dried out and started to brown slightly.     Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

Beat the eggs in a bawl and add the cream, lemon zest and juice, and granulated sugar. Stir until smooth, and pour into the tart crust.



Bake for 35-40 minutes until the lemon filling has set. Cover the tart loosely with foil if the crust begins to brown too much.

Let the tart cool a little, then dust with confectioners’ sugar. Decorate with citrus.

Whole Wheat Bread

After Norman passed away I sort of lost interest in everything.  I just wandered through my day not really paying attention to what was going on around me.  I lost interest in cooking and baking and making dinner for one became an ordeal.  I started forcing myself to get out of the house and done things.  A few weeks ago I discovered a new used bookstore in town and ventured in.  They had the most amazing cook book section and I found I went back several weeks in a row and managed to get many new cookbooks for my collection.  I started paying attention to what I was eating again and decided that I wanted to try my hand at bread again.  I have tried many times to make whole wheat bread but they always seems to be heavy and tasteless.  One of these books had a relatively simple recipe for whole wheat bread and I thought I would give it a try once again.

This recipe calls for the use of a biga or starter.  It is nothing more than flour and a bit of yeast.  The biga is made the day before an allowed to ferment at room temperature for 24 hours to develop its flavor.  It is then used in the dough to give flavor and a bit of a boost to the rise.

To make the biga:

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons water, room temperature
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour.

Stir the yeast into the warm water and allow to stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the remaining water and then the flour, 1 cup at a time.  Mix with a wooden spoon for 3 to 4 minutes or mix with the paddle attachment in the stand mixer at lowest speed for about 2 minutes.

Remove to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at a cool room temperature for 6 to 24 hours.  The biga will triple in volume and will be wet and sticky when it is ready.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the bread dough and bake:

Makes 2 large or 3 smaller round loaves

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups water, room temperature
1 cup (250 grams) Biga
Scant 2 cups (250 grams) whole-wheat flour, preferably stone ground
3 3/4 cups (500 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (15 grams) salt

Stir the yeast into the warm water in a mixer bowl; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups water and the starter and mix with the paddle until the water is chalky white and the starter is fairly well broken up. Add the flours and salt and mix until the dough comes together. You may need to add up to 2 tablespoons more flour, but the dough will never pull clean away from the side and bottom of the bowl. Change to the dough hook and knead a full 5 minutes at medium speed. Finish kneading the sticky, wet dough by hand on a well-floured surface, sprinkling the top with about 3 to 4 more tablespoons of flour.

First Rise. Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until tripled and full of air bubbles, about 3 hours. Do not punch down.

Shaping and Second Rise. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and shape into 2 big flat rounds or 3 smaller ones, pulling tight on the surface of the dough with your cupped hands to make a taut loaf. Place the loaves, rough side up, on well-floured baking sheets, peels, or parchment paper set on baking sheets. Cover with a towel and let rise until there are lots of air bubbles under the skin, about 1 hour.

Baking. Thirty minutes before baking, heat the oven with a baking stone in it to 450 degrees F. Dimple the tops of the loaves all over with your fingertips or knuckles, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Just before baking, sprinkle the stone with cornmeal. Gently invert the loaves onto the stones. The bread will look deflated when you initially put it in, but it will puff up like a big pillow in no time. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Cool on racks.

Rum Raisin Cake

What with work, our wedding, two weekends of family and friends visiting and planning our European house hunting trip I just haven’t had much time to get into the kitchen and do much baking.  This weekend I did manage to find a few minutes to throw together this really easy bundt cake.  I have to admit that I did the mis en place the night before and in the morning I just mixed it all together and got it in the oven in about 10 minutes.  It has a very long slow bake so I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up and the ironing done before it came out of the oven so easy to plan chores around this one.

I haven’t tasted it yet and probably won’t until tomorrow as I usually bring the weekend bakes to work but it certainly smells good and the whole house smells of vanilla and coconut and has my mouth watering and stomach grumbling so I may have to break down and have a slice a little later.

Coconut-Rum Raisin Cake Coconut-Rum Raisin Cake

FOR THE CAKE

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dark rum
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

FOR THE GLAZE

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup dark rum
2 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Make the cake: Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 12-cup Bundt or kugelhopf pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Place raisins and rum in a bowl, and let soak.

2. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 batches; alternating with 2 batches of cream; beat until just combined. Mix in raisin mixture and coconut.

3. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen; turn out onto rack to cool completely. (cake can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, up to 2 days.)

4. Make the glaze: Heat granulated sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, gently stirring, until sugar is dissolved and syrup is clear, cook, without stirring, until syrup  comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Let boil, gently swirling, until the mixture turns a medium amber. Remove from heat.  Add rum and cream.  Let cool, stirring until thickened.  Drizzle over cake.

Peaches and Cream Bundt Cake

Peaches are my favorite fruit and I am always looking for new ways and new recipes to use them in.  I was excited to find this easy bundt cake recipe that used fresh or frozen peaches.  I had high hopes for this cake and loved the fact that it was so simple to toss together as lately I often seem to be short on time to get into the kitchen and indulge in some time-consuming baking.  I still like to have baked goods on hand to snack on or share with friends and family.  This one seemed to fit the bill.

I have to admit that while the cake is incredibly moist I found it to be a bit bland.  It really didn’t seem to have much flavor at all and even the peaches seemed to fade into the background.  Needless to say I was a bit disappointed.  With that being said I took the cake to work and everyone raved about it.  I think every single person who had a piece stopped me to say how good it was and several asked me for the recipe so I am going to have to call it a huge success and scratch my head over why I thought it was so bland.

Peaches and Cream Bundt Cake

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt
4 peaches, peeled, pitted, and diced small
2 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Whipped cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350’F. Butter a 14-cup Bundt pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, the baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, toss peaches with remaining 2 tablespoons flour to coat.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined. Fold in peaches and vanilla.

Transfer batter to prepared pan; tap pan firmly on counter several times. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to cool 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter. Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Run an offset spatula or small knife around edge of cake to loosen; turn out onto a rack. Working in sections, brush the cake with butter and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream, if desired. (cake can be stored at room temperature, covered, up to 3 days.)

Spumoni Mousse Cake

Being from an Italian family and growing up in Youngstown, Ohio where there was a large Italian population it is inevitable that Spumoni was bound to turn up here sooner or later.  As a child I loved spumoni ice cream and it was readily available in Youngstown both in restaurants and in the grocery store.  When I moved to California it was almost as if the stuff ceased to exist.  For the first 20 years that I lived here I never saw it either in the grocery stores or in Italian restaurants.  I understood this in the fancy trendy restaurants but I would have thought it would have been a staple in the mom and pop places that I frequented in my lean military years out here.  Nothing.

When I moved to San Diego and got into the foodie scene, most people I talked with had never even heard of it.  When we sold our suburban home and moved into town I was floored to discover that the little Italian restaurant just around the corner had spumoni on their menu and it was like childhood all over again.  I order it every time we go to that restaurant.  In the last year or so I have been surprised to occasionally find it in the grocery store and of course a gallon of it always comes home with me when I find it.

This cake was a delightful surprise to find and I of course had to try it.  It really isn’t a cake but two frozen mousses (a cherry and almond layer and a pistachio layer) covered in sweetened whipped cream.  It does surprising taste like supmoni ice cream and the only thing I would change is that I would add almonds to the almond layer along with the almond extract.  For now I just sprinkle some silvered almonds on each serving.

 

Spumoni Mousse Cake

Cherry Layer

1/4 oz. package of powdered gelatin
2 tbsp. maraschino cherry juice
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole milk or half and half
8 oz. high quality white chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. almond extract or 1/4 tsp. almond oil
Few drops of pink food coloring
24 maraschino cherries, chopped into “chips”
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Pistachio Layer

1 tsp. powdered gelatin
2 tbsp. cold water
1 1/2 tablespoons egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup whole milk or half and half
4 oz. high quality white chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons instant pistachio pudding
Drop of green food coloring (if desired)
1 cup heavy whipping cream

For the cherry layer

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of two 7 or 8-inch spring form pans. Line the bottoms with a parchment paper round. Set aside.

Place the 2 tbsp. cherry juice in a medium saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over water.  Let stand for 1 minute.

Whisk in egg yolks and sugar; mix well.  Stir in milk.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly.  Cook until thickened considerably 7-10 minutes. When done, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Stir in chopped white chocolate and blend with a whisk until chocolate has melted and has an even color.  Let cool.

When mixture is cooled to just barely warm, whisk in almond extract and pink food coloring.  Stir in cherry chips.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold whipped cream into the cooled cherry mixture until well blended.

Pour into a prepared spring-form pan and level the top with a rubber spatula.  Pick up and drop the pan once or twice to settle any gaps that may have been created when the mixture was poured.  Place in freezer and freeze until firm.  Wash and dry your saucepan, bowl, spatula, whisk and beaters for the next layer.

For the pistachio layer

Place the 2 tbsp. water in a medium saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over water.  Let stand for 1 minute.  Whisk in egg yolk and sugar.  Stir in milk.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly.  Cook until thickened considerably 5-7 minutes. When done, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.   Stir in chopped white chocolate and blend with a whisk until chocolate has melted and has an even color.  Whisk in instant pistachio pudding mix.  Let cool.

When mixture is cooled to just barely warm, whisk in a drop of green food coloring to intensify the green color, if desired.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold whipped cream into the cooled pistachio mixture until well blended.  Pour into the remaining prepared spring-form pan and level the top with a rubber spatula.  Pick up and drop the pan once or twice to settle any gaps that may have been created when the mixture was poured.  Place in freezer and freeze until firm.

Vanilla whipped cream and assembly

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
Pink food coloring
12 whole maraschino cherries, rinsed and patted dry

Remove pans of mousse from the freezer. Use a dish towel soaked in hot water then wrung dry to warm the outside of the spring-form collars and then gently unlatch and remove the collars. Turn the cherry layer onto a serving platter or cake stand and peel off the parchment round.  Stack the pistachio layer on top of the cherry layer and press down until layers are even.  If you have gaps between the layers, use an off-set spatula to smooth the two layers together.  Peel off parchment circle.

Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form, and then gradually add the sugar. Add in the vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.  Frost the upper half of the mousse cake white whipped cream; avoid frosting the top – we want the pretty green color of the pistachio mousse to show.  Tint the remaining whipped cream pink and frost the lower portion with the pink whipped cream. Use one large spatula to smooth the two colors together on the sides of the cake.  Transfer remaining pink whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.  Pipe 12 pink whipped cream florets on the top outer edge of the cake.  Place a cherry in the center of each floret.  Store cake in the freezer.  Slice into pieces while still partially frozen.  Serve frozen or let slices come to room temperature.

Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake

Between social obligations and being away in Michigan visiting my best friend Jill it has been several weeks since I have been able to bake.  This was a rather busy weekend as well so I wanted something quick and easy to ease back into baking.  This easy bundt cake was just the ticket.  It only has a few ingredients and goes together in about 10 minutes, mostly by hand so not alot of clean up either.  It is a rather small cake but packs a nice lemony punch and is just the thing for early morning or late evening snacking.

Italian Fresh Cream Lemon Cake

Ingredients

2 cups + 1 tablespoon flour 270 grams
1 3/4 cups icing/powdered sugar 218.75 grams
4 eggs (large)
2/3 cup whole cream 150 ml, heavy cream or whipping cream
7 tablespoons butter melted 100 grams
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla 5 grams
2 teaspoons baking powder 10 grams
1/2 teaspoon salt 2.85 grams

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius).

Lightly grease and flour an 9 1/2 inch bundt cake pan.  Melt butter and let cool completely.  Grate the zest of one lemon.

In a large bowl beat on medium speed eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, then alternating with the cream gently fold into egg mixture with a spatula, keep folding until mixture is combined, gently fold in lemon peel, vanilla and melted butter.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes. Let cool, then dust with confectioners sugar.

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

I came across this cake on yet another of my Google searches for new bundt cake recipes.  I love apple cakes and this one has that cream cheese type cheesecake filling in the center and lots of tart Granny Smith apples chopped up in the cinnamon-nutmeg spiced batter so I figured it was worth at least one try.

It is delicious.  A nicely spiced batter flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice and loaded with chopped tart apples.  In then center of this spicy batter is a thick ring of cream cheese cheesecake which bakes through the cake and adds a nice smooth richness and tang and to the spicey apple cake.  Heavenly

Ingredients:

cream cheese filling

• 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cake

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (plus extra for garnish, optional)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 2-3 medium apples)

praline frosting

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

To make the filling: Add the cream cheese, butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well combined and smooth. Add the egg, flour and vanilla and continue beating just until incorporated. Set aside.

Place the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet and toaste in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or just until fragrant. Remove the pan to a wire rack.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, both sugars, the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice together. Add the eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla and mix just until combined (I started with a whisk and switched to a rubber spatula). Fold in the toasted pecans and chopped apples until distributed throughout the batter.

Spoon about 1/2 to 2/3 of the cake batter into the prepared 12-cup bundt pan. Top evenly with the cream cheese filling, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the pan (I found this tricky, just do the best you can). Use a thin paring knife to swirl the cream cheese filling with the cake batter just a few times – less is more. Top the filling with the remaining cake batter.

Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack and allow to cool completely (at least 2 hours).

To make the frosting: Combine the brown sugar, butter and milk in a 2-qt saucepan. Set over medium heat, and bring to a boil, whisking almost constantly. Boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, a little at a time, until it is completely incorporated and the frosting is smooth. Gently stir the frosting until it starts to thicken, then pour it over the cooled cake. (The frosting will set up quickly, so don’t make it in advance – wait until the cake has cooled completely.) Garnish with extra pecans, if desired.

Peanut Butter Banana Bundt Cake

Now that my friend Jill has me totally hooked on bundt cakes it seems as though I am constantly on the lookout for new bundt cake recipes.  A recent search on the internet turned up this peanut butter and banana cake.  I am crazy about banana cake and peanut butter and banana sandwiches were a childhood favorite (actually, they still are a favorite) so I knew I had to try this.

The recipe calls for peanut butter filled DelightFulls which are chocolate morsels filled with peanut butter.  They are made by Nestle Toll House and actually come in about 6 flavors of filling.  I went to about 5 different stores and couldn’t find them in any flavor so I decided to just use regular semi-sweet morsels and peanut butter morsels and just use half the amount called for of each.  I think it worked out fine.  I imagine you could used mini Reeses peanut butter cups and chop them up and get the same flavor.  It all seems good to me.

It is an easy cake to put together and has a nice rich banana flavor which is nicely set off by the chocolate and peanut butter chips.  In all honesty I think I would like it just as well as plain banana cake.  See what you think.

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA BUNDT CAKE

For the cake

4-5 overly ripe bananas (about 1 ½ cups)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup neutral oil, like canola or safflower
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 ounce) package peanut butter filled DelightFulls™, divided
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

For the glaze

½ cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt

Procedure

For the cake

Take ½ cup of the DelightFulls™ from the bag and chop into halfs and ¼ pieces. Set aside.
In a small bowl, toss together the remaining DelightFulls™ and 1 tablespoon flour to coat the morsels. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a small bundt pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt for 30 seconds to distribute the leavening.

In the bowl of a food processor, puree the bananas until smooth. Add the oil and then the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.

Add the banana mixture and mix to combine.

Add the flour, all at once, and mix on low until just combined and smooth.

Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle ½ of the flour coated morsels over the batter. Pour 1/3 of the batter over the morsels and sprinkle with the remaining flour-coated morsels and top with the remaining batter.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake springs back when gently poked and a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Turn the warm cake out onto a serving platter. Allow to cool completely.

For the glaze

In a small bowl, stir together the confectioner’s sugar, peanut butter, milk, vanilla and salt until smooth. Spoon over the cooled cake and sprinkle with the reserved, chopped DelightFulls™.