Dirty Banana Ice Cream

Let me introduce you to a delicious St. Lucian frozen concoction called the "Dirty Banana." You'll find Lance and Jonathan serving them up all day long at the pool bar at our honeymoon spot, Calabash Cove Resort near Castries. Though we never knew exactly what was in the drink, I believe it consisted of a ripe banana, lots of dark rum, milk and simple syrup. Good thing it was banana season in St. Lucia as Nick drank a few of these each day we were there!

I wasn't trying to recreate the drink in ice cream form when I tried making this recipe, but the finished product brought us right back to the glorious infinity pool with the swim-up bar. Most of you probably don't have an ice cream maker lying around the kitchen, but I encourage you to invest in one NOW. We got ours on sale at Crate & Barrel for $60. I even reorganized our cabinets so that we could find a spot for it! There's nothing better than homemade ice cream, and the ability to create new and interesting flavors is a fun project for a relaxing summer weekend.

You will love the mixture of the fresh banana, crunchy toasted walnuts and the hint of dark rum flavor. It couldn't be easier to make - just mix the base together and throw it in the ice cream maker for about twenty minutes or so. Then add the bananas and walnuts. Sounds like my kind of summer dessert. I also used light cream in the recipe, so that cuts down on the fat and totally justifies an extra half-scoop.

Dirty Banana Ice Cream
Makes about 5 cups
Adapted from "The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook Ever"

Ingredients

• 2 cups half-and-half or light cream
• 1 14-ounce can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 overripe medium bananas
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 3/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts 

Preparation


In a large bowl, combine the half-and-half, condensed milk, and vanilla. Whisk to blend. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least three hours or as long as three days.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas, lemon juice, and rum to form a coarse puree; there will be about 1 cup. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Whisk the half-and-half mixture to blend and pour into the canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. When the ice cream is at the soft serve stage, add the mashed bananas and toasted walnuts and process 2 minutes longer.

Serve with vanilla wafers or caramel sauce.

Uncle Paul's Rhubarb Crunch Cake

I am about ready to jump in the car and drive the five hours up to Portland, PA to go through my Uncle Paul's stash of recipes and interview him for some baking and cooking tips. My uncle is a trained chef and clearly knows how to create amazing baked goods. I found this crunch cake in the recipe book from my bridal shower. It is getting to be the end of rhubarb season, so this cake was the perfect seasonal treat to try. I was a little hesitant to use strawberry Jello in a coffee cake, but no one is ever going to guess you used it! 

Nick and I agree that this is probably one of the best fruit coffee cakes we've ever had. The sour cream in the batter provides some density without compromising the lightness of the cake. Though the recipe has plenty of sugar, the rhubarb provides a hint of sourness that cuts through the sweet cake. The cinnamon, sugar and nut layers provide the satisfying crunch, balancing out the layers of fluffy cake and spongy rhubarb. This cake would be a delightful addition to a weekend brunch, afternoon tea, or a light summer meal. Add a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream to put this treat over the top.

I only used the two larger stalks of rhubarb. Fortunately, Nick stopped me from grabbing about five stalks at Whole Foods! This cake is relatively simple to make, but I did have some issues spreading the sticky batter into the greased pan. I think an offset spatula would work well. The layering is just batter, rhubarb, nut mixture, batter, nut mixture. It's okay if some of the rhubarb is peeking out along the edges. This just adds extra color to the top of the cake.

True confession - I forgot to add the first layer of the walnut / sugar mixture on top of the rhubarb. Hence, we had only half the crunch, but this cake was still amazing! Be careful not to over-bake it as the walnuts will start the burn.

I hope that the family chef will share some additional dishes with us - his recipes may become a permanent feature on the blog! We're praying for you . . . get better and get back in the kitchen soon.

Rhubarb Crunch Cake
From Paul Lebkuecher
Serves 18-20

Ingredients

• 3 cups rhubarb pieces, 1/2" or smaller
• 3 oz strawberry Jello
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

Mix rhubarb pieces thoroughly with strawberry Jello. Set aside to absorb color.

Make batter with next eight ingredients. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs well. Stir in remaining batter ingredients (sour cream, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt). 

Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, remaining sugar and walnuts in a small bowl.

Spread half of batter in greased 9 x 13" pan. Spread rhubarb mixture lightly over batter. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over the rhubarb. Spread on remaining batter. Sprinkle the batter with the remaining nut mixture. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until browned.

Mini Mocha Cheesecakes

I'm not a huge chocolate person, but this crazy week left me craving a huge piece of rich delicious chocolate cake with mounds of butter cream icing. I flipped through some cookbooks and settled on this recipe because of its simplicity and also because it has under 200 calories per serving! Awesome. You can also make these creamy individual cheesecakes up to three days in advance - great for entertaining. Nick, my foodie friend (and wonderful cook) Caitlin, and I loved the texture of the recipe. Think half cheesecake and half silky chocolate mousse. The chocolate flavor is intensified by the espresso powder and the vanilla. I ate mine with some whipped cream and extra cocoa powder while Nick paired his with some vanilla frozen yogurt.

You should be able to find Famous chocolate wafers in the cookie aisle at a standard grocery store (like Safeway or Giant). We definitely had to search through the shelves, though! If you can't find them, I think it would work to use an Oreo wafer.

This recipe is wonderfully simple - just throw all the ingredients into a food processor and puree! This was my first trial run using my beautiful new Cuisinart 9-cup processor (thanks Mom).

It only took me about a minute to puree the mixture until smooth.

Just fill each cup to the brim and then top with the chocolate wafer.

The only issue I have with these cheesecakes is getting them out of the muffin tin after refrigerating. I managed to free one after prying it out with a butter knife, but the second one got smashed using that method. Next time, I am going to overturn the tin on a cooling rack and then bang them out with a wooden spoon. Be careful when you remove the paper wrapper as the cakes are soft to the touch. Then, enjoy the guilt-free chocolate goodness (bonus - the cottage cheese has a lot of protein)!

Mini Mocha Cheesecakes
From Everyday Food Light (Martha Stewart)
Serves 9

Ingredients

• 2 cups nonfat cottage cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 9 chocolate wafer cookies, such as Famous
• Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line 9 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners. In a food processor, combine cottage cheese, eggs, confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, flour, espresso powder and vanilla. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Divide mixture among prepared cups, filling each one just below rim, and place 1 cookie on top of each. Bake until fillings are set and cookies soften, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in pan, then refrigerate (in pan) at least 1 1/2 hours (or up to three days covered). 

To serve, invert cheesecakes onto plates and peel off liners. Top each with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

Per cheesecake (without whipped cream): 196 calories; 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat); 10 g protein; 34 g carbohydrates; 1 g fiber.

Grandma Lois's Old World Apple Cake

My grandma is a fantastic cook and baker. She can throw together a pot roast with multiple sides AND dessert without breaking a sweat. Her skills can probably be attributed to growing up on her family's ranch in Hysham, MT - lots of hungry mouths to feed! I have several Grandma Lois recipes to share with you but thought I would do a post about one of my absolute favorites - Old World Apple Cake! As the comforting aroma of cinnamon filled the kitchen, Nick yelled out, "hey is that Old School Apple Cake almost done?" Sorry about that, Grandma.

While I had romantic notions that this was an original recipe that came over on the boat from Switzerland, Grandma told me the other day that she got the recipe from a friend at their old church in the Philadelphia suburbs. Regardless, the recipe has been a family favorite for years and is a big hit every time we serve it at holiday dinners, bridal showers, etc. In addition to being a great dessert (make sure you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream), a small slice pairs well with your morning coffee or tea.

The only time consuming part of this recipe is peeling the apples and slicing them super-thin. I just use a knife, but I'm sure a mandolin would work really well here to make uniform slices. Hmmm - maybe that will be my next kitchen gadget purchase!

The batter is very simple - just flour, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt, eggs, orange juice (I use no pulp) and a tablespoon of good-quality vanilla extract

 .

No need to pull out the KitchenAid stand mixer to tackle this batter. Just use your hand-held mixer - should take you less than a minute to get everything incorporated. I try not to over-mix the batter.

Grease and flour (I LOVE Pam's baking spray) a standard 12-cup bundt pan. Fill the pan with half the batter, then lay half the sliced apples on top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. As you can see, I am not shy with the cinnamon.

Pour in the rest of the batter, sprinkle with more cinnamon and sugar and bake. You end up with this beautiful, crusty-on-the-outside yet moist-on-the-inside apple cake. A sprinkling of powdered sugar would look nice, but I couldn't find any in the pantry (thanks Nick for finding it this weekend!).

Have some good friends over for tea and serve this cake. It'll help brighten up a cold and blustery winter day.

Old World Apple Cake

From Lois Oman

Ingredients

• 2 cups thinly sliced apples (I used McIntosh)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice (I used no pulp OJ)
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Extra cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling between cake layers
• Powdered sugar for serving (optional)

Preparation

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. Thinly slice the apples and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, oil, orange juice, eggs, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract. The batter should be smooth.

Pour approximately half of the batter into the bundt pan. Place the apple slices in an even layer on top of the batter. Sprinkle the apples with about 2 tablespoons of sugar and generously with cinnamon (just eye-ball it). Pour the additional batter into the pan and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for approximately 70 minutes. Cool for ten minutes and then remove the cake from the pan. Cool completely and, if desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.