This is a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, the folks who test every single variable in a recipe multiple times until they come up with perfection. With the best. Or, as they called this one, The Ultimate Banana Bread. They’ve been known to go after food bloggers who either share their recipes without permission, or tweak their versions. I find the tweaking part a bit funny. Taste is so subjective that adjusting any recipe to suit the palate is what any cook should be doing…
THE ULTIMATE BANANA BREAD
The recipe is available online, so you can get it with a jump here. I actually did not see that review until after making the recipe, but I read it smiling all the way through… It turns out that I removed all the fuss and no major harm was done.
As the folks at thekitchn mentioned, the addition of turbinado sugar on top is brilliant. I actually added it in two installments, first right before placing in the oven…
And the second time another sprinkle just over the bananas when the bread had been baking for 40 minutes. I baked for a total of 55 minutes, in a 9 x 5 inch pan. The other tweaking I did was using frozen bananas without worrying about draining excess liquid. I also measured the amount of mashed bananas that went into the bread, as the fruit varies so much in size: 600g of banana pulp. One single fresh banana was used for the slices on top. Doing that, the recipe is really super simple, two bowls, one for dry ingredients, one for wet. Done.
Keep in mind that going at the sugary crust to peel it off and eat it is considered a faux-pas. Stealing extra slices of banana and running away? Equally distasteful. What you should do is make this recipe, available online in the link I provided or in this cookbook. Tweaking is optional. Your kitchen, your rules!
This is a pressure cooker (or Instant Pot) recipe. I am afraid that to get the texture of the meat and depth of flavor in the sauce just right, you’ll need to use it. Also, don’t be tempted to keep the skin on the chicken thighs, because they will make the sauce very fatty and heavy. So take a deep breath and remove it.
KASHMIRI CHICKEN THIGHS (from the Bewitching Kitchen)
2 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium shallots, minced 4 whole cardamom pods, lightly crushed 1 cinnamon stick 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 tsp kashmiri chili 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp paprika 5 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs 1 tsp salt 1 cup water 1/2 cup yogurt, full-fat 1 tsp cornstarch fresh cilantro, to serve
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker (or your Instant Pot using the sauté function), add the shallots, cardamon pods, cinnamon stick and salt. Cook until the shallots are soft and fragrant. Add the ginger, tomato paste, chili, cumin, and paprika. Cook for about 1 minute, add 1 cup of water, gently stir, then add the chicken pieces.
Close the pan and cook in full pressure for 12 minutes, then let the pressure reduce naturally for 15 minutes. Release any pressure left (running water over the lid or doing whatever method is called for in the Instant Pot), open the pan and remove the chicken pieces to a serving bowl, keeping it tented with foil. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamon pods, then reduce the sauce by simmering for 10 to 15 minutes. Mix the yogurt with cornstarch, add to the simmering sauce, return the chicken to the pan, and simmer it all together for a few minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened. Sprinkle fresh cilantro. Serve over rice or with your favorite side dish.
Comments: Kashmiri chili is a great spice, with subtle heat and unique flavor. The pressure cooker does a wonderful job tenderizing the meat and allowing the sauce to develop that complex taste usually reserved for things cooked for hours and hours. Adding a little amount of cornstarch to the yogurt prevents it from separating during simmering, and gives a velvety texture I am quite fond of. If you rather not use it, whisk the yogurt as you pour it into the pan, and avoid cooking for very long. The sauce will be obviously a lot thinner, but still taste wonderful.
Shortbread cookies have unique texture, and are surprisingly addictive. This version, flavored with tea and a touch of orange extract, followed the basic method from Helen Fletcher, described in her cookbook: Craving Cookies, The Quintessential American Cookie Book. The food processor makes perfect shortbread dough every single time.
EARL GREY SHORTBREAD COOKIES (inspired by several sources)
4 bags of Earl Grey tea (about 8g tea, I used decaf) 310 g all purpose flour 48 g cornstarch 1/2 tsp salt 227 g butter, very cold, cut into pieces 115 g powdered sugar 1/2 tsp orange extract
Heat the oven to 275 F.
Add tea, flour, cornstarch and salt to the food processor and process a few seconds to mix. Add the butter, process until it is dispersed in small pieces, stop the processor, add the powdered sugar and orange extract, and process it again until a dough forms. You can turn the processor on and off a few times for more efficient mixing. Once the dough starts to form and dance around the bowl, stop and gather it gently with your hands, forming a disc over parchment paper.
If you worked fast, you can proceed right away forming balls, each with 33g of dough. If the dough it too soft or feels at all warm, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
Working with one little ball at a time, press a design using your favorite cookie press coated with flour so it won’t stick. Freeze the cookies for 10 minutes, then bake at 275F for about 50 minutes over parchment paper. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Comments: Shortbread is perfect for pressing a pattern or using decorative molds, as there is no leavening agent in the dough. Freezing is an additional step that helps the pattern stay even better during baking. As to the low temperature, 275 F gives shortbread a wonderful texture. I saw that recommended in a couple of websites and cookbooks and gave it a try in this bake. Loved it. If you are not pressed for time, consider this little twist. I baked them for 55 minutes exactly, the edges were starting to get golden.
Mini-cakes are cute from the get-go, in fact most desserts made in single serving are pretty adorable by default. But some details can raise their level of cuteness even higher. Today I share three ideas to make mini-cakes a little more special.
The first method to make cute cupcakes is using a different shape of pan. Like this pan from Nordic Ware. I think the quality of their pans is hard to beat, and totally worth the price tag. They are heavy, well-made and bake like a dream. I usually still spray the inside with PAM baking spray, a light coating ensures nothing will stick in the little crevices.
LEMON MINI-BUNDT CAKES
LEMON MINI-BUNDT CAKES (adapted from several sources)
125g butter (I used Kerrygold) 150g sugar zest of 1 lemon 2 large eggs (100g) 180 g all-purpose flour 1 + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt ½ cup milk 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tsp lemon extract for the glaze: 200g powdered sugar (1 cup) Juice of 1 fresh lemon (amount adjusted for consistency) sprinkles to decorate (optional)
Heat oven to 350 F. Rub the sugar with the lemon zest for a couple a minutes until very fragrant. Cream butter and lemon-infused sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating in slow speed until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and milk. Mix well to combine, then add the lemon juice and extract, whisking gently.
Pour batter into the pan a little over 1/2 full in each cavity, but not quite reaching 3/4 of the capacity. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Leave the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes than invert and cool them completely over a rack.
Make the glaze by mixing the ingredients. You want a pourable consistency, but not too thick so that the ridges of the cake still show. Pour over the cooled cakes. Decorate with sprinkles.
These lemon cakes are very moist, with intense citric flavor. I used a very thin glaze because I wanted the ridges to be evident. If making a regular cupcake, consider a much thicker icing that will stay on the surface a little better.
PISTACHIO-ROSE MINI-CAKES
In this method, used by Sonali from sugaretal, you will need a silicone mold to bake the cakes. Then, after washing it well, the pan is used to apply the compound chocolate coating. The result is quite stunning, but the process pretty simple. I used this pan.
To get the recipe, follow the link to her Instagram page.
After baking the cakes….
The silicone pan is washed and dried very well. I used a little gold luster powder to brush the bottom of the pan, then poured Candy melts dyed light green. Carefully brushed that all the way to the sides of each cavity and placed the cake back, snuggly, so that it would get a smooth coating on the surface. Make sure to do one little cake at a time, so that the melted compound chocolate does not harden.
The pan is placed in the freezer for about 30 minutes, so that the shell is properly formed and the cakes will release fully coated.
I am totally in love with this combination of pistachio and rose. In fact, I urge you to visit Sonali’s blog, full of elegant ideas for all sorts of desserts.
Finaly, the third way to dress up a cupcake, is making a few colors of Swiss meringue buttercream and creating a cute pattern on the surface. I followed the design of Liz Shim, available at Domestika.com
CUPCAKES DECORATED WITH SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
I made a simple vanilla cupcake (recipe from America’s Test Kitchen), and a batch of Swiss meringue buttercream following the recipe provided by Liz Shim in her class. I coated the top of the cupcakes with buttercream, and separated small amounts to dye orange, brown, and black. Those were used to make all the details using star-shaped or round piping tips.
I hope you enjoyed this trio of cakes. There are many options for mini-cake pans at Nordic Ware, one more beautiful than the other: hearts, little houses, tiered little cakes, stars… just choose your favorite and play with cake flavors. I think the pan I used would be very nice with a red velvet cake too.
Coating a cake with compound chocolate is another great option to include in your repertoire, and Sonali is a pro at that. You might remember I’ve used her method in the past (click here).
As to piping designs with buttercream, it involves a bit of a learning curve. I am much more comfortable piping Royal icing, which stays put better and is less prone to melting with the heat of your hands in the piping bag. But I intend to keep practicing, so stay tuned!
Surpresa de uva means “Grape Surprise”. It is essentially the most traditional of all Brazilian sweets – the brigadeiro – hiding a full grape inside. Everybody back home loves it, but I must admit this was my first time trying one. It was not “a thing” when I was growing up a few years ago (cough, cough). We loved it so much that the husband requested me to work on a “blueberry surprise.” I am on it!
SURPRESA DE UVA (from the Bewitching Kitchen)
1 can condensed milk 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/3 cup white chocolate, cut in small pieces pinch of salt 16 to 20 small seedless green grapes sanding sugar to coat sprinkles to decorate (optional)
Add the condensed milk, butter, heavy cream, chocolate and salt to a heavy non-stick pan and cook, stirring constantly over medium to low heat, until bubbly and the mixture starts to release from the sides of the pan. Once that happens, lower the heat as low as it will go, and keep stirring for another couple of minutes.
Remove from heat, transfer to a small baking dish to cool faster. Place in the fridge if you like to speed up the cooling process. Once at room temperature, grab small amounts with a spoon, spread on the palm of your hand and place a grape in the center. Carefully roll the mixture around (wet hands help), enclosing the grape. Roll on sanding sugar. Decorate with a sprinkle, if so desired.
They will keep at room temperature for a day or two, many days in the fridge, and even longer frozen.
Comments: These are sooooo delicious! Brigadeiro is sweet, very sweet. The inclusion of the grape is brilliant, it cuts the sweetness with just the right amount of fresh. I envision a blueberry version in the future, trying to imagine the right flavor of brigadeiro to enclose it with. Stay tuned!
Bewitching Kitchen 