Banana chocolate cake

Bananas,a staple of our diet but  when they ripen faster than you can eat them,  into the freezer they go. I happen to come across this recipe for chocolate banana bread (and muffins)  that fit the bill with the exception of buttermilk, which I substituted milk with a bit of vinegar to sour it. So the frozen overripe bananas, now defrosted can be utilized.

The recipe is from Chatelaine.com

Chocolate-chunk loaf and muffins

basically a cake recipe that makes a lot of batter enough for 12 muffins and 1 loaf, good for lunch box.

    no pictures as of  yet of the finished products, they rose just fine and had a semi light  texture.

(another use for overripe bananas is that they can be mashed and served with other overripe fruits or utilized in a smoothie.

 

hot cocoa, or chocolate

Again, if you have the basic ingredients (sugar, cocoa, and of course milk) around for baking make some hot cocoa as desired. Skip all those packaged mixes, of course if your a slave to the mini marshmallows, then have some of them on the shelve.

Now the basics;

*optional ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Dash salt
Slight grind of nutmeg *
2 or 3 whole all spice *
Small piece of cinnamon*
Stir in 1/3 cup hot water to the above ingredients in a pan.
Cook and stir till mixture boils and stir for 2 minutes.
Add about 4 cups of milk and
Small cup of strong coffee*
Heat to short of boil, do not boil
Add Vanilla, a couple of drops,
Whisk till frothy and serve

now for the pics….

dry ingredients in a pan

mix in the hot water……..

boil and cook….. you could stop at this point and save it as chocolate syrup….

add milk…..

heat till almost boiling and froth with a whisk….

mmm mug it !!!

dust with coffee, cocoa powder or a ground spice like cardamon. Add a chocolate liquor if desired. Happy Winter !

Cupcakes

OK, it started off as a notion to make chocolate cake as I usually do, but decided on cupcakes instead. Is making cup cakes ………. made more often by women ?

I made them anyways !

Here’s the recipe I use Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate, Chocolate Cake

The dry ingredients, I added some extras, Cinnamon, Cardamon, and Ground Allspice. Also a bit of milled spent grain.

The weather has been humid, sifted ingredients, the sugar lumpy.

mixing the dry ingredients

prepared the cupcake trays, with paper cups, easy.

the mixed (cup) cake batter

ready to pour

some of the trays were mini muffins…..

While they bake, empty the dishwasher….

even though separate recipes for each blog , I may be cooking more than one thing at a time, like tomato sauce with peppers, sausage and onions.

MMMMMMMM……..

Back to the cupcakes,  in the oven… there was a bit of batter left so I put it in a custard cup.

hot from the oven

cooled….

Ok , not a big fancy cupcake, just plain, good for a quick dessert, easy to pack in your lunch.

Related articles

• German Chocolate Cake Cupcakes (kissmyingredients.com)
• Day 33 – Beer and Chocolate Cupcakes (myyearofcupcakes.wordpress.com)

Fudgy Walnut Toffee Cookies

Recipe is modified from Fudgy Pecan Toffee Cookies ,www.chow.com

1cup flour
6 tablespoons cocoa
1/2teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter
6 tablespoon brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped toffee, maybe less
1 cup course chopped walnuts, maybe less
Roasted or toasted cocoa nibs

Oven at 350
Combine dry ingredients (flour -salt)
Combine butter and sugars in a bowl with a paddle mixer
Add the eggs and vanilla
At low speed add flour mixture, add nuts and toffee.
Scoop 1inch apart on cookie sheet

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Blend the butter….

And the sugars…..

Till fluffy…. Ya know standard cookie dough procedure.
After that add the egg..

Fluff it up again..

Add in the dry ingredients…

Mix slowly… Add add the nuts , toffee bits,and cocoa nibs, the cocoa nibs give extra choco power without the added sweetness, they are pure chocolate in raw form, slightly toasted to bring out the flavour.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes, set on the edges and soft in the centre.
Allow to cool 10to 15 minutes remove from baking sheet

Fellow work persons agree “these are real, real good”. I agree, Chocolate cookies at it’s finest.

chocolate banana oat bread

modified recipe from:

Good Housekeeping Banana-Oat Recipe

Basically just added  cocoa nibs as indicated

Ingredients

Bread:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup total, quick-cooking and rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• ~ 1 –2 tablespoons roasted ground cocoa nibs*
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Crumb Topping:

• 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon quick-cooking oats
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
• ~ 1 tablespoon cocoa nibs
• 3 tablespoon margarine or butter

---

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease a 9" by 5" loaf pan.
2. In large bowl, mix baking powder, baking soda, salt, 2 cups flour, 1 cup oats, ground cocoa nibs and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar until blended. With pastry blender or two knives used scissor-fashion, cut in 1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in mashed bananas, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter into pan.
3. Prepare crumb topping: In small bowl, with fork, mix 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons oats, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, cocoa nibs, and 3 tablespoons margarine or butter until blended. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over batter.
4. Bake bread 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack.

 

* the cocoa nibs were roasted the same method as green coffee beans and then ground fine.

 

This is a delicious bread by the fact that it is not overly sweet and has a mild chocolate flavor.

Robusta coffee cookies

 

Once and awhile a batch of cookies is baked for snacks and packed for lunch and breaks.

I don’t like real sweet cookies, so I omitted the icing. Nuts, raisins etc are a good addition

and coffee/chocolate flavor a plus!

The Robusta give a different tone to the flavor versus regular coffee

if you can’t read my writing

cream sugar with 1/2 cup shortening, add 1 egg, mix well (with kitchen aid mixer w/ paddle).

Sift flour for 2 cups measure, and add the following:

1/2 teaspoon baking soda,

1/4 teaspoon salt,

1 teaspoon baking powder

about 1 teaspoon ground cloves (or less if fresh ground)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (maybe 1/4),

about 1 teaspoon fine grind coffee (may be less if you are not familiar with the taste of Indian Robusta, preferred for a different flavor)

about 1 teaspoon fine grind cocoa nibs or cocoa powder to taste

Resift all dry ingredients together.

Add dry ingredients alternately to the sugar/shorting mix with 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee.

Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and some grated un sweetened chocolate less than an ounce, or more if preferred.

Add more flour if mixture is thin to obtain a consistency of frosting.

For ease of sheeting cookies, fill a pastry bag without a tip and pipe on prepared cookie sheet or drop with a table spoon.

about 13 minutes @ a 375- 400 degree oven for a slightly soft cookie, they will firm slightly when cool.

They can be iced if preferred, I left mine plain. about 3 dozen or less depending on size.

adapted from supermarketguru.com

this morning’s blend

Mexican Organic about 2/3

Indian Robusta about 1/3

Peruvian Cocoa nibs about 1/4 teaspoon

Course Grind

French Press

Simple Syrup

Milk

If you have a chance to taste Robusta , it is best blended with other varieties of coffee to produce, a tasteful blend and with the addition of cocoa nibs, a mocha flavored cup of coffee.