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Double Chocolate Banana Cake- Easy Mother’s Day Dessert

5|05|2015

I was sitting at the conference table at my office 5 years ago looking at our performance reports when I received a text from my doctor’s office. ‘Your first ultrasound scan is scheduled for next Friday’. I called them back. ‘What do I have to do…what happens during the ultrasound?” You will get the first glimpse of your baby. Drink lots of water’ the assistant told me
‘What..really?’ I thought to myself picturing an angel face with chubby hands and feet.

I was so nervous the following week when I reached the clinic. ‘Do you see the movement of the baby?’ the doctor pointed at the large monitor in front of her. All I could see were black and white patches on the screen and a tiny little thing..probably the size of a pea moving slowly. ‘Would you like to hear your baby’s heart beat?’ ‘Yes’ I suppressed a scream. After that, what I heard might have made my heart stop beating f0r a moment. I was speechless! It was a big surprise that I was not prepared for. But what I was about to hear next was probably the surprise of my life yet. ‘Wait, there is something else!’ She ran out to call another senior doctor. They told me they could see another fetus which may or may not survive. It was early to confirm and they couldn’t make out the heart beat yet. I was to go back in a couple of weeks. I spent the two weeks in anxiety, unable to concentrate at work or anything else. At times, I would imagine what it would be like to hold two precious babies in my arms. At other times, I would wonder what it would do to my beloved career.
Two weeks later, I was told ‘You are having twins. Baby number 2 has survived’
My head reeled at the impact of those words. I knew my life was about to change. Change…it did! In every little and big way. And that was when I really understood what it meant to be a Mother. Motherhood is the birth of a Mom as much it is the birth of a child. It is the birth of a relationship. Predictable in many ways, and not in most ways. Always, giving and forgiving.

I am constantly asked by my friends for an easy cake recipe. Something anybody can whip up at any time and tastes good enough to be shared with people. This one ticks all the boxes. It has a strong banana flavour whilst also being chocolatey enough to satisfy all your cravings. A hint of cinnamon completes the balance. My favorite part are the chocolate chunks that feel like bits of melty gooey goodness encased in rich banana cake. I have opted for a chocolate ganache frosting that is simple to make and can be easily applied on the cake. Add a few toasted hazelnuts or berries and the cake is all set to impress.

I have two more simple desserts to share with you for Mother’s Day. We want to keep things easy while totally making Mommy’s day. Mommy deserves that little extra effort and time to make her something at home. Let’s go for it!

Double Chocolate Banana Cake
Serves 6-8

50 g butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 medium sized over-ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped into big and small chunks

Chocolate Ganache
150 g dark chocolate
75 g milk chocolate (or use the entire weight of dark chocolate, 225 g)
1/3 cup heavy or thickened cream

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. (160 degrees C fan forced). Grease and line the base of a 19 cm round cake pan.

Beat butter and brown sugar together until pale and creamy. Add banana, egg and milk. Beat together until well combined. Add flour, cocoa, cinnamon and choc chunks and stir until well combined. Spoon into prepared pan and level top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted at centre comes out clean and top is golden brown. Stand for 5 minutes in pan, then transfer cake to a wire rack to cool.
Once cooled completely, frost with Chocolate Ganache.

To make the Chocolate Ganache : Place chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds with a metal spoon or until smooth. Alternately, place the ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in intervals till smooth and blended.
Stand at room temperature until thickened.

Cherry, Banana and Muesli Muffins

13|01|2015

I made these muffins yesterday in persuit of a few healthy and delicious lunchbox recipes that are going to frequent my kitchen soon. It involved quite a few good healthy ingredients so I was keen to find out if the recipe worked. More importantly, I hoped the little people for whom this was meant liked it. In our home, fortunately we have had very little issues with picky eating and such. So far so good! I’ve thought about it several times. Are my children any different than others?…maybe they are unable to voice out….maybe they are too sensitive to their Mum’s feelings…or maybe they haven’t yet explored too much outside my cooking…could I be such a versatile cook that my food appeals to two different palates at the same time? Actually, none of this is true. I try, like anybody else. I teach, by not being picky myself. We talk a lot about food and I encourage them to join me in the kitchen doing small chores and they always seem excited at the prospect.

I think the truth is that offset each other well. Could be to do with twin-hood. Children are inclined to do things in a group that they might not do as an individual. Since I have a sweet lover and another savory lover for children, it works in my favour. They probably eat everything because at least one of them would generally like what I put on the table. The other one follows. It will be interesting to see how things change (if they do…hopefully not) this year when they step into a slightly bigger world.

Coming back to the muffins, these are great. They are wholesome, filling, tasty and totally flexible. They are made of part wholemeal flour, part plain flour and part muesli. Then there is banana, yogurt and plenty of fruit inside. I used cherries which can be replaced with blueberries, strawberries, apples, peaches…basically all or any of your favourite fruits. I did not add nuts as the muesli I used had a bit of nuts and seeds in them but there is no harm in adding more. And there is a hint of spice (cinnamon) to elevate the flavours. They are moist inside and crunchy on top due to the addition of extra muesli like a streusel topping. The predominant flavour is of sweet bananas and juicy cherries. This would make a great on-the-go breakfast or snack for adults as well.

Cherry, Banana and Muesli Muffins (minimally adapted from here)
Makes 12 regular sized muffins

1 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cups muesli (home made or store bought)
60 g butter, melted
1 large banana, mashed with a fork
1 cup Greek yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cherries (pitted and roughly chopped)
1/2 cup extra muesli (for topping)
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (18 degrees c for fan forced).
Grease or line a muffin pan (12-hole) muffin pan with paper liner.

Combine the flours, sugar, cinnamon muesli in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Whisk butter, banana, yogurt and eggs together in a jug. Pour into well. Using a large metal spoon, stir until just combined (don’t over-mix). Fold in the cherries.

Spoon mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Combine honey and extra muesli in a bowl. Spread muesli mixture over muffins. Press on lightly to secure. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of 1 muffin comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve.

Banana Blueberry Almond Popsicles

24|07|2014

A little box followed me back home on a recent trip to the grocer’s. I always took pride in being an ardent almond fan but here I was, intently studying the back of a carton of almond milk. Almonds in different forms adorn the shelves in my cupboard yet I had never tried out almond milk. Perhaps I thought it was a bit too ‘healthy’ for me and my blog. I did not buy it so I assumed that it was placed by mistake in my shopping bag by the people at the store.

The long list of checked boxes at the back…Gluten Free, Cholestrol Free, Lactose Free, Suitable for Vegetarians, No Cane sugar and so on caught my eye. I went back to return the carton and here’s what I did. I bought one for myself. Since the blog is not just about me but also my dear readers, I thought it was worth a try, And it had almonds in it, so it was certainly a safe bet.

You don’t mess around with a healthy ingredient and add sugar and butter to it. Or do you? Actually, we will keep that for later. Right now, sticking to the healthy philosophy, I preferred to add fruits and honey and turn it into a frozen milkshake. A popsicle, in other words. These days, things look better on a stick than in a glass. Especially to my four year olds.

So all you do is put everything together in your processor and blend. Blueberries are beautiful, they add a touch of purple to anything they are added to. Feel free to increase or decrease the quantities in the ingredients. If you are not concerned about sugar, substitute sugar for honey. Then freeze and enjoy your super healthy popsicles.

Banana Blueberry Almond Popsicles

2 cups Almond Milk
1 large banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbsp. honey

Place the ingredients in the bowl of your food processor and process until smooth. Pour into popsicle moulds and freeze for an hour. Insert sticks and freeze until firm (about 3 hours).

Banana Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

10|04|2014

If this banana cake is looking anything different to you than…well, a banana cake, let me assure you this is the same one, you and me bake in a loaf pan and slice up for breakfast or bake into muffins to put into your lunchboxes. Yeah, the same one that transforms the fate of overripe bananas and they end up with some dessert love (a lot of love in my house) than entering the dustbin.

I started out the usual, predictable way. Ignoring the bananas while they turned black and made the cupboard smell serving as a reminder each time I opened the door that it was time to use them up. I put the batter together intending to bake it in my loaf tin. But the loaf tin was nowhere in sight. And that was because it was sitting in the freezer with a semifreddo I made a few days back. I didn’t want muffins so the batter landed up in a cake pan.

You know I have a weakness for round cakey objects. I feel the urge to spice it up or add nuts or anything that would go with the cake.And frost and decorate and just do something to it. So, before it hit the cake pan I added some poppy seeds to the batter. I frosted it with a quick cream cheese frosting which I’ve been meaning to try out in a while. This one uses whipped cream instead of butter along with the cream cheese so it is lighter and naturally uses far less sugar to get a piping consistency. The frosting can be easily spread on top of the cake if you are not comfortable with piping bags. A drizzle of caramel sauce (store bought) finished the cake. Both the recipe for the cake and the frosting have been separately adapted with some variation from Joy Of Baking

The flavours are lovely together. I was amazed how good the poppy seeds tasted in a banana cake. I think this is by the far the easiest cakes I have made despite having a dressed up look.

Banana Poppy Seed Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Serves 6-8

For the Banana Poppy Seed Cake
13/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
1 tsp vanilla essence
Cream Cheese Frosting, to frost
3-4 tbsp. thick caramel sauce, to drizzle (I used store bought)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting
125g cream cheese, room temparature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup cold whipping cream or heavy cream.

Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Grease and line the base of a 19 cm round cake tin with baking paper.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and poppy seeds.
In a medium sized bowl combine the mashed banana, eggs, melted butter and vanilla with a wooden spoon. Lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined. Take care not to over mix the batter or it might result in a rubbery cake. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre come out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and keep aside for 5 minutes. Carefully turn the cake onto a wire rack and cool till room temperature. Once cooled, pipe or dollop cream cheese frosting onto the cake. Drizzle with caramel sauce.

To make the cream cheese frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency. In case you are using a brand of heavy cream that does not whip easily, then whip the cream separately to stiff peaks and fold it gradually into the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate till needed.