I just love this sweet combination of bright banana and drizzled caramel – wear it, eat it, savor it.
Raquel Allegra Dress // Banana Caramel Pudding Sundae
Side by Side: Banana Caramel Duo
Tag Archives: banana
Banana Cream Pie – Two Ways
Have I killed you with my banana obsession yet? I hope not, because I don’t think it’s going away! I’ve always wanted to make banana cream pie – like these oatmeal cream pies, it’s just one of those elusive desserts that’s the epitome of comfort food. And the final product did not disappoint. It’s creamy, cool, sweet and just makes your belly smile. Why don’t I make this all the time?
Today I’m so happy to guest post on one of my favorite blogs, Note to Self, sharing a mini version of this banana cream pie. With the same cream filling and whipped cream you can make either the puff pastry tart version or the pie…or both, like I did! Just swap out puff pastry or your favorite pie crust. Check out the post on Sarah’s blog for the recipe.
Color Me Banana
I’ve mentioned I’ve been on a banana kick recently. I just made this cake and soon you’ll see some fun banana cream pie treats too. Not only is banana one of my favorite flavors, but I’m also digging this color for spring. Wear it, drink out of it, have fun with it! Here are some of my top picks…
Jeans | Hat | Flats | Glass | Favor Bags | Earrings | Shorts
Notecard | Clutch | Duffle | Bowl | Pillow | Scarf
That’s Bananas
You might see a lot of banana things up here soon. See, I’m kind of obsessed. With the flavor, with the color, with the creamy texture. There really isn’t anything wrong with bananas. I love waiting until the very last moment when they’re brown and speckly to mash them up into a perfectly moist cake or bread. They can make dessert or breakfast (obviously, I love both, so it doesn’t matter) but aren’t too sweet that you can’t eat it for both. Pair a banana cake with cream cheese frosting and ah, you’ve got simplicity and comfort at it’s finest. This time I topped it off with a unexpected chocolate covered pretzel crumble. Ohh, these flavors all work so well together!
Can you sense my adoration? I love this cake. I’ve made it before, and have even blogged about it ages ago. But most great things are meant to share again. So that’s why it was exactly the right thing to bring to kick off my first week in a new office. It made me a happy girl to go into the kitchen at the end of the day and see that empty plate. Now we’ve had a shared, sweet experience…a great way kick off a new relationship. Thanks, bananas.
Banana Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- (For some reason this time around the batter was very thick, so I added some whole milk to make it the right consistency.)
- Grease two 9″ round cake pans. Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the eggs, oil, bananas, and vanilla.
- Pour evenly into cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on cake pans for 10 minutes, the invert on to a wire rack and cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 eight-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the sugar and beat until incorporated.
- Frost in between layers, on top, and around the cake.
* Crumble up some chocolate covered pretzels and sprinkle on top. This is a great flavor combo!
Bake Sale Muffins
Ah, I love a basket of fresh homemade muffins. It reminds me of special mornings when I was younger like birthdays and holidays, when I would wake up to the smell of muffins baking. I knew that when I got downstairs there would be batch of hot, usually blueberry muffins wrapped under a colorful cloth in a basket on the kitchen table. Thanks, mom!
Last Sunday, a group of DC bakers and bloggers contributed to another bake sale to benefit DC State Fair. We set up at the Zorba’s Cafe patio and attracted folks on their way to the Dupont Farmer’s Market. Although all the desserts were fantastic (I loved the oatmeal cream pies and stupid cookies), with early morning bake sales, it is also a good idea to have some breakfast options as well. So I made these simple but flavorful peanut butter banana muffins. You already know how much I love the combination of peanut butter and banana, and I loved the idea of putting a banana slice on top of these (although it did brown a little the next day).
As always, I also had a great time with the other volunteers, Jenna, Sylvie, Ashley and Rachel. Follow these ladies…they’re seriously fabulous.
Of course, for the bake sale everything needs to be individually wrapped. Here are the muffins all ready to go…
Find the muffin recipe here.
