Mom's Banana Bread

Lately I am realizing just how much my kitchen habits are driven by the weather and season.  The onset of fall has me feeling like I want to bake up a storm.  Add to that a series of gray skies, cold temperatures, and drizzling wet days and I want to bake the most comforting of foods.  I don't know if I would really classify banana bread as a particularly fall dish but it definitely is comforting and perfect for the grayest and drizzliest of days like we have been having this week. 

Besides the wonderful taste, banana bread has the added value of making your house smell fantastic and having a pretty quick prep time.  I thought about trying a new recipe this time but as it has easily been four years since I last made banana bread I decided to go with the one from my mom's recipe book.  I added a little cinnamon topping and it came out so very good!  I used mini loaf tins so that we could freeze a couple but Dan has been sneaking bites out of the frozen ones so it is not lasting long at all!

Mom's Banana Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas, approximately 3
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can also use milk soured with vinegar)
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Cream the butter and sugar.  Blend in the bananas, eggs, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Stir the dry ingredients in with the banana mixture.  Slowly mix in the buttermilk.  Fold in the walnuts if you like.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees.

Muffins: Bake in greased tins for 20 minutes
Bread: Bake in 2 greased loaf tins for 1 hour
Mini-Loaf Bread: Bake in 4 greased mini-loaf tins for 30 minutes

Optional: Cinnamon Crunch Topping

2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir together and sprinkle over the top of the batter before baking.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Banana Cupcakes

I really try to not let ripe bananas go to waste.  Banana baked goodness is definitely too tasty to pass up so when there are ripe bananas and I also have a bit of free time there is bound to be some kind of dessert made.  While banana bread is good, banana cake is my favorite.

I have a favorite recipe for banana cake that I have been making for 20+ some years.  But this time I was looking to make cupcakes and wasn't sure if my banana cake would translate to cupcakes.  It is one of those cakes that you put a sugar mixture on top before baking so ends up more of a coffee cake.  So I turned to a Betty Crocker banana cake recipe for my banana + cupcakes trial.

They turned out really very good.  Dan and our neighbors gave them an enthusiastic approval.  They are moist, light, and tasty.  It is also a very easy recipe.  I did discover after baking the first batch that they don't rise as much as some cake recipes so you do need to fill the cups more than usual (I filled mine 2/3rds full for a cup that is usually filled to 1/2).  And I tried to make these as Banana Chocolate Chip but my chips sunk!  I might try sprinkling them on top next time to see if they stay a bit higher in the cupcake.

I frosted them with a classic cream cheese frosting and dusting of bittersweet cocoa powder.  As the tops are pretty soft due to how moist these cupcakes are, I used a small scoop to drop the frosting on top and then a teaspoon to swirl it out to the edges. A chocolate frosting or glaze would be delicious on these cupcakes.

Banana Cupcakes

Adapted from a recipe in Betty Crocker

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Blend the shortening, sugar, and eggs.  With mixer on low, slowly add the buttermilk and then the flour mixture.  Finally, add the bananas and vanilla.  Beat for three minutes on high speed. 

Pour into greased baking pan or cupcake tin with liners; fill 2/3 full for cupcakes.

Bake a 13x9 inch pan for 45 minutes; layer pans for 35-40 minutes; and cupcakes for 20 minutes.

Cool on racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

First blend the cream cheese and butter with a whisk attachment for your mixer.  Then set the mixer to a low speed and gradually add the powdered sugar.  You can modify how thick or thin the frosting is by how much sugar you add.  Last, stir in the vanilla.

We ended up with about two dozen cupcakes so we really needed to share as to avoid eating them all ourselves!  I packaged up a little box to take to our neighbors, being both neighborly and saving our waistlines!