Chocolate Banana Cake

I have some overripe bananas sitting on the counter that is waiting to be bake. My  kids are not fond of banana cake so I was thinking of something else that they will gonna like. They love chocolate cakes and brownie, so I checked the internet for a chocolate banana recipe. There are actually a lot of recipe for banana cake but a recipe from joyofbaking was I think the best. She made the recipe super easy to do.

Finally, I made the most delicious banana cake recipe ever. The cake turned out to be moist and perfect for the chocolate frosting. It combines the sweetness and richness of ripe mashed bananas and cocoa powder. Chocolate Banana Cake is easy to make. No need for a mixer, just whisks, and two bowls, one for the dry ingredients and one for the wet ingredients.

Chocolate Banana Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder(regular or Dutch-processed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas or  2 medium sized bananas 
• 1 cup (240 ml) warm water
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) corn, sunflower or canola oil 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

• 8 ounces (227 grams )semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter

Baking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside. 
2. In a large bowl sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until until the yolk and white are well combined, add the mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk well.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with spatula until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 
5. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the ganache.

Ganache is a French term referring to a smooth mixture of chopped chocolate and heavy cream. While it is often poured over a cake or torte for a smooth and shiny glaze, this time it is whipped so it becomes a nice thick and spreadable frosting.

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof  bowl. Set aside. 
2. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat (can also be heated in the microwave). Bring just to a boil. 
3. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. 
4. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy (I use a wire whisk). Then spread the frosting on top of the cake. Can garnish with dried banana chips.

I also tried another version of the recipe with some changes in the ingredients since I don't have all the ingredients available, instead of unsweetened cocoa powder, I used my sons Nestle chocolate milk powder and Betty Crocker butter cream frosting and mixed with chocolate chips. I used the microwave instead of stove top for the frosting and it is a lot more easier.

Scotch Egg

I saw the recipe "Fried Sausage Wrapped Hard Boiled Eggs" in one of the food site. It looks so easy to make and all the ingredients are  available in my kitchen including the 6 hard boiled eggs that I cooked day before that was kept in the refrigerator. I always have hard boiled eggs that I eat anytime I want. So right there and then, I prepared all the ingredients. But wait, I ran out of flour, so I used pancake mix instead of all purpose flour and the finish product was great.

I Google the recipe and found out about a handful of site with exactly the same photos and posts, I wonder who is the original poster. What amazed me was that the egg recipe is actually known as a "Scotch Egg", a popular picnic food in the UK. Scotch eggs  consist of a hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage meat, then covered in bread crumbs and either deep fried or baked and can be served warm or cold. 

Ingredients:

1. 6 hard-boiled eggs.
2. 500g (1.1 lbs) sausage, I used Jimmy Dean pork sausage.
3. 1/4 cup pancake mix or 1/4 cup all purpose flour.
4. 2 eggs, beaten
5. 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
6. Salt and pepper to taste.  
7. Cooking oil for deep frying

Directions:

• Boil eggs, peel and let stay in the refrigerator, chill to firm up.
• Divide sausage into 6 portions and flatten each.
• Roll each egg in pancake mix or AFP.
• Wrap eggs with sausage.
• Beat eggs well, Season with salt and pepper. Don't put too much because the sausage has a salty taste already.
• Dip sausage-wrapped into eggs and roll in panko bread crumbs.
• Heat oil over medium-high heat.
• Cook eggs until golden brown turning once in a while to cook evenly.
• Serve cold or warm with a side salad or a vinegar dip.

Cooking Tips:

• Quail or duck eggs can be used too. 
• Rolling the eggs to wet and dry ingredients can become messy,you can solve this problem by using one hand for handling the wet ingredients and one hand for the dry ones.

French Toast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but because of limited time in the morning, most just skipped it or settle for just a cup of coffee. Breakfast means "breaking the fast" of the night and the food differ from one country to another. The most common examples of breakfast are coffee, juice, fresh fruit, breakfast cereals, toast with butter and jam, pancakes, bacon, sausages and french toast.

French toast is one of my kids favorite breakfast. It is a dish of bread soaked in eggs then fried. I usually serve it together with bacon, some fresh berries or any fruit available.

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• slices of white or french bread
• Butter or margarine
• pancake or maple syrup
• dash of salt

Directions:

1. Beat eggs, milk, and cinnamon together. Whisk until well blended.
2. Dip each slice of bread one at a time into the egg mixture. Make sure it soaked enough mixture before frying.

3. Melt butter on a pan over medium high heat. Add as many slices of soaked bread onto the skillet. Fry until brown on both sides.
4. Serve with butter and syrup.