double banana & cherry breakfast cake

by Eva on January 15, 2013

Heads up this might change your life! Stuff your mum didn’t told you and never will: it is totally fine to have cake for breakfast! Didn’t know that? You are welcome!

I kind of told the news at the front door and revealed already in the post title that we are talking about serious breakfast cake eating. And now you may wonder what’s the big difference between regular and breakfast cake? Yes me too… Here is my explanation in a nutshell: breakfast cake is still a meal not a dessert (let’s pretend), it’s more dense like a muffin, less sweater but no not healthier at all.

This cake stuck around for four days last week. It sat on the kitchen table and shrank as if by magic. We were constantly cutting off a piece, a slice or a corner. Sometimes when I had the need for something sweet, I drizzled honey on top or coated it with homemade marmalade. And yes there is booze in my breakfast cake and there is nothing wrong with that, but you might want to skip it if you feed it to kids.

Double banana & cherry breakfast cake

ingredients

80 ml / 1/3 cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
60 ml / ¼ cup maple syrup
2 -3 very ripe bananas
1 egg
200 g / 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. fine sea salt
85 g / 1 ½ cup dried cherries
2 Tbsp. brandy, bourbon or other booze (optional)
100 g/ 1 1/3 banana chips
1 Tbsp. turbinado sugar

instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F and grease your 18 cm / 7 inch round cake pan or springform pan.
In a small bowl add dried cherry and brandy and let soak for 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl measure flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
Add banana chips to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until you have tiny pieces, some might be pulverized that’s ok. Remove and set aside.
Add oil, maple syrup, ripe bananas and egg to the bowl of your food processor (attached with the blade) and run the motor for 10 seconds.
Add flour mix and pulse just until combined. Add cherries and banana chips crumbs and pulse shortly.
Pour batter into cake pan, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean for about 35 to 40 minutes.

some notes

Use 2 large or 3 small bananas!

{ 2 comments }

cherry and marzipan pound cake

by Eva on August 8, 2012

Growing up I got the notion that cinnamon, gingerbread and marzipan belongs to Christmas season and only Christmas season. Also Christmas cookies which might be eaten in January, in case there are any leftovers, just didn’t taste right even if they taste the same like a few days earlier. As though they would have gone bad. One reason and I am quite certain about that, I overate on all that and just couldn’t see or even smell them any more.

Luckily that all has changed and I appreciate a sticky cinnamon roll, of cause occasionally, but all year long. Between you and me: it is kind of dump, limiting deliciousness to one month of the year.

It’s weird thinking about Christmas in the heat of the summer but that’s what I did when I looked at my juicy cherries and I can tell you why: once at a Christmas party I enjoyed marzipan ice cream topped with hot cherry sauce and these combination had been established in my brain since then. It is like this memory stepped out of the left dark corner of the long time memory department in my brain and raised his hand. I accomplished both in a pound cake, my favorite cake right now.

cherry and marzipan pound cake

All ingredients should be at room temperature. Add more sugar if you like your cake on the sweeter side. This recipes makes a rich and flavorful cake with hints of marzipan and tastes even better the next day. Store airtight at room temperature for several days.

ingredients:

350 g / 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

220 g / 2 sticks unsalted butter, soft

120 g / 2/3 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

200 g / 7 oz. marzipan, coarsely grated

1/4 tsp almond extract

100 ml / 7 Tbsp milk

300 g / 10 1/2 oz. cherries, halved and pitted

200 g / 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar

3 1/2 Tbsp milk

instructions:

Preheat your oven to 160 C / 320 F and grease a loaf pan 23 cm / 9 x 5 inch.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy and light yellow. Add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy and the color turns more white.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Add grated marzipan and almond extract and beat shortly.
Add flour mix alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in cherries.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the icing: In a medium bowl combine powdered sugar and milk and stir until no lumps remain. Cover cake with icing and let sit at room temperature until dry.

{ 9 comments }

cherry and cinnamon vodka

by Eva on July 17, 2012

“You are like your mother!” Depending on your mum this could be a compliment or someone is asking for trouble. I like to say this to Mr. F then he shows his ‘gem sensitive’ side. I grew up eating sand in the sandbox as a baby and climbing on trees as soon I could reach the lower branch. Well that’s what he claims about himself, BUT sometimes he needs everything extra clean and that’s what he got from his mum. Though I get him when it comes to hotel bathrooms, you never know…

My mum on the other hand turns every fruit she gets into schnapps. She is well-known for her fruit infused vodkas and I have to admit it’s a family thing. I still remember one of my aunts birthday party, she served me a homemade liqueur for dessert and without knowing that, my uncle used to take a bedtime shot, for medical reasons of cause, and to cover his tracks he filled the bottle with something similar to Everclear (190 proof / 95%). I still don’t know what he was thinking but I was happy as I could be after one of these. So if you would tell me: you are like your mother, I would thank you and share a fruity schnapps with you.

Are you like your mother? Do you share bad or good habits, personality traits or nothing at all with your mum or family? Maybe you are just not aware about it. Are your kids trying to copy your spleens?

When it comes to fruit infused vodka I learned from a pro. I like to have some around in case of need, it makes a great gift and gets better with age. This is the time to stock up for the colder months, many fruits are in season and a huge selection is available at the farmers market.

cherry and cinnamon vodka

Make sure your fruits are not blemished, they can get bad during the infusion and ruin your liqueur.

Choose a vodka you would drink straight, not the cheapest one that burns your throat but don’t spoil on the expensive one, there is no need for that.

Don’t waste the cherries, they are great for boozy cakes or on ice cream.

ingredients:

300 g / 10 1/2 oz. cherries

200 g / 7 oz. amber rock sugar

1 cinnamon stick

700 ml / 3 cups vodka

instructions:

Wash the cherries thoroughly, cut in half and remove the stone. Add everything to a bottle with a big mouth or a mason jar that holds one liter/ quart with a lid, shake well. Infuse for one to two weeks, then remove cherries and cinnamon stick. Keep in your refrigerator or at room temperature. You can let the vodka age for 2 or 3 months for a smoother flavor.

notes from my mum:

Add some cherry stones to the vodka infusion for more flavor. Do that if you skip the cinnamon stick.

The infusion time can be much longer, even a couple of more weeks.

{ 3 comments }

double banana & cherry breakfast cake