comfort food – banana bread

Too many ripe bananas + a new loaf pan + summer boredom + Mom’s demands that I bake something for her to take to her Sunday potluck =

I kind of love this recipe. I’ve made it a ton of times already and at first I was resistant to making banana nut bread without cinnamon in it but I think I prefer this subtle taste of nutmeg. And I like that it’s not overly sweet because I tweaked it to reduce the sugar down by about half a cup.

After traveling in Asia for the past six weeks (food posts to come later if I’m not lazy) and coming home about ten days ago, I only just realized that I missed home. It’s funny because when I’m traveling, I don’t really crave American food or Korean food or get particularly homesick. It’s after I come home, unpack, and settle in that I realize how comfortable my bed is, how loving my family is, and how good a home-cooked meal tastes. Kind of like that feeling when you didn’t realize you missed someone until you actually see their face.

That’s what this bread is to me, I suppose. I don’t realize that I’ve been craving it until someone tells me to make it and I pull a crackled and steaming loaf out of the oven.

And some muffins made with the leftover batter.

Needs some milk.

That’s better.

Banana-Nut Bread
Yields 2 loaves

12 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
4-5 very ripe bananas, coarsely mashed (about 3 cups)
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

In preheated oven, roast nuts for about 15 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the bananas and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the buttermilk and beat just until combined.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and nuts. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and beat just until combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. It should be no more than two-thirds full. Bake until the loaf is dark golden brown and dry to the touch and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, 55 to 60 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Let the bread rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into thick slices to serve.

strawberry chiffon cake

I really can’t remember the last time I baked a birthday cake…

Has it been months? Years? I really don’t know.

I busted out the cake-baking skills today though because today’s a bit more than a birthday. It’s a family reunion that hasn’t happened since my mom came to the United States since she married my dad. Her extended family attendedthe wedding and then never saw her again. We would exchange phone calls once every couple of years and send photos back and forth, but everyone pretty much lived without seeing each other for about twenty years. An uncle who I had never even met in my entire life until this past month when I was in Korea came to America for the first time a couple weeks ago, and they’re all coming over for dinner tonight with my cousin! One of my favorite uncles happens to be celebrating his birthday today, too, and my aunt is coming home from her trip to Korea today as well, so it’s just a big ole family celebration!

They’re actually probably on their way over right now to get here just in time for the World Cup game – Uruguay vs. Germany!

Exciting. Posting this in a flash because I have to have some lunch and hide the cake before everyone gets here, so excuse the brief and crappy post.

And I’m upset that I left my DSLR at my apartment in LA. I wanted to take pictures of my family and my chiffon cake (probably the most elaborate thing I’ve ever baked. I generally don’t do complicated.) but oh well. The point and shoot will have to do for today.

Gotta love a celebration cake! My first time baking a chiffon cake. It turned out well if I do say so myself. :) I made a mini one out of leftover batter and had my family taste-test. KIM FAMILY APPROVAL. It’s nice and summery and I didn’t frost the entire thing because I liked the more casual, rustic feel of the shortcake look. Strawberries are in season so go go go buy some and if you have an occasion, make this cake. :)

Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake 
adapted from smittenkitchen

Cake layers:
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups superfine or regular sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Filling:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 quarts strawberries, hulled and sliced

1. Cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have two 9-inch round cake pans ready, lined with parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray, but otherwise ungreased.

2. Sift the flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking powder and salt together twice into a large bowl.

3. In a another bowl, beat the yolks, water, oil, zest and vanilla on high speed until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture until smooth. In another large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat on high speed until the peaks are stiff but not dry. (I had to google pictures of this because I’ve never really made meringue before. It was fun!)

4. Use a rubber spatula to fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Do so gently, only until the egg whites are no longer visible. Overdoing it will deflate the egg whites, and yield a denser, shorter cake. (Be VERY, VERY careful. You definitely don’t want to deflate the poofy eggs. They give the cake that soft, airy light texture.)

5. Scrape the batter into the two prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake them until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean 40 to 50 minutes.

6. Let cakes cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release, then flip out onto a plate. Don’t forget to remove the parchment paper!

7. Make the whipped cream: Beat heavy cream and vanilla in a clean mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Be careful to start slowly and then increase speed as it gets thicker because otherwise, you’ll splatter cream all over yourself and the kitchen (Don’t ask how I know this.) You want to add the powdered sugar after soft peaks form because it’ll deflate the cream if you add it from the start. Beat on high speed until it can hold stiff peaks.

8. Assemble the cake: Carefully split each cake layer in half, leaving you with four cake surfaces. One by one, scoop one-quarter of the whipped cream onto the surface of the cake and spread it evenly to the edges, without going over, with an offset spatula. Arrange one-quarter of the sliced strawberries over the whipped cream in one or two layers, depending on your preference. Repeat with the remaining three layers. And then pipe the leftover cream however you wish!

 

9. The cake can refrigerate for a few hours before eating it (mine is in the fridge right now in fact.) We’ll have to cut it later to see how all of it works together, but so far, my hopes are high! Verdicto later tonight~~

orange yogurt loaf

I haven’t updated in forever!!!

I’ve been really busy with school, etc. life in general so I haven’t been able to cook or bake very much. But I have been eating copious amounts of cake because it was my twentieth birthday last week. I had a white chocolate truffle raspberry cheesecake from my sister, a strawberry shortcake from my friend Sarah (baked from scratch! So good!), a sweet potato (goguma) cake homemade by my mother, and my small group bought me  a white cake from Porto’s Bakery. And of course I ate it alllllll. I think I packed on five pounds just from overconsumption of butter, sugar, and eggs last week.

But I ended my midterms last week so I decided to bake with whatever I had in my fridge.

I was just digging through and I found two oranges, eggs, and some leftover plain yogurt…
There was a recipe that I found a while back featuring grapefruit and yogurt, but seeing as I had oranges instead, I decided to make orange yogurt cake instead!
It was my first time trying out this recipe, but I loved how it turned out! It wasn’t too sweet, and the yogurt made the cake quite soft and gave it a fine crumb, almost like a cross between a sponge and pound cake.
But even better because there’s no butter involved!

No pictures for now, but I’ll update soon. I’m at home for spring break and I forgot my camera USB cord! Ugh.

Orange Yogurt Loaf Recipe

Yield: One loaf.

For the loaf:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3 teaspoons grated orange zest (approximately two oranges)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the syrup:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 9-by-5 inch loaf pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, one cup sugar, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup orange juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. While the cake is still warm, pour the orange syrup mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

Enjoy with some jasmine or green tea during some chilly weather!
Sun’s supposed to be coming out soon though. I think it’s going to be in the 70s by Wednesday. Time for berry crisps, cool whip, and lemon bars in the summer time!

strawberry walnut shortbread bars

I’m a huge fan of Nicole Weston! I check her blog almost daily, and when I saw this recipe the first time, I made it almost immediately because it looked so promising!
I’m posting this recipe even though I made it a while back because my roommates always tell me that it’s one of their favorite things that I’ve ever baked for them. Which is great because it really requires MINIMAL MINIMAL effort.

I love LOVE this recipe! It’s so easy, but it provides you with a fabulous, flavorful, buttery, fruity snack. And I love that it’s a bar cookie. It produces that crispy crumbley topping that I’m obviously very in love with. And the jam carmelizes slightly around the edges of the pan so I always save those pieces for myself ^_^.

It’s also a really versatile recipe because it can go from being Strawberry Walnut Bars to Raspberry Pecan Bars. Feel free to change up the nuts (I believe the original recipe calls for pecans). I just chose walnuts because I love walnuts in all my baked goods! And my sister has a bit of severe nut allergy, and I wasn’t sure if she was allowed to eat pecans or not. And you don’t have to use strawberry jam either. Nicole suggests anything from blackberry preserves to marmalade. Next time I think I’ll try blackberry or raspberry… MMmmmm… Shortbread is quite wonderful in that it’s very hard to mess up and always tastes great.

Strawberry Walnut Shortbread Bars
original recipe from baking bites

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped (Or any nut of your choice)
1 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup strawberry jam/preserves

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt and walnuts, then stir in the butter and egg until mixture is crumbly, like coarse and wet sand. Set aside 2 cups of the mixture, and pour the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press down gently, but firmly, into an even layer.

Spread strawberry jam over the shortbread layer. Sprinkle remaining crumbs evenly over the top. If the mixture is too wet to sprinkle, simply break it up with lightly floured fingers and spread it out.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool bars in the pan before slicing into desired shape and size.

blueberry crumb muffins

blueberry breakfast

You know that crumbley streusel-y topping on top of muffins, fruit crisps, coffee cakes… Who doesn’t love that stuff? There’s just never enough streusel on anything. I could almost care less about the bottom half of any baked good if there’s a crumb topping on it.

So, I was craving blueberry muffins for breakfast the other day, and I remembered a recipe I had saved for big bakery style blueberry muffins with cinnamon crumb topping, so of course, I set out to put my new muffin tin to good use. Also. My roommate found a small box of blueberries for just $1 at the supermarket the other day! What a bargain! Must go buy some more…

ready for the oven!

Mine were kind of overflowing out of the pan and creating a rather repulsive burning smell in the kitchen so do take care not to overfill the muffin tin… 3/4 should about do it. You should get anywhere from six huge muffins to maybe seven or eight medium-sized ones.

Recipe for Blueberry Crumb Muffins
from savory-bites.com

For the muffins:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the crumble topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted (in the microwave)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, combine liquid ingredients. Mix this in with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To make crumb topping: Mix together sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

And voila~
Blueberry muffins!
And streusel craving accommodated.