Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

This is the best banana bread I’ve ever had. It’s soft, moist, stuffed full of chocolate chips, and had a perfect crunchy golden top. To make it even better, you don’t even have to use a mixer. This is the perfect thing to make when you have a bunch of brown bananas or some chocolate chips.

Ingredients: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 bananas, pureed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8 inch loaf pan.

In a small bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, mix together the sugar and butter.

Beat in the eggs and banana puree until just mixed together.

Gently fold in the dry ingredients.

Mix in the chocolate chips.

Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Pound Cake

Rich, soft, chocolate pound cake with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache and fluffy funfetti whipped cream. I saw a chocolate pound cake recipe HERE  and it looked delicious, so I decided to try it along with the chocolate sauce. I also love funfetti things, and whipped cream is the perfect tool to balance out rich chocolate. The whipped cream is not in the picture below but is in the one at the bottom.

Ingredients: Chocolate Pound Cake

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

Chocolate Glaze

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons light corn syrup (so it doesn’t get stiff)

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Funfetti Whipped Cream

1 and 1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 cup colorful sprinkles

Recipe: Chocolate Pound Cake

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8×5 or 9×9 loaf pan cover the bottom with a small piece of parchment paper.

Place the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a boil and whisk to combine and aerate it (create air, basically) and set aside. Place the cocoa powder in a heat proof bowl. While whisking constantly (you might want to enlist someone else’s help) pour the boiling water into a 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons and into the cocoa. Whisk until smooth and combined; set aside.

Place the butter and sugar in a medium bowl and mix until fluffy and lighter in color (about 5 minutes.) Occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the vanilla and cocoa mixture and beat on medium speed until combined (about 1 minute.) Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix on slow speed and slowly add the flour mixture. Mix until the flour is just combined. Stir any remaining flour streaks by hand, make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and make sure it’s an even layer. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set out a wire rack. Cool for 15 minutes then remove the cake from pan and let cool for 15 minutes on the wire rack. (Turn the pan upside down. When the cake comes out, pick up the pan. Now, roll the cake over gently until it’s sitting up straight. Let cool for 45 more minutes.

Chocolate Glaze

Put chopped chocolate in medium bowl. On the stove, in a medium saucepan, heat heavy cream and light corn syrup until simmering. Then pour over chocolate and mix until smooth and combined. Pour (spoon) over cake.

Funfetti Whipped Cream

Chill bowl and paddle or blades (of whatever mixer you have) in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Whip cream, vanilla, and sugar. Gradually add the sprinkles and continue whipping until reasonably stiff.

Serve with the cake.

Enjoy!

Orange Pound Cake

Fluffy orange pound cake with a delectable orange syrup. What could go wrong?

Ingredients: Pound Cake (Adapted from Ina Garten’s Lemon Cake)

1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 extra large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup grated orange zest (6-8 oranges)

3 cups and 6 tablespoons cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3/4 cups orange yogurt/milk mixture (recipe and ingredients below)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Orange Yogurt/Milk Mixture

3/4 cup orange yogurt (I used yoplaits orange creme)

1/4 cup whole milk

Orange Syrup (From Joy the Baker’s lemon syrup)

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Recipe:  Orange Yogurt Milk Mixture

Stir yogurt and milk together in a bowl. Very easy, now you’re done with that.

Cake

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (5-7 minutes) Add the eggs one at a time and then add the orange zest. Make sure the zest gets distributed evenly and not just clumped together.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl mix together the orange juice, yogurt/milk mixture, and vanilla. Take turns pouring each in and mixing. The batter will thick.

Grease and flour a 8  1/2 by 4  1/2 by 2  1/2 pan. Pour about 3/4 of the batter in. The rest is leftover, do what you want with it. I ate it with a spoon.

Bake for around 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for twenty minutes, while waiting make the syrup.

Syrup

Stir water and sugar in a saucepan, on medium high, until the sugar melts. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Bring to a boil then add the orange juice and take off heat.

Transfer cake to a wire rack (I suggest putting paper towels under the rack) and unmold from pan. Now poke holes all over the top. With a fork, toothpick, or thermometer. Brush orange glaze over it.

Cut into thick slices and serve. You may pour the leftover syrup over each piece of cake because it tastes very, very, good.

Enjoy!