Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

This is another of the recipes that worked its way up to the top of the pile, as I was sorting and filing clippings the other day. And since I had some bananas that were way beyond eating out of hand, they seemed perfect for this recipe. I did find the recipe on myrecipes.com, (myrecipes is a compendium of the recipes offered in Southern Living, Cooking Light, Sunset, Coastal & Cottage Living) and it said that when it was published last year it was a repeat - this bread became a real favorite at Cooking Light and won for Best Quick Bread in their 2007 issue all about their best tried and true recipes. It originally appeared on the cover of the September 2003 issue and remains one of their best banana breads. With that kind of praise, how could I not try it?

I'm not always thrilled with Cooking Light's recipes - better for me, I know, but sometimes there's too light on flavor. But their baked goods, whether it be breads, or cakes particularly, they've worked on extensively, have usually been adapted so they're pretty darned good. This one was no exception. And, since this is a better-for-you recipe, I'd be inclined to try it again.

Cook's Notes: The batter went together easily, and the dark rum called for certainly added a depth of flavor that was barely discernable in the finished bread if I really thought about it. I used lemon instead of lime in the glaze. And you'll note below, I used half sugar and half Splenda in the batter.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze
Recipe: Jean Patterson, Cooking Light, September, 2007
Servings: 16
2 cups all-purpose flour -- (about 9 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar [I used half sugar, half Splenda]
1/4 cup butter -- softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups banana -- ripe mashed (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Cooking spray
1 tablespoon sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice -- or lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
3. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.
4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut.
5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.
6. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.
Per Serving: 196 Calories; 5g Fat (21.6% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 35g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 34mg Cholesterol; 174mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.
Printer-friendly recipe, click title at top.

Scharffen Berger and all things chocolate and then a Banana Caramel (& Chocolate) Cake

When I was in Berkeley 2 weeks ago Cherrie and I went on a tour of the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory. It was just a few blocks from our hotel near the waterfront and my GPS drove us right to the door in the industrial section of town. The factory itself was a big surprise - it's quite small. Having once visited the Nestle plant in Pennsylvania, I was expecting something dramatic, especially with the panache garnered by the Scharffen Berger line.

As I think I explained before, John Scharffenberger (spelling intentional) came to some reknown as a winemaker. After a couple of decades producing some very fine sparkling wine (a favorite of mine, his to be specific), he sold the business. Then he was approached by Robert Steinberg, a friend, and now his partner in Scharffen Berger, and they decided to start a chocolate manufacturing company, but only producing a high quality - European style - product. They purchased European, i.e. old, equipment. They wanted to capitalize on the known Scharffenberger name, but John had sold the rights to it with the winery. So, they merely added a space beteween the n and the b and made it into Scharffen Berger. It wasn't quite building a business in a garage, but close to it.

They don't make chocolate every day. Although likely some pieces of equipment are running most days. The roaster (the red thing right) was in a separate room (warm and if running, very noisy). The building probably isn't 300 feet long and about 200 feet wide, and not only housed the factory floor, but offices, a restaurant and a store. Did I spend money in there? Well, to be sure. Did we taste chocolate? Oh yes, indeed. Probably the most important thing I learned there was about how to eat a piece of chocolate: put it into your mouth, hold it on the middle of your tongue, up against the roof of your mouth, and allow it to completely melt on your tongue. Don't chew. Don't move it around. You'll savor the flavors far better, and it'll last longer besides. Kind of like how you taste wine.

To the left is the photo of the cocoa bean crusher. A huge cauldron - I mean huge - of swirling, melting chocolate and the crusher rolling around in the middle. So, it was on a blog a few months ago that I read about a recipe in the new cookbook published by the Scharffen Berger partners, The Essence of Chocolate. Liking chocolate as I do, I made it and oh - my - goodness.
What flavor. Not all that difficult. I like bundt cakes, and this one doesn't require anything but the cake itself. It does have a caramel sauce that is poured over the hot-out-of-the-oven cake, but otherwise, nothing else. No garnishes, although you could serve with a bit of vanilla ice cream. It's rich enough, however, as it is. I will include the nutrional information about the cake, but for heaven's sake, whatever you do, don't read it. I'm going to put it in the smallest type available on this blog .

Banana Caramel (Chocolate) Cake with Caramel Sauce Recipe :Essence of Chocolate by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger.
Serving: 12 - I think it will serve at least 16

CAKE:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3 ounces chocolate -- broken into small pieces (size of chips)
3 whole bananas -- diced

CARAMEL:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. whole milk
4 tbsp. unsalted butter -- cut into pieces

1. Butter and flour a tube pan or a bundt pan that can hold 12 cups. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda).
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, oil and sugar. With the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that the sugar has been incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a bit at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then to ensure everything is incorporated. Once the dry ingredients have been added, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the pecans, chocolate and bananas. Gently fold them in with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Don't over mix.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes and then test the cake to see if it's done by poking a toothpick or cake tester into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, bake the cake for another 5 to 10 minutes. In my oven, this cake took 55 minutes.
5. About 5 to 10 minutes before the cake is done, make the caramel by combining all the ingredients in a small pan. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally to ensure that it doesn't burn. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. The caramel needs to be thin, so add more milk if needed. Once the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer. Immediately pour the caramel over the cake, stopping every now and then to let the caramel sink in. If the caramel pools in spots, poke more holes to allow it to sink in. Gently push cake away from sides to add more caramel.
6. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once it's cool, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and then unmold it onto a plate. If most of the caramel pooled on the top (in the pan) you may want to turn the cake back over so the wide side is on top.
NOTES : Note from Carolyn: I think the caramel is too thick - it doesn't drip down into the cake like I think it should, so I've been adding more milk to the sauce so it's thinner.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 595 Calories; 36g Fat (52.7% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 67g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 308mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 7 Fat; 3 Other Carbohydrates.

To view a printable recipe, click title at the top.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream and Low Fat to Boot

This isn't my recipe. It's from a new book on the horizon called The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz. So, how'd I find out about it? From reading food blogs, of course (The Traveler's Lunchbox, to be exact)! Early in my blog reading, I heard about David Lebovitz and soon subscribed to his very entertaining blog.

David is an American in Paris (can you hear Gershwin's music trilling?), although he worked for 13 years at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. I talked a bit about the dinner we had last week at that restaurant, and I recall one of the waiters mentioning the favorite dessert there is whatever cobbler is on the menu. Interestingly, David Lebovitz just wrote up a blog posting about a new rendition of cobbler using polenta, click here, and he talks about his stint at Chez Panisse. And totally off the subject of food - I sent out (to a bunch of my friends) a link to his blog after reading his "take" on Europeans, the French, the Italians, and the Americans on the subject of B.O. It's also about the very American expression we hear everywhere, "Oh my God." His write up is LOL (that's cyberspeak for laugh out loud) funny. If you're interested, click here. If you read it, read the comments at the bottom - they're almost as funny as his blog posting.

How do you segue from body odor to ice cream. With difficulty, I think. But trudge on, I say. I tried this recipe from reading the blog, and once the book came out I ordered it for myself on Amazon for $16.47 (hardback). The book is chock full of very unusual combinations. Here's a sampling of ice creams, sorbets or granitas in the book: Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Maple-Glazed Pecans, Roquefort-Honey Ice Cream, Oatmeal Raisin Ice Cream, Malted Milk Ice Cream (one of his favorites, he says), Chocolate-Coconut Sorbet or Black Currant Tea Ice Cream. He also includes some cookie or bar recipes that he calls "vessels" for serving ice cream. And he adds in a few toppings like glazed or candied nuts or fruits.
After falling in love with Banana Gelato at Gelato Vero in San Diego (see previous post about this) I was certain I'd like this rendition. You roast the ripe bananas in the oven with brown sugar and butter, then scrape out every last bit from the pan, and mix with the milk base, chill, and freeze. The brown sugar comes through, and it has a very full, rounded flavor of the bananas. It disappeared in no time, although I did serve it to guests, so there wasn't much left after that. The best part is it's low in calories and fat - yes, really, just 4 g of fat per serving -see nutrition info just below the recipe.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream
Recipe By: David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop
Servings: 6
3 medium bananas -- ripe, peeled
1/3 cup brown sugar -- 70 grams
1 tablespoon butter -- cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk -- (375ml)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice -- freshly-squeezed
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring just once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through. Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the dish into a blender or food processor (or a large bowl, if you're using an immersion blender). Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and puree until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions (or freeze in a covered container, blending every couple of hours with an immersion blender until it becomes solid).
2. If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisking will thin it out.

NOTES : This doesn't have a custard base, which means putting it together is a snap. The other benefit is that it doesn't actually contain any cream. Just that little bit of butter and some milk - that's all. But you'd never know it since it tastes as rich and creamy as any super-premium ice cream out there. But don't take my word for it - go make some yourself!

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 156 Calories; 4g Fat (23.2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; 142mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.
Click on the title at the top for a copy of just the recipe.