Banana and Pecan Muffins

Over riped bananas???don't waste them. I usually turned them to a dessert.... I usually have  mixed fruits and veggies smoothies every morning and I noticed the other day that, the 3 bananas left on the kitchen counter were over riped and I don't feel like they are  still good  for my smoothies that week.... so  I decided to scan my recipe book and make those over riped bananas something tasty. I found this  very easy to follow recipe and I just modified it and it turns very good.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 extra large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 bananas,mashed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins. Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl. Set aside.

2. With the electric mixer, cream the vegetable oil and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy. Mix in the banana.

3. Add the pecan nuts. With the mixer on low speed, beat with the flour mixture alternately with the milk.

4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake the muffins until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

5. Let the muffins cool in the cups on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

6. Leave it cool for another 10 minutes before serving.

Italian Custard Cream

This custard cream is very easy to make and very delicious. Still adapted from Buddys' Recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons salted butter

Directions:
1. Put the milk and vanilla in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. In another bowl, whip together the flour,sugar and egg yolks with a mixer. Pour a cup of milk-vanilla mixture into a bowl and beat to temper the yolks.
3. Add the yolk mixture to the pot with the remaining milk-vanilla mixture and beat until thick and creamy. Remove the pot from the heat and add the butter and whip again to thicken the cream. The longer you cook it, the thicker it will become. Transfer to a bowl. Refrigerate at least 6 hours before using it.

Variations: add 1 1/2 ounces of melted, cooled semi-sweet chocolate chips along with the butter.

Cream Puff or Eclairs Dough

I have 15 months more to go to master my recipe for our future bakeshop. The other day, I baked cream puff dough and I wasn't very satisfied though it turned out good for the first time I baked them so I decided to do it again today. The first dough that I baked today turned out bad because I have to pull it out early from the oven because the wax paper I used on the baking sheet start burning and the smoke alarm in the house activated...I freaked out and turned off the oven and called my husband at work and asked him what I am gonna do.....he told me to leave it till the smoke alarm will turn off by itself. what a day! so I have to make another cream puff dough because the first one didn't work out. The photos above is the result of my third attempt making cream puff dough. I adapted this recipe from "Buddy" the Cake Boss.

 Ingredients:
1 cup water
6 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 extra- large eggs

Directions:
1.Put the water,butter and salt in a heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the ingredients come together into a smooth, uniform dough, approximately 2 minutes.
2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand or hand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Start paddling on low speed, then add the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly absorbed, mixing for 1 minute between each egg, and stopping the motor periodically to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Finish with the final egg and mix for an additional 2 minutes.
3. Use the dough immediately. It does not refrigerate well.

Pecan tart

This is very easy to make and taste so good. I baked this few weeks ago and my family loved it.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup golden/light corn syrup
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoon butter,melted
1 1/4 cups chopped pecan nuts
1/3 cup pecan nut halves

For the pastry
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, diced
1 egg yolk
3-4 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

Direction:
1. To make the pastry, sift together the flour, super fine sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and rub in using your fingertips or pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Blend egg yolk and whipping cream, and stir into the flour mixture.
3. Form the pastry into a ball, then roll out and use to line a 23 cm/9 in pie dish. Trim and flute the  edge neatly and chill for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat a baking sheet in the oven at 200 degrees C/400 degrees F.
Lightly whisk the eggs and salt. Mix in the sugar,syrup,lemon juice and butter. Stir in the chopped pecan nuts.
5. Pour into the pastry case and arrange the pecan halves in concentric circles top.
6. Bake on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 160 degrees C/ 325 degrees F and bake for 25 minutes more.

Italian Buttercream

I've been thinking to open a bakeshop in my country in the near future and I've been wondering where  can I get a meringue powder  to help stabilize the icing because I am not really sure if the store there already carry this kind of baking product. Then,a day before my class I remembered that when I was attending the baking vocational class in high school, my instructors' icing recipe was made with egg whites...so I decided to use that kind of icing on making basket weave as you see on the image beside this. It happened that accidentally burned my sugar and water and it smells like caramelized sugar which my instructor was  so intrigue to know what kind of icing I made since it smells so good. I responded her that I it's the Italian butter cream and accidentally burn my sugar and that's the smell you smell. She then added..oh smells so good. Oh well, I think the accident turns out good. Anyways the recipe I use is as follows:


Ingredients:

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tiny cubes at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
5 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. In a bowl of a stand mixer, place egg whites with cream of tartar and 1/4 cup of sugar nearby.
2. Heat 1 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Heat over high medium heat until sugar is dissolved
3. Meanwhile, whip the whites at high speed until soft peaks from approximately 5 minutes. When the egg whites are frothy, add the cream of tartar. Gradually add the 1/4 cup remaining sugar.
4.When the sugar reaches 240 degrees F, with the motor running, pour it into the egg whites, very slowly, in a thin stream, to avoid cooking the eggs. Raise the speed to high, and continue to whip the mixture has cooled to room temperature between 10-15 minutes.
5. Stopping the motor between additions, add the butter one lump at a time and continue beating until mixture smooth and fluffy, approximately 12-20 minutes.
Note: It will look like ricotta cheese for a while..just keep beating.
6. Once it is smooth, stir in flavorings if desired.

Apple Pie

Pies.... Pies...... Pies.....never baked before???this is the most easy pie recipe you can learn.   Most of the times I don't peel off the skin of the apples  not because I am too lazy to do it but its because  my mother-in-law said that we can get  nutrients on the skin too and that's the reason why....Benefits on not peeling your apples, it saves some of your time and it taste good too. When you eat, you cannot really feel the apple skin  because I cook the apple on this recipe.

Ingredients:

6 cups apples, slice in cubes

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

a pinch of salt

1/4 tsp ground all-spice

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup butter

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven at 400 degress F.

2. Warm your skillet and put 1/4 cup butter.

3. Mix sugar and spices in a large bowl and add apples. Stir to coat.

4.Pour your apple mixture into your warm skillet with butter and simmer it  for 5 minutes. Turn off the oven and mix the flour and corn starch.

5.Fill pastry lined 9" pie pan. flute edges or use fork to make a decorative edge then pour the apple mixture in a pie pan lined with pie crust.

 Note: If using a second crust do not flute the edges until second crust is in place. Seal the top and bottom crust together by moistening the bottom crust with a little sprinkled water before topping with the second crust; then flute the edges together. Make several slits in the top crust with a small knife for steam to escape.

6. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Note: this is my topping pie recipe without using second pie crust.

  1/2 cup brown sugar

  1/2 cup flour

  a pinch of salt

  1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

  1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

   1/8 teaspoon ground all-spice

  1/4 cup butter

Mix together and cut in 1/4 cup butter. Sprinkle over apples in a pan and bake on the above given oven  temperature.

Puto Cheese

Last night, we attended a Filipino-American Christmas party.As usual we have to bring a dish to share so I decided to make this tiny steamed dough and we called this "Puto Cheese" in my native tongue. Someone asked me last night why this is so little...I responded to her, it's because I made a Filipino size and she laughed. Each piece of my puto cheese is good for 2 bites for petite people.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 cup whole milk (room temperature)

2 large eggs (room temperature)

1/4 cup butter (melted)

1 tsp. vanilla

cheese (cube or shredded)

food color (as you desired)

Directions:

1.  Put your steamer with 3/4 full of water on the stove and let it start boiling.

2. Sift all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.

3. Put all the liquid ingredients together in a another bowl.

4. Beat the dry ingredients using the stand mixer and then, add the liquid ingredients one at a time until all the ingredients is being incorporated.Add food color (as you desire)

5. Pour the butter on the prepared muffin pans or  plastic puto cheese molds and put cube or shredded cheese on the middle top of the butter and steamed it for about 8 to 10 minutes.

6. Serve it warm.

Chocolate Ganache

                                                                                                                                                             

   I baked and decorated this cake for my friends' birthday. My hubby and friend loved the simplicity of its decoration  and above all they loved the taste and texture of the cake . By the way, I was using my chocolate cake recipe you can find on this site. I was glad that I was thinking out of the box that day.

 This ganache can be used in two ways, as a filling or poured over the cake. To use as filling, refrigerate it first at least 1-2 hours, if possible more than that. What I did on this cake was, I spread the ganache over the cake using a spatula  and put a portion in a pastry bag enough to use for decorating my cake border.

                                                                                             

Ingredients:                                                         

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

8 ounces semi-chocolate chips

2 tablespoon light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Cook the heavy whipping cream and chocolate chips in the top of a double broiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the corn syrup.

3. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for about 1 hour. If using for filling, soften until pourable in a double boiler over medium heat.

Enjoy and Have Fun Baking!

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

This is the best peanut butter cookies I've ever baked...It was so good... my mouth is watery by just thinking and looking the images of this cookies right now. I wanna have a piece with a glass of milk..hmmmm..hmmmm....

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter flavor shortening
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt

Directions:
1.Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.Combine sugar, peanut butter, shortening,milk, salt and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in egg just until blended.

3. Combine flour and baking soda .Add gradually to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7 to 8 minutes or until just beginning to brown and set. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before removing to foil.

* Dip fork in flour, flatten dough slightly in crisscross pattern.

Enjoy and have fun baking!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

We bought bananas 2 weeks ago and it didn't preserved well as what it was..so I decided to do something about it rather  than throwing them in a trash can. Well, I can make banana muffins or banana bread out of this... as I was talking to myself that day and finally  I decide to make banana bread because it involves lesser work to do. This recipe is pretty much high fiber and it's good for you. By the way, my husband is on whole grain, vegetables,fruits,low salt and low sugar diet so I always make it sure I'm baking something good for him and his diet.He's been on this diet for more than a month now and guess what???he already lost 20 pounds.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup barley malt

4 egg whites

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

 1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. flax seeds

1/4 cup steel cuts

1/4 cups 10 grains

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups mashed bananas

1 cup walnuts

Directions:

Cream butter, salt,barley malt and apple sauce; add egg whites and mashed bananas.

Stir in sour cream.

Put this together in a bowl:whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour,flax seeds,baking soda,steel cuts,10 grains and walnuts; add to butter mixture.

Divide the butter in two and pour into greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake in 350 degrees F oven for 1 hour or until done.

Enjoy and have fun!