Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Muffins

I've spoken a little bit about Caroline's egg allergy on here.  Short, basic story is that she is allergic to eggs.  We are hoping that she'll outgrow it, but every time we take her for her allergy testing, I leave disappointed.  And I always go into her appointment thinking that if she's no longer allergic, then I'll take her out to breakfast and order her scrambled eggs and a waffle.  But, that has yet to happen.  Most recently, I planned for us to spend the afternoon baking up egg-full treats that she could enjoy.  Maybe next year.

Most of the time she is a pretty happy go lucky kid, so she was a good sport through the poking of the test, and then when we left, she very matter-of-factly asked me if eggs still made her sick or if she would be able to eat cupcakes with her friends now.  It broke my heart, but she just said "okay" when I told her that they still make her sick.  And then she just went about her business like it was nothing.  Most of the time I really think it's harder on me than it is on her.  She doesn't know anything different, so she's fine with it.  And I should really take a cue from her and gain some perspective.

The good news is that even though she is still allergic, the diameter of her reaction spot has decreased from last year.  So we are still hopeful.  Maybe next year will be our lucky year!  Instead of wallowing in self/Caroline-pity this year, I thought that we might as well still enjoy baking together the afternoon following her appointment.  So instead of making cupcakes with Swiss meringue buttercream and egg yolk-based ice cream, we made these strawberry-banana muffins.  And I don't think she minded a bit.  To make them allergen-free, I just used egg replacement powder in lieu of the 2 eggs called for in the recipe.

As far as muffins go, I feel like they generally fall into 2 categories:  healthy and nutritious vs basically an excuse to eat a cupcake for breakfast.  I like to think that these are closer to the healthy side with a little indulgence from the butter.  You can replace up to half of the flour with whole-wheat flour, there is less than a cup of sugar in entire recipe, plus come on - there are bananas and strawberries there.  Fruit = healthy.

Caroline still loves to help me in the kitchen, so she lined the muffin tins with cupcake liners, whisked the dry ingredients, mashed the banana,  stirred it all together, and then topped each one with a slice of strawberry.  This was such a fun recipe for us to make together, and the muffins were enjoyed for several days following.

And since I just spent the entire post talking about Caroline, I suppose it's only fair to share a recent picture of my sweet girl.

Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Muffins
adapted from Joy the Baker

• 6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (can substitute up to 1 cup of whole-wheat flour)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
• 1 1/4 cups mashed banana (2-3 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup small diced strawberries, plus 2-3 more for topping

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line a muffin pan with liners or grease each well with butter.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Butter will begin to foam and crackle as it melts.  When the crackling subsides, the butter will begin to brown.  Swirl the pan as the butter cooks.  When the butter browns and begins to smell nutty, remove the pan from the flame and transfer the butter to a small bowl.  Taking the butter out of the hot saucepan will stop the butter from overcooking and burning.  Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and yogurt or buttermilk.  Whisk in the mashed bananas.  When butter has cooled, whisk in the browned butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Stir,  scraping the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any hidden pockets of flour.  Fold in the diced strawberries, being careful not to over stir.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and top with thinly sliced strawberries.   Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tropical Fruit Sorbet

Now that it's May, it is officially ice cream season!  And sorbet, frozen yogurt, and sherbet.  Since I'm yearning to be back at the beach, tropical fruit sorbet seemed like a great option for this batch - plus, it's slightly healthier than ice cream, it's full of fruit, and there are not egg yolks (which means Caroline can also partake).  Win - win - win.

I pretty much used David Lebovitz's version as a jumping board, and made my own tweaks and additions.  Most notably, my grocery store doesn't carry passion fruit juice, so I just substituted with more orange juice.  This was a really simple recipe:  just throw everything in the blender, chill, and freeze.  This was a fun recipe to make with Caroline (I find myself saying this more and more), and it was even more fun to eat!  A taste of the tropics - who wouldn't want that?


Tropical Fruit Sorbet
greatly adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop
makes about 1 quart

• 2 ripe bananas, peeled 
• 1/2 pineapple, peeled and cored
• 1 mango, peeled and cored
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tbs coconut rum
• juice of half a lime

Cut the banana, pineapple, and mango into small chunks.  Add to the blender, along with the orange juice, sugar, rum, and lime juice.  Puree until very smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

PPQ: Peanut Butter-Banana Cream Pie with Hot Fudge Sauce

I went to college at Georgia Tech, so I am pretty comfortable with my lot in life as a nerd.  And as a nerd, I know that Pi is 3.14159...  However, I distinctly remember a tutor my freshman year sitting at a white board writing out probably dozens of the digits.  That he had memorized.  In his spare time.  For fun.  So call me a nerd, but in college, I like to think I was actually kind of cool (compared to the rest of my school, that is). 

So why am I talking about Pi?  Well March 14th is 3/14, which is affectionately referred to as "Pi Day."  Our college also hosted a road race called the "Pi Mile,"  which was, you guessed it, 3.14 miles.  I told you I went to a nerdy school.

Around the blog world, fellow nerds like to celebrate Pi Day by baking a pie.  And wouldn't you know, my turn to host Project Pastry Queen fell on 3/13.  I have been dying to make this pie, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.  This pie is kind of a big undertaking.  Let's break down what we have here:  A homemade pie crust, topped with melted chocolate, peanut butter, a vanilla-bean-banana custard filling, homemade hot fudge sauce, and freshly whipped cream.  That is a lot of components.  And it dirties a lot of dishes - just ask Joey, my trusty dish washer.

But again, let's look at what we have here.  How could that not be the best pie ever?  The crust is one of the flakiest crusts I've ever made, and I think this will be my standard pie crust from now on.  After the crust is baked and cooled, it is brushed with bittersweet chocolate, then that is topped with a layer of peanut butter and sliced bananas.  The real star here though, is the custard filling.  It is a typical vanilla bean custard, but it is stabilized by gelatin that has been dissolved in banana liqueur.  I had never used it in a recipe before, but it was actually kind of fun - it smells like banana laffy taffy (which I happen to love.  Don't judge)!  The pie is then topped with more bananas and chilled overnight.  When you are ready to serve, you make hot fudge sauce and whip some cream, and you are good to go.

Even though there seems to be a lot going on here, it all works well together and all the flavors play harmoniously off each other.  Peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate are all made to go together, so this pie is truly (and incredibly rich and decadent) work of art.

Check out how everyone else liked this pie, and come back next week for Rebecca's take on crabcakes!

Franny's Fave Peanut Butter-Banana Cream Pie with Hot Fudge Sauce
The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather


Crust

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 2/3 cup (11 Tbs) chilled unsalted butter
• 4-5 Tbs ice water

Filling

• 1/4 cup banana liqueur, such as creme de banane
• 1 envelope + 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 Tbs corn starch
• 3 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 2 ripe bananas
• lemon-lime soda
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, at room temperature

Hot Fudge Sauce

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• pinch salt
• 1-2 Tbs whiskey (optional)

Whipped Cream Topping

• 2 cups chilled heavy cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped


To make the crust:  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the flour, salt, and sugar on low speed for about 30 seconds.  Cut the chilled butter into 1/2-inch cubes.  Add the butter to the flour mixture and combine on low speed for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture looks crumbly, with bits of dough the size of dried currants.  Add 4 tablespoons of ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing on low speed for 10 seconds after each addition.  After the last addition, the dough should start to stick together.  If not, continue to mix about 10 more seconds.  If it is still dry and crumbly, add the remaining tablespoon of water.  Gently mold the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Unwrap the dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface.  Roll it into a 1/8-inch thick circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate (I actually had quite a bit of dough left over after I trimmed it).  To keep the dough from sticking, gently pick up the dough periodically as you roll it out and rotate it in place, adding more flour as necessary.

Wrap the dough lightly over the rolling pin and set it in the ungreased pie plate.  Press it into place and crimp the outside edges with your fingers or a fork.  Use a fork to prick the bottom of the unbaked crust.  cover the bottom and sides of the crust with a sheet of parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove the parchment and weights.  If the crust isn't golden-brown, return to the oven for 1-3 minutes.  Cool on a rack until the custard filling is ready.


To make the filling:  Pour the banana liqueur into the bowl of a double boiler, and sprinkle the gelatin on top.  Allow to soften for 5 minutes.  Set the bowl over a small saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water and warm the gelatin until it has completely dissolved and looks clear.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Cut the vanilla bean pod in half lengthwise.  Combine with the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat, cover, and let the vanilla steep in the milk while preparing the yolk mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks.  Add the sugar gradually, whisking constantly until the mixture lightens in color to a lemony hue.  Whisk in the cornstarch.  Pour the milk through a strainer into a glass measuring cup or a pitcher with a spout.  Slowly pour the milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan set over medium heat and whisk constantly until it begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon.  Reduce the heat and whisk for 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture, being sure to incorporate it thoroughly.  Let the filling cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave, cooking 20-30 seconds at a time.  Using a pastry brush, evenly coat the bottom and sides of the crust with the chocolate.  Refrigerate the pie crust while the chocolate hardens and sets, 10-15 minutes.

Slice the bananas diagonally and brush them with lemon-lime soda to prevent discoloration.  Spread the peanut butter evenly over the bottom of the baked crust.  Layer on half the banana slices, all the filling, and the remaining slices.

Cover the pie with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic comes in direct contact with any custard that isn't covered by a banana.  Refrigerate the pie overnight before serving.


To make the fudge sauce:  Heat the cream and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  When the sugar is dissolved, stir in the butter, chocolate chips, and bittersweet chocolate.  Stir over medium-low heat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Stir in the salt and remove from heat.  Stir in the whiskey and cover to keep warm until ready to serve the pie.  The sauce can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat.


To make the topping:  Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cream until soft peaks form, about 1-2 minutes (do not overbeat).  Whip in the powdered sugar.

To serve the pie, cut it into wedges, add a dollop of whipped cream, and top with hot fudge sauce.  Sprinkle with peanuts if desired (I forgot to do this!).

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

If you are from the south, then you know that banana pudding is the ubiquitous dessert at any church supper, potluck, or family gathering.  I've definitely had my fair share of banana pudding, both good and bad.  But I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.  If you are unfamiliar with the concept, banana pudding is a layered dessert of vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, vanilla pudding, and meringue.  Its a great make ahead dessert because it is served chilled, and its best if its left to chill in the refrigerator overnight.

To turn such a classic dessert into an ice cream is pretty genius, but I expect nothing less from The Lee Brothers at this point.  They have mastered the art of mixing up classic southern dishes and turning them into something new and exciting, and this ice cream is no different. First, bananas are caramelized with brown sugar and rum, and turned into a puree.  The puree is then mixed with a sweet custard, and the miuxture is churned.  Finally, crushed vanilla wafers are folded into the ice cream, and its frozen to banana pudding-perfection.  At first I thought I was just making banana ice cream, but it really and truly does taste like banana pudding!  Such a fun ice cream flavor, and one I'll definitely keep in my repertoire for my southern-inspired spreads!

By the way, I'm sure you've all seen it on countless blogs by now, but Happy Ice Cream Month!

One Year Ago:  Grilled Pizza with Goat Cheese and Summer Vegetables


Banana Pudding Ice Cream
Matt Lee and Ted Lee, The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
makes about 1 quart

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 ripe bananas, sliced in half crosswise and lengthwise
• 2 Tablespoons dark rum
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 8 2-inch vanilla wafers, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish

In a medium skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter until frothy.  Add the brown sugar and spread it with a wooden spoon.  Add the bananas, and turn to coat with the sugar mixture several times.  Cook about 1 1/2 minutes, or until they are well coated and softened.

Pour the rum over the bananas.  Let it hiss and pop, then bubble for a minute to burn off the alcohol.  Transfer the contents of the skillet to blender or food processor and set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with a whisk in a medium bowl, then add the sugar and beat until the mixture is a milky lemon-yellow color, about 1 1/2 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 150 degrees on a candy thermometer, 6-8 minutes.  You may see steam rising, but don't allow it to boil.  Pour 1/2 cup of the milk into the banana mixture, and puree until smooth, about 1 minute.  Reserve and let cool.

Add the remainign 1 cup of milk in a thin stream into the egg and sugar mixture, whisking constantly as you pour.  Pour the custard back into the saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.  When the custard reaches 170 degrees and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat (this will probably take 6-8 minutes).  Add the banana puree to the custard and gently whisk to incorporate it completely.

Allow the custard to cool to room temperature, and whisk in the cream.  Transfer to a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Chill at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Scatter the wafer crumbs over the top fold into the ice cream.  Transfer to a plastic container and freeze for at least 2 hours.  Garnish with a whole vanilla wafer before serving.

Chubby Hubby Cupcakes

When I was pregnant with Caroline, we would go to Coldstone Creamery when the craving for ice cream hit.  My favorite combo was banana ice cream with Reese's peanut butter cups, and as far as Joey was concerned, I might as well have been eating pickles with it.  I'm not sure why it grossed him out so much - I'd still gladly eat that combo today!

I'm not sure where I got the idea for these cupcakes, but I've been talking about  making them for months now with my friend Michelle.  I only just realized that its basically the same combo as my favorite pregnancy treat.  They are based off of the popular Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor, which is vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered pretzels and peanut butter.  When dreaming up these cupcakes, I for some reason thought they had banana in them, but it turns out I was just combining Chubby Hubby with Chunky Monkey.  So maybe these should be called Chubby Monkey?  Or Chunky Hubby?

No matter what you call them, they are quite a tasty treat:  banana cupcake filled with chocolate ganache, and topped with peanut butter frosting.  I dipped some pretzels in the ganache to top some of the cupcakes with, and I topped the rest with banana slices.

Chubby Hubby Cupcakes
makes 12-15 cupcakes (and can easily be doubled)

Banana Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon banana extract
• 3/4 cup mashed banana (about 1 1/2-2 bananas)

Chocolate Ganache

• 4 ounces bittersweet, chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

For the cupcakes, Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.   Add the banana and mix until well combined.

Combine the buttermilk and banana extract in a liquid measuring cup.  Over low speed, Alternately add the flour mixture with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour.  Mix until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin tins, filling each one 3/4 full.  Bake 20-25 minutes, or until firm in the center and a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


For the ganache, place the chocolate in a medium bowl.  Bring the cream to a gentle boil in a small saucepan.  Pour it over the chocolate, and allow to sit for 3-4 minutes.  Add the butter to the bowl, and whisk until smooth.  Allow to sit at room temperature until it reaches a consistency suitable for piping, or refrigerate, being sure to stir every 10 minutes.


For the frosting:  Place the confectioners' sugar, butter, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed.  Add the cream and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.

To assemble, use a small paring knife to cut out a small cone from the top of each cupcake.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with a round tip with the ganache, and pipe each cupcake full of ganache.  Frost as desired with peanut butter frosting.


source:  cupcakes adapted from Half Baked, via Annie's Eats, ganache from Tartelette, frosting adapted from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa at Home

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

So it seems as though Caroline has inherited her mommy's sweet tooth. She goes absolutely nuts for ice cream, cake... really any dessert that she's tried she has loved. I don't mind her having the occasional treat, but I like to keep things healthy for the most part. Luckily she also loves bananas, zucchini, blueberries, butternut squash, peas, black beans, and other fruits and veggies.

My mother-in-law gave me the controversial Jessica Seinfeld cookbook for Christmas a few years ago, and this is the first recipe I've tried out of it. In case you aren't familiar, the basis of her cookbook is hiding fruits and veggies in food to "trick" your kids into eating them. While I like the idea of getting in a few extra servings of fruits and veggies a day, the idea of being sneaky about it doesn't really sit right with me. I think we should learn to love them by experimenting with different ways of preparing, seasoning, and serving them. Not by hiding them in other foods.

With all that said, these cookies were actually pretty good. They had a slight banana flavor, the zucchini was not detectable at all, and they were nice and soft and moist. They were quick to throw together while Caroline napped one afternoon, and she really enjoyed them... and I didn't feel so bad about letting her have a cookie for her afternoon snack :-)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
adapted from Jessica Seinfeld, Deceptively Delicious

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons butter, cook room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup banana puree (about 1 banana, mashed)
• 1/2 cup zucchini puree (1 medium zucchini, steamed, then pureed until smooth)
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or cooking spray

In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the banana and zucchini purees and the egg white, and stir just until blended. Add the flour mixture, raisins, and stir to combine.

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheets. Leave about 1 inch between each cookie. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.