Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Banana Bread with Walnut from Tyler Florence's Recipe




I have some sad looking bananas in the pantry today and because I'm bored, I started to browse for a banana bread recipe.

This one from Tyler Florence for banana bread pops out because it seems easy and it is easy! So the banana bread is yummy but I only had 3 bananas when it required 4 bananas and I think that is why mine came out a little bit dry. I substituted Walnuts for Pecans since I was out. Noticed also how my photos are coming out great ;) Arthur gave me a Nikon D3100 camera that I am trying to use more and more.

Give this recipe a try and tell me what you guys think!


Banana Bread with Pecans

Total Time:
2 hr 50 min
Prep
25 min
Inactive
1 hr 10 min
Cook
1 hr 15 min
Yield:
1 loaf
Level:
Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 overripe bananas
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
  • Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don't get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that's no mistake, it's typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.
Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Cake tasting: Lido Bakery Manhattan Beach



Lido Bakery
3001 N Sepulveda Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Neighborhood: Manhattan Beach
(310) 545-8955
www.lidobakery.com

i'm a woman on a mission....... to find a great tasting wedding cake at a super limited budget.................

So I always have SLJ's tripple berry cake for my birthday.... alas for my wedding I can't afford the $7.25/a person wedding cake at SLJ not to mention the potential for super bad customer service.. I was looking through chowhound and saw that lido bakery's cakes taste similar to SLJ.. say what? How come I didn't know about this for the past 7 years....

So i went to Lido Bakery and scheduled a testing, their price is still slightly above my budget but...... their berry & cream is goood... very very similar to SLJ, slight difference in my opinion on the buttercream. Lido's seems to be a little too soft, it could be just that one cake... but everything else is the same, the design is even the same! The berries and cream is at $5.50/person.

I also really liked the German chocolate cake (that has nuts and coconut, chocolate) and the Italian rum (rum, vanilla? buttercream, chocolate). These two cakes are at $4.50/person. Obviously I'm going to do a sheet cake.

The only downside for other brides to be is their delivery charge is $2.75 per mile (or something around that number) and they charge you on ROUND TRIP! Which will be $110 for me.... which is insane... They suggest that I get someone to pick up the cake... but I dont know if I want that risk... sigh decision decision decision

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Inspiration board: romantic wedding cakes






I went to a famous affordable wedding cake vendor in Torrance but.... I did not fall in love with the cake.. Forget about the looks (let's not even go there), even the cake itself is airy and dry and just not that good :( UGH! I was so sure that I will get the cake there. Here's one part of the wedding where we don't put too many budget.

The good news is...... I get to do more cake tasting yay... and since my fiance said he does NOT want to go to anymore cake tasting (he's not into dessert), I'm getting my bridesmaid (who looovesss dessert) to come with me.. yay...