#69) Banana Coffee Cake

Can I just say that living alone is one the most depressing things I have ever done? And this fact is just emphasized every single time I go into the kitchen - breakfast for one, lunch for one, dinner for one, tea for one, and most sadly of all, dessert for one!

I know you are probably all saying "Enough with the self-pity, already." But this is a huge issue for me because not only am I lonely, but now because I have no one to share my goodies with I make them a lot less often, and that makes me sad, too.

Ok, my rant is over, I promise. Now let me tell you just how good this coffee cake is. I done some reading and researching when I decided to turn my latest batch of rotting bananas into a sweet treat and through the jigs and the reels I came up with a very moist, very tasty, and semi-light coffee cake (if you cut the amount of chocolate, drastically LOL). My only issue was that I added a little too much chocolate. I know, I can hear your gasps of shock and disbelief, but it's true - it was a little too chocolate-y, even for me. But other than that it is fantastic and will now be a go-to recipe, when fiance comes to visit and I have someone to share it with that is :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used minis, and will probably use like 1/3 cup next time)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
1/2 tbsp cinnamon

3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg white
3 mashed bananas
3 tbsp sour cream (I used fat free)

Steps

-Preheat oven to 350º and spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray.

-Mix together first 4 ingredients and set aside.

-Sift together dry ingredients.

-Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg white, bananas, and sour cream.

-Stir in dry ingredients with as few strokes as possible.

-Pour half of batter into pan. Spread half the streusel over top. Cover with remaining batter. Spread remaining streusel over top.

-Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Caramel Macchiato "Cuppas"

Entry #2 folks!!! This month's theme is coffee, and judging by the submissions to date, it is going to be one tough competition :)

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I decided to put a cupcake spin on one of my favorite caffinated drinks - the Caramel Macchiato from Coffee Matters in St. John's NL. This comforting drink has the perfect blend of strong coffe and sweet caramel!

My cupcake starts with a coffee cupcake base, and when I say "coffee" I mean strong coffee - a good jolt to start off the day with. Inside there is a gooey centre drenched in homemade caramel sauce - a nice way to cut the good-but-bitter bite of the coffee. A nice swirl of sweet and smooth buttercream tops it all off - just for that sweet tooth.



Coffee Cupcake

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
4 1/2 tbsp instant coffee granules
3/4 cup water

Steps

- Preheat oven to 360°F and line 12 muffin cups with papers.
- Cream butter and sugar together. Add vanilla. Mix. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Add dry ingredients, including coffee, and mix well. Mixture will be slightly dry.
- Add water 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Divide between the 12 muffin cups.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes. Let cool.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
6 tbsp butter (real butter, margarine will not taste right)
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Steps

- Put sugar and water in a deep sauce pan. Heat over med heat. Whisk until crystals are dissolved.
- Allow syrup to boil at the same temp for several minutes until an amber color begins to show. Add butter and whisk until melted. Remove from heat and count to five.
- Add milk slowly, whisking constantly. The mixture will bubble so be careful!
- Let cool slightly then transfer to a mason jar to cool overnight.
- Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Buttercream

I used the leftover icing form my Valentine's cake, found here.

Assembly

- Let cupcakes cool til slightly above room temp.
- Transfer caramel to a squirt bottle. Poke tip of bottle into tops of cupcakes and squeeze. The caramel will soak into the cake, giving you the gooey centre, so let them sit and top the holes up several times before icing.
- Pipe buttercream onto filled cupcakes.
- Eat and lick your fingers :)

#17) Coffee Cupcakes with Quasi-Chocolate Ganache

No, they weren't a textbook success, but these little cupcakes are one yummy sweet treat.

I was walking by the bookstore the other day, and well, they had this cute little cupcake and muffin cookbook there fore less than $7. Well, I just had to have it! So I brought home my new little treasure and read it cover to cover and drooled over every single picture.

The recipe I attempted here sounded perfect! I love the taste of coffee, but drinking it makes me sick, so when I can whip up a coffee-flavoured sweet treat, I am one happy woman. The recipe was easy to follow and I had everything on hand for it, or so I thought, so I whipped up the batter and put them in the over.

After I finished licking the spoon (oh, you all do it!!!!), I started making my topping. It was supposed to be a nice, thick choclate ganache-ish frosting. BUT..... I didn't have any cream in the fridge and all the stores were closed! So in my amature frenzy I decided chocolate milk would have to do.

What was I thinking?!??!?!?!?! Instead of a nice, thick ganache-ish frosting, I ended up with a rather tasty bowl of dark chocolate soup. Frenzy #2 - What in the world will I put on top of my now baked and cooled coffee cupcakes???? This "soup" was too runny to use as icing, and to messy to drizzle over top......

Then my bf came up with the great idea of just dipping my little sweet treats into the chocolate soup concoction. Aren't they just adorable? We used several toppins - coconut, silver balls, and colored sprinkles. The coconut was best!

Well, there you have it - my very long-winded explanation of this sweet treat. The lesson I learned - be 100% sure you have ALL the ingredients you need, and then double-check to be 110% sure. By the way, thanks for your help Babe. I love you!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup instant coffee

1 cup butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup water

1 tbsp instant coffee

3/4 cup cream

1 cup dark choclate, finely chopped

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 360°F. Line muffin tray with paper liners.

-Sift dry ingredients together. Set aside.

-In a medium bowl, beat together butter, vanilla, and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time.

-Add dry ingredients. Mix. Slowly add water and mix again.

-Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 mintues.

-Meanwhile, gently heat coffee and cream in saucepan.

-Pour hot mixture over chocolate. Stir thouroughly.

-Use star tip to pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

50th post!

Wow! Hard to believe I've done 50 posts already! Must be the caffeine. ;)

Title: Feline Caffeine Dreams
Medium: Digital Painting
Full Size: Greeting Card
~

Coffee with Barbie

Title: Coffee with Barbie
Medium: Sculpture (sold) Prints available.
Full Size: prints from greeting card to 8" x 10"

I did this sculpture for a coffee house art tour in 2007. It took a long time for me to figure out how to make the coffee without melting the doll. The whip cream was especially fun to do!

She was a big hit on the tour and now resides in her permanent home. However prints of her are available.