This banana bread is Eli's new favorite food, hands down. The first time I made it, he ate an entire slice, plus half of Justin's slice! I am now constantly hoarding bananas in my freezer, so I have a loaf on hand in case a banana bread craving hits me him. :)

Banana Bread

1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
4 Tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Beat in the eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, baking soda and salt, scraping down the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer down to low speed, and slowly add the flour, scraping the bowl as needed. Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

Bake for 60-75 minutes, or until knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not open the oven door until the 60 minute mark, or the bread will collapse in the center.

So, let's be honest here. We all know that I am a fan of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. (And pretty much all cupcakes in general). One of my favorite desserts to make is cookies and cream cheesecakes. Heck, I even gave away a copy of Martha Stewart Cupcakes for my 100th blog post! I think it is clear that I am slightly obsessed a fan. So it only made sense that I would become a part of the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club.

This month's choice was Martha's Strawberry cupcakes. Let me tell you, even the batter was irresistible. After several mouthfuls, I realized I would soon have no cupcakes to make if I kept up at that speed! Bits of strawberries in both the batter and frosting made these cupcakes tasty and oh so sweet. The batter was light and fluffy, and the strawberries were the perfect spring-time addition. I made a classic strawberry buttercream, but using this recipe, and subbing half the amount of strawberry preserves for the cream, and continuing to add more until I reached my desired consistency. I snuck in chunks of strawberries just before serving, and they were the perfect addition. If you don't already own this book, go out and get it, and then make these cupcakes!

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 8-ounce package of regular cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease your desired baking pan: either a 13×9x2 inch pan, two 9-inch round layer pans, three 8-inch round layer pans, or line cupcake tins with liners.

Measure all ingredients into the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Blend for 30 seconds on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Next, beat for three minutes on high speed. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans, or fill cupcake tins about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake oblong 45-50 minutes, layers 35-40 minutes, cupcakes 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on racks.

To make the frosting, beat together cream cheese and butter. With mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar until completely incorporated. Add the vanilla, and blend. You may add extra sugar or add a little bit of milk to thicken or thin the frosting to the desired consistency. Frost cupcakes as desired.

Source: adapted from Vintage Victuals

3 cups strawberries (halve or quarter if large berries)
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
¼ cup strawberry preserves
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 3 lbs)
3 oz. Parmesan or white cheddar cheese
6 large fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Snipped fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 3-quart baking dish, combine strawberries, vinegar and preserves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set aside.Cut a horizontal pocket in each chicken breast by cutting from one side almost (but not through) to the other side. Cut Parmesan cheese into six pieces, and stuff into chicken breast pocket. Sprinkle basil on top of the cheese, and secure pockets closed with wooden toothpicks or skewers. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In a 12-inch-safe skillet, cook garlic in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden brown, turning once. Transfer to oven, and bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add baking dish with strawberry mixture to oven, and bake 10 to 13 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and the berries are softened and jam mixture has thickened. Serve chicken with melted strawberries, and sprinkle with basil.

And the winner is...

Ariana said... "Wow... I was JUST thinking about champagne cupcakes and then I came across your Tastespotting photo! My favourite cupcakes are definitely chai flavoured. I can't get enough of that spice! Congrats on your 100th post. :)

Congrats, Ariana! Chai cupcakes do sound fabulous. Email me at mrsdlovestoeat at gmail.com with your info to claim your prize! For those that didn't win, don't worry - I plan to have more giveaways in the near future!

As soon as I saw this cake pop up in my google reader, I knew I had to try it. It took next to no time to put together, and it was so incredible. It was light and fluffy and had just the right amount of raspberries. Definitely put this on your "must try" list! (This cake is incredibly thin, so I don't think it would sufficiently fill more than 6 people. Then again, we are "cake people" so it may just be us. :-) )

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk*
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)
1-1 1/2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

*I never buy buttermilk for recipes. Instead, I add 1 Tbsp. of white vinegar to 1 cup whole milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes. For this recipe, just take 1/2 cup of that mixture.

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in the middle of your oven. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup granulated sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Then, beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

On low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top. (If you place the raspberries face down, they will disappear in the batter. If you place them face up, they will stay empty, like cups. Both were equally delicious!)

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream.

Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen, originally from Gourmet Magazine

Many of you don't know this but when I was in college, I managed a Jamba Juice, serving millions of smoothies. (That may sound like an exaggeration, but I did it for 2 1/2 years. On a busy day, I would probably serve at least 100 an hour... multiply that by 8 hours a day, divided by the people on staff, then add the wind speed and rainfall... well you get the idea.) When this bread was baking, the aroma brought me back to the days of juicing oranges and scooping ice cream. To this day, my friends still call me and say, "What is in a Banana-Berry again?" Or, "How can I make a Caribbean Punch at home?" Well, I'm not posting the Mango-A-Go-Go recipe, but if that's your drink - keep reading. Mango Bread is the perfect summer treat with fresh mangoes and plenty of spice. Give this one a try!

Fresh Mango Bread

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar (I used dark)
3 large eggs
3/4 flavorless oil (I used Canola)
2 cups diced mango
Grated zest of 1/2 lime

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other. (This extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from over baking.)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk (by hand) together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Rub the brown sugar between your palms into the bowl, breaking up any lumps, then stir it in.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil and pour over the dry ingredients. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on medium speed, until blended. Fold in the mangoes and lime zest. (The batter will be very thick.) Scrape the batter into loaf pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake the bread for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a thin knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (If the bread looks like it is getting too brown as it bakes, cover it loosely with a foil tent. I did this at 45 minutes.) Transfer the pan to a rack for cool for 5 minutes before running a knife around the sides of the pan and unmolding. Remove from pan, and cool to room temperature.

Source: adapted from Baking with the Boys originally from Dorie Greenspan

When I was growing up, I absolutely loved poppy-seed muffins. As time went on, we fell apart from one another. Luckily, the muffins and I recently had a reunion, and are once again buddy-buddy.

I know I have been promising to blog about my shrimp lasagna rolls, but wouldn't you much rather skip to dessert? I know I would. :-) I promise I will post lasagna rolls - part 2 tomorrow. But for now, let's talk about sweets!

I knew I wanted to make my chocolate sandwich cookies for Easter, so I searched for a light, fruity cake recipe to compliment them. When I saw this recipe for cupcakes, I knew they would be even cuter (not to mention yummy). The raspberry preserves were the perfect compliment to the sweet lemon flavor. (I used Meyer lemons for a less tart taste.) These were gobbled up so fast, I was glad I decided to make the full recipe instead of cutting it in half. You could easily use a different fruit for the filling and frosting, depending on your tastes. Give these a try!

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes
yields 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I used whole milk and lemon juice instead)
zest and juice of 2 Meyer lemons

Filling:
Raspberry preserves

Frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. raspberry preserves
24 raspberries

Wash and drain raspberries. Allow to dry on a paper towel. (This will prevent excess liquid dripping onto the frosting.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Continue beating and gradually add sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Gradually drizzle in the eggs, and beat in between additions, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat until batter is no longer slick.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk on low speed, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in the lemon juice and lemon zest.

Divide batter between 24 cupcake liners, and bake for 18-20 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a small cone out of each cupcake using a small paring knife. Fill with 1 tsp. raspberry preserves and replace each cone. (You may need to cut a small part of the cone off so it sits evenly.)

To prepare the frosting, in a large mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar until frosting consistency. Add preserves and continue to beat until a pinkish hue and raspberry flavor is achieved. Pipe onto cupcakes as desired. (Smoothing with a knife will not work as well with the cone.) Put a raspberry in the center of each cupcake.

Source: adapted from Things Alauna Makes originally Martha Stewart

We had some blueberries in the fridge that I was afraid would go bad, so I decided to make some blueberry muffins. I found this super easy recipe in my "500 Best Muffin Recipes" cookbook (yes, that's really the name).

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with paper cups.

In large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.

In another bowl (or in your mixer), cream together butter and sugar, then beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually stir in milk. (The mixture may look curdled, but don't be alarmed - it's normal.) Pour into the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling cups to the top. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean and dry.

These were so easy and made the house smell great! I may make another batch tomorrow to freeze.