Hummingbird Cake

I made a most delicious cake this weekend. I had 3 bananas sitting in my freezer waiting to be used in some sort of baked treat, so I decided this cake would be the one. Oh...I left out the nuts...not a fan.

Unsalted butter, for greasing

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3 ripe bananas, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1-1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

For the frosting:

2 pkgs. cream cheese (8 oz. each), at room temperature

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans (I used 9-inch) and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and dust with flour.

Toss together the bananas, pineapple and 1/2 cup flour in a small bowl.

Whisk the remaining 2-1/4 cups flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a separate bowl with a mixer on high speed until thick and light, 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the vegetable oil.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture, then gently fold to make a thick batter. Fold in the fruit mixture, then transfer the batter to the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 50-55 minutes (45 minutes for my 9-inch pans). Cool in the pans on a rack, 25 minutes, then invert the cakes onto the rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy, then gradually beat in the butter until combined. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about half of the frosting on top, then cover with the other cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Enjoy!

Banana-(Walnut) Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I made these last weekend and they are officially the first thing I baked in the new house. What a joy with so much more counter space. I left the walnuts out because 1.) I didn't have any and 2.) I really just prefer things without nuts. I also used milk chocolate chips instead of the semisweet chocolate chunks. They were still delicious!

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4 inch chunks

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate and walnuts (optional).

Using a 1-1/2 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway though, until golden brown and just set, 12-13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I was in the mood for baking and had some pretty sad looking, really ripe bananas hanging out in my kitchen, so something with banana in it was what I was going to make! I found this recipe and thought it would be perfect. A little banana, a little chocolate, what could be bad about that? Mine turned out a little darker than I would have liked, so I probably didn't need the full hour of baking time, but it's still delicious! The only slight changes I made was that I used half white flour and half whole wheat flour, and I only used 2 bananas instead of three, since that was all I had.

1-3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 heaping c. chocolate chips
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 large extra ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare loaf pan. In medium bowl, combine all flour but 2 Tbsp, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix. Whisk to combine and set aside. In small bowl, combine remaining flour and chocolate chips, tossing well to combine and set aside. In bowl of stand mixer, combine shortening and sugar. Beat on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time until thoroughly combined. Add milk and vanilla, then banana to mixture and combine well. With mixer on low, add flour mixture until just combined then fold in chocolate chips. Spread into loaf pan, tap to remove air pockets, and place in oven to bake. Bake loaf in oven for 1hr or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let loaf cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.