Coconut Banana Coffee Cake

Coffeecakes are good, but sometimes the basic cake part with cinnamon or streusel just does not have the depth of flavor that I am looking for. However, this tropical treat really satisfied my craving. The bold, yet complimentary, flavors of rum, bananas and coconut are all tied together in this 9 inch cake.  It has a moist texture with a wonderful little bit of crunch from the topping of macadamia nuts and cinnamon sugar.

Coconut Banana Coffee Cake
courtesy of Coffee Cake Cookbook by Lou Pappas 

 Ingredients
2 large eggs (room temp)
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 3 large)
1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbs dark rum or amaretto
1/2 cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup sweet coconut flakes
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
mixture of 1 tbs sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon

Prepare a 9 inch springform pan by greasing the inside with butter and dusting with flour.  Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees (farenheit) or 175 degrees centigrade.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar and set bowl aside.

With a food processor, pulse together the wet ingredients (bananas, oil, rum or amaretto, sour cream, vanilla and eggs).  Then sprinkle in the coconut into the batter.  Make sure that there are no big lumps dropped into the batter.  Stir to combine.

Fold batter into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until it has a smooth consistency and no dry spots remain.  Pour batter evenly into pan.  Then cover the top with the chopped nuts.  Lastly, sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place pan in the oven.  Baking time should be about 30-35 minutes. The cake is done when tester inserted into center comes out clean and top is golden brown.

Remove cake from the oven and place pan on rack to cool.  Once pan is cool to the touch, remove the pan sides.  Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Jalapeno Cheese Squares

This appetizer is like a mini quiche without the crust.  A fluffy egg texture with onions and jalapenos, all topped with crispy toasted cheese.  According to my husband, an avid egg and jalapeno lover, these squares are acceptable for any meal and for a snack.

The recipe does not advise if you are to leave the seeds in when you are mincing the jalapenos. I guess that is personal preference. You are welcome to take the seeds out if you want a more mild tasting dish.

While baking, the cheese will puff up in the pan.  However, do not be alarmed when it deflates upon cooling, that is normal. 

When preparing a dish with hot peppers, it is best to use metal utensils.  Plastic may absorb some of the oils in the peppers.  Also, when mincing or grinding fresh or dry peppers with a machine, use one that can be taken apart and cleaned.  For example, a mini food chopper is better than a coffee grinder.

This recipe makes 36 squares.  You can double the recipe and bake in 2 nine inch square glass baking pans.  If using metal or a dark pan, the baking time will need to be adjusted.

Jalapeno Cheese Squares
courtesy of Bon Appetit/ prior to 2005

Ingredients
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups grated monterey jack cheese
1 cup chopped green onions
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs chili powder
2 tbs of minced jalapeno peppers (I used 2 peppers)
5 large eggs


Butter a 9 inch square glass baking dish.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the last 4 ingredients on the above list.  With a wire whisk, blend all the ingredients until evenly
distributed.  Then blend in milk.  With a metal spoon, mix in the onions and monterey jack cheese.

Pour mixture into baking dish.  Sprinkle all of the cheddar cheese evenly on top.  Place pan in oven and bake for about 45 minutes. The appearance should indicate when the squares are done. The top should be brown and puffy. In addition, the batter will be pulling away from the inside of the pan.

Remove from oven and cool slightly.  Cut and serve.  If not serving right away, place the squares on a cookie sheet and cover.  Store in fridge and rewarm at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes to serve.

Cinnamon Walnut Horns

These rustic walnut horns are a nice change of pace from the big fluffy Boardwalk Cinnamon Rolls that I made back in February. Cinnamon rolls, traditionally with lots of dough and a little bit of filling, originated in Sweden. I believe that pastries with the thinner dough came from France. In addition, the use of walnuts in this recipe points to France. Lots of walnuts are harvested out of the south of France and used in many desserts.   

The little crescent gems have a thin dough that is embedded with cinnamon and walnuts.  Then, before the dough is rolled up, it is sprinkled with more cinnamon and walnuts.  The result is a crispy, caramelized pastry that is overflowing with nutty goodness. Note that this recipe yields about 20 horns and the dough is refrigerated overnight.  The original dough recipe is double what you need, you can either double the filling for 40 horns, keep extra dough for other use, or cut the dough recipe in half (like I did as given below).  Cutting it in half means a specific measurement for the egg yolks and the yeast, for the original recipe called for 3 eggs and a packet of yeast.

Cinnamon Walnut Horns
courtesy of  Great Coffeecakes Cookbook by Carol Walter 

 Ingredients/ Dough
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 egg yolk and 1 1/2 tsp of egg yolk (scramble for measurement)
2 tbs warm water
2 tbs sugar
4 tbs butter or half stick (softened and cubed)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs and 3/4 tsp yeast

Ingredients/Filling
1 egg beaten with 2 tsps of water for egg wash
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 2/3 cups walnuts
5 tbs granulated sugar
3 tbs light brown sugar


Make the dough the day before serving. Place warm water in a small bowl and add 1 1/2 tsp of the sugar.  Then sprinkle in the yeast and do not stir.  Put a small saucer over the bowl and set the timer for 5 minutes.  After the 5 minutes, uncover and stir with a fork and then cover again. Letting it set for at least 2 minutes or more until it is called for in the next steps.

Sift together the flour, salt and remaining sugar in a large stand mixer bowl.  Add the cubes of butter and mix on low until it reaches crumb texture.  It should take about 2-4 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix together the vanilla,egg yolks and milk with a fork.  Pour this mixture and the dissolved yeast into the bowl of dry ingredients.  Mix on low speed for 15 seconds, scrape sides of bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.  The result is a very soft dough.

Take another bowl out and butter the insides.  Empty the dough into the bowl and use floured hands to smooth the top.  Then smooth a thin amount of butter over the top and cover with plastic wrap.  Place bowl in the refrigerator for dough to chill at least overnight or up to 3 days.

The next day, the nuts will need to be prepped in a food processor for the filling.  Put nuts in the processor and pulse 5 or 6 times so they are coarsely chopped.  Take out 1 cup of the chopped nuts, place in a bowl and set aside.

Put 3 tbs of granulated sugar, all of brown sugar and 3/4 tsp cinnamon inside processor bowl with remaining nuts.  Pulse processor 6-8 times until the nuts are medium chopped.  Pour in another small bowl and set aside.

In a third bowl, mix the remaining cinnamon and granulated sugar.

To assemble the crescents, first line baking sheet with parchment paper. Then remove the bowl of dough from the fridge. Divide dough in half and put one half back into fridge.

On a clean workspace, sprinkle 1/4 of the coarse walnuts and 1/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Roll the dough in the sprinkles on the workspace, shaping it into a log. Continue to roll until the log has picked up all of the sprinkled mixture.

Take out a rolling pin and roll the dough into a 6X15 inch parallelogram.  The 15 inches should be parallel to the counter in front of you.  I rolled the dough thin and then kept pushing in sides and smoothing to get to the right size and shape.  The rolling pin should be rolled at an angle from bottom right to upper left and vice versa to help achieve the desired shape.

Now that you have the correct size, brush top side with egg wash.  Then sprinkle on 1/2 of the remaining nut and 1/2 of the remaining cinnamon mixtures and press it into the dough.  Cut the dough into 10 triangles, by making a zig zag.  There should be five-cut point down and five-cut point up, each being 3 inches at the widest point.  Also, cut a nick in the middle of the 3 inches about 1/2 inch long.  The nick will help you stretch the dough when rolling.

Each piece of dough is to be rolled into a crescent.  The 3 inch side is the start with the point at the end. Try to stretch the dough as you roll and roll tightly.  Put pressure on the end to make sure it is sealed, but do not roll backwards.  Place on baking sheet and curve ends to form a crescent.

Repeat the process with the other piece of dough. Then cover crescents and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.  15 minutes prior to completion of rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake horns for 18-20 minutes, switching racks and rotating pans halfway through baking time.

Remove and place on cooling rack.  Dust with powdered sugar when warm and dust again prior to serving.

Boardwalk Cinnamon Rolls

I have been to Disneyland and Disney world.  They are both nice amusement parks and I am sure that a Disney Cruise is fun.  However, what I did not realize is that there is a population of people that are obsessed with the whole Disney culture.  These are people that subscribe to the Disney magazine and the priority of family discussions is their upcoming Disney vacation(s).  In the end, everything is on schedule and organized.  Everyone knows and agrees what they will be doing at any minute on their vacation.

As for me, there are a few food places at Disney that I would like to go.  One of them, if you have not already guessed, is the Boardwalk Bakery.  I know, I am just a predictable foodie and would probably miss out on some good things since I am not obsessive about the Disney culture.

Below is a recipe that comes from Boardwalk.  Once you taste these, I am sure that you will understand why this bakery is not one to be skipped over if you find yourself on a Disney vacation.  The recipe states that it serves 4, but note that the rolls are over inch in height and measure 4 1/2 inches square.

Boardwalk Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from Disney Recipe website

Ingredients/sweet dough
1/2 cup water
2 beaten eggs
6 1/2 tbs butter (room temp)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs dry milk
2 1/4 cup bread flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 pkg dry yeast (I used quick rise)

In a large bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together (salt, sugar, bread flour, all purpose flour, yeast and dry milk).  Then add the eggs, water and butter.  Mix with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are combined to create a dough.  Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes on a floured surface.  Place dough back in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Ingredients/Topping
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup and 2 tbs butter at room temp
1 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp of flour
1/4 cup and 2 tbs light brown sugar

Place first 4 ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Then place a sieve over the bowl and push all the brown sugar (takes out clumps) through into the bowl.  Brush the remaining brown sugar on the bottom of the sieve into the bowl.  Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth.

With a spatula, scrape sugar mixture out of bowl and into a 9X9 inch pan.  Smooth out the top, making sure that all is evenly distributed in the bottom of the pan.  Set aside.

Ingredients/filling
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Blend cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Set aside. Place egg in a separate bowl and beat.

Assembly:
Lightly flour a smooth surface and roll out the sweet dough into a 6X12 inch rectangle.  Brush top side of dough with the beaten egg, covering all edges and corners.  Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the dough.

Carefully take one of the short sides of the dough and tightly roll it to the other short side, forming a log with the cinnamon sugar inside. To keep the log intact, pinch together the 12 inch length where the end overlaps the dough. Using a long knife, cut the log into 4 pieces.  Then place each piece, with cut side up, into the prepared pan.  Leave space between each piece and between pan and sides.  These pieces will rise quite a bit and all sides will come together.  Cover and let rise again until doubled, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Once rolls have doubled in pan,  place pan over baking sheet and put in oven. The pan underneath will help catch any topping that spills over while baking.  Bake rolls until they turn a deep golden brown, which should take about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.  Then invert on baking sheet or large plate, holding pan over the rolls for 30 seconds to make sure all topping drips onto rolls.  Serve immediately.

Ricotta Pancakes & Honeycomb Butter

Make your breakfast extra special with these pancakes that are crispy on the outside and airy on the inside.  Due to the fluffy egg whites in the batter, it will not be pourable.  The pancakes are formed by spooning out the mixture and leveling it on the griddle for cooking.  Once cooked, they hold up well in the oven. You can prepare the whole batch while keeping the initial ones warm.

While the pancakes are good, the honeycomb butter makes them extra special. As the butter melts, it will leave delicious little traces of the honeycomb.  To save time in the morning, make the butter the night before.

The recipes below make enough for 4-5 servings with extra honeycomb leftover.  The extra honeycomb can be used on ice cream or in hot tea.

Honeycomb Butter
adapted from The Best American Recipes 2001-2002

Ingredients
8 tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tbs plus 1 tsp honey
2 tbs water
1 tbs light corn syrup 
1/2 cup sugar

Prepare a baking sheet by covering with foil and pull out a blender or food processor.

In a medium size saucepan, fill with sugar, corn syrup, 1 tsp of honey and water. Place over medium heat and cover.  Check and stir periodically until mixture comes to a boil and all sugar is dissolved.  Uncover and turn up the heat and continue to boil without stirring.  As it cooks, lift the pan off the heat and swirl a few times.  The cooking will be completed when the syrup becomes a deep golden color.

Remove pan from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda.  This will cause the mixture to foam up and look creamy. Pour syrup onto prepared baking sheet and let cool completely.

Peel candy off of the foil and place back on the foil.  Unwrap foil from baking sheet and fold over candy. Then cover with a kitchen towel. Break the candy into pieces by using a meat mallet or your hands. Measure out 1/2 cup of the crumbs for the butter and place the rest in a zip lock bag for storing.

Fill a food processor or blender with the butter, salt and remaining tablespoon of honey.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Add the candy crumbs and pulse until evenly distributed.  Empty mixture onto a sheet of wax paper and roll up paper so the butter is formed into a 6 inch log.  Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Ricotta Pancakes
adapted from The Best American Recipes 2001-2002 

Ingredients
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1/3 cup cottage cheese
1 cup whole milk ricotta
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs or more of butter (for greasing griddle)

In order to keep the pancakes warm while you cook the others, have a baking sheet out and preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, blend the ricotta, milk, cottage cheese and egg yolks with a wire whisk.  Take out a sifter and place it over the bowl.  Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into the batter.  Then whisk together until all is combined.   Set aside.

Pour the egg whites into a separate bowl and beat with an electric mixer.  Continue to beat until egg whites just reach the stiff peak stage.  Using a spatula, gently fold egg white mixture into batter.  Make sure that the egg whites are completely distributed into the batter.

Brush a griddle or a 12 inch skillet with the melted butter and place over medium heat.  The pan should be hot but you do not want it to smoke.  Spoon out 1/4 of a cup of batter and spread to form a 4 inch pancake.  There should be room to place a total 4 to a batch in the pan.  Let cook for 3-4 minutes or when underside turns to a golden brown. Flip and cook the other side in the same manner.  Put each on a baking sheet, cover with a towel and place in oven to keep warm.  Continue this process until no batter remains, brushing griddle occasionally with more melted butter to make sure nothing sticks to the pan.

To serve, stack a few pancakes together on a plate with honeycomb butter in between and on top.