Banana Muffin

Ingredients


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

2.In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3.In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

a baked pineapple upside down cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a throwback to the 1920s. A time when canned pineapple was all the rage. One look at this cake and you can see why it was so popular. It is lovely, glistening slices of sweet and sticky caramelized pineapple sitting happily on top of a fluffy white butter cake. This cake begs to be served warm from the oven, with or without a dollop of softly whipped cream.

When I set out to make a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, I had my mother's cake in mind. Her cake had rings of canned pineapple slices with a maraschino cherry in the center of each. But then I came across Alice Water's recipe in her cookbook Chez Panisse Fruit, where she used fresh pineapple, and I decided it was time to update the classic. Pineapple Upside Down Cake begins with melting butter with brown sugar until it starts to caramelize. This mixture is then poured into a cake pan and fresh pineapple slices (or you can use canned pineapple) are placed on top. A buttery white cake batter is then poured over the pineapple slices and the cake is baked until golden brown. Once the cake cools, it is inverted onto a cake platter so the top of the cake features the pineapple slices that have become wonderfully soft and sweet from absorbing all that delicious caramelized sugar. I love to serve this cake warm with a nice dollop of whipped cream. Leftovers can be covered, stored in the refrigerator, and simply reheated.

 

So why did the first recipes for a Pineapple Upside Down Cake use canned pineapple instead of fresh? For the answer we have to look at the time (1920s) this recipe first appeared. The 1920s was the beginning of widespread availability of canned pineapple at reasonable prices. (At the time fresh pineapple was not widely available and if you could find it, it was very expensive.) This widespread availability happened because Jim Dole, who founded the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (later known as Dole Food Co.) in the early 1900s, increased pineapple production dramatically. He canned about 95% of the crop so this eventually led to a huge expansion of the canned pineapple market. As with all new foods, with time pineapple recipes began to appear in magazines, newspapers, and cookbooks. So popular was Pineapple Upside Down Cake in the 1920s, that Jean Anderson in her The American Century Cookbook tells us that when the Dole Food Co. held a cooking-with-pineapple contest in 1926 they received over 2,500 recipes for Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Since then the popularity of Pineapple Upside Down Cake has ebbed and flowed, and now it is often thought of as comfort food.

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan.

 

Topping: Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until the sugar starts to caramelize. Then remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan. Evenly arrange the fresh pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan.

 

Cake Batter: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

 

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture (in three additions), alternately with the milk (in two additions), ending with the dry ingredients.

 

 

 

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar just until the whites hold a firm peak. With a large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two additions. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top. Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 55 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan (a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the pineapple) will come out clean). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate.

 

Serve with softly whipped cream.

 

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake. Serves 6 to 8.

 

 

Note: Can substitute one - 20 ounce (567 gram) can of pineapple slices (drained). Once drained, pat the pineapple slices dry with paper towel and arrange on top of the sugar mixture. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.

  

Topping:

 

 

 

• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) (55 grams) unsalted butter
•  
• 3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar
•  
• 1 medium pineapple (peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick)
•  
• Cake Batter:
•  
• 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
•  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
•  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
•  
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•  
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
•  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•  
• 2 large eggs, separated
•  
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
•  
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                         Spaghetti, made with eggs and cheese.

                          


Each year when I travel to Assisi I visit one of my favorite hotel,kasunga training & conference centre this small hotel also has an excellent restaurant. One of the reasons is their spaghetti carbonara. They use more pepper than most, but I enjoy the slight kick it gives.

Many recipes call for cream, but this is not traditional. The creaminess from the eggs and cheese, cooked by the heat of the pasta, is enough. If pancetta is unavailable you can use a good quality, lean bacon. Living in the south I sometimes use country ham pieces.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti

2 Tbs butter

3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

4 ounces pancetta, cut into thin strips

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 eggs

4 Tbs Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

1 Tbs finely chopped, flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup onion, finely diced

salt

freshly ground, black pepper

Directions

Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot.

Put the butter and olive oil in a skillet, over a medium heat. When the butter is melted add the pancetta and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent and the pancetta is well browned, but not crisp.

Add the white wine and continue cooking until it has reduced by about half. Remove from the heat.

When the water is boiling add the salt and pasta, stirring until it is submerged.

In a mixing bowl (I usually use a microwavable serving bowl that I'll add the pasta too) lightly beat the eggs with the cheese, parsley, a pinch of salt, and a generous amount of fresh black pepper.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, return the skillet with the pancetta and onion to a high heat.

Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl with the egg and cheese mixture. Toss well, until the pasta is coated with the egg and cheese.

Add the onion and pancetta. Toss again.

If necessary, pop the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. Don't cook longer, or the pasta will be too dry.

Serve immediately.