NUTELLA BANANA CAKE: World Nutella Day

Today is World Nutella Day, and Nutella Banana Bundt Cake is the perfect cake to use up any black bananas and celebrate the day! 

Nutella is an amazing chocolate hazelnut spread. It's great on just about anything. You should have it in your pantry.

NUTELLA BANANA CAKE

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 medium (or 3 large) over-ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans (optional)
1 cup Nutella, divided
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray bundt cake pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, whisk together banana, sugar, brown sugar. Beat in egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, until there are no lumps. Fold in pecans.
Fill pan with half batter. Add 2/3 of the Nutella, trying not to let it come in contact with pan. Add rest of batter on top, covering all the Nutella.
Bake 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and flip onto dish. 
Dust with powdered sugar.

CHERRY PORT HEART-SHAPED BROWNIES: Valentine's Day

Here's a great recipe for Valentine's Day: Cherry Port Brownies.

Want to make these special? Use a 3" heart-shaped cookie cutter to make Brownie Hearts. The photo is from Betty Crocker, and their recipe uses the Betty Crocker Brownie Mix. That's a big shortcut. It's up to you. You can always use the mix and add some dried cherries soaked in port. Another festive touch is to sprinkle with powdered cocoa or red crystallized sugar or drizzle with red icing after the brownies have cooled.

CHERRY PORT HEART-SHAPED BROWNIES

Ingredients
2 Tbsp port
1/2 cup dried cherries
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, cold
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

Directions 
Position oven rack in center of oven; preheat to 325 degrees F.
Line 8x8x2-inch pan with foil. Butter foil; set aside.
In small saucepan, bring port and water to boiling. Add dried cherries; cook and stir over low heat until fruit is soft and plump and liquid evaporates. Using spatula, scrape cherries into bowl; set aside to cool.
Set heatproof bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (be sure water doesn't touch bottom of bowl). Place butter in bowl; scatter 6 ounces chocolate over butter. Heat until chocolate is almost melted (you do not want to heat the mixture so much that the butter and chocolate separate). Remove bowl from heat. Stir until butter and chocolate are smooth. Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, stirring until batter is smooth and glossy. Whisk in salt. Gently whisk in flour, stirring only until it disappears into the batter.
Using spatula, stir in port-soaked cherries (and any liquid that accumulated) and remaining 4 1/2 oz. chopped chocolate.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top as much as possible.
Bake 35 minutes.
Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature.
Invert brownies onto cutting board; gently peel away foil
Turn brownies over. Cut into squares or use 3" heart shaped cookie cutter. 

Cartoon of the Day: Carrot Cake

Happy Carrot Cake Day!!

HEAVENLY HASH CAKE: Heavenly Hash Day!

Today is Heavenly Hash Day. Of course, I'm not talking about the Hash in the Vintage Advertisement. Heavenly Hash can be lots of things: a fruit salad held together with sour cream or whipped cream, or it might be a chocolate candy or chocolate cake filled with marshmallows and nuts. Some ice cream makers have a variety of chocolate ice cream called Heavenly Hash (kind of like Rocky Road).

Since I'm into Chocolate, I'm posting a Heavenly Hash Cake recipe to celebrate the day. Warning: this is very sweet, but it's really good since it has three layers. It's also simple to make!

HEAVENLY HASH CAKE

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
4 Tbsp cocoa
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups nuts, chopped
1 tsp pure Vanilla
1 bag mini marshmallows
Dash of salt

Directions
Melt butter and cocoa together.
Beat eggs and sugar.
Add flour, salt and vanilla.
Fold in butter and cocoa mixture. Mix well.
Fold in nuts.
Pour into a 13 x 9 inch greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Distribute marshmallows evenly over warm cake top.
Return to oven for 5 minutes (just until marshmallows puff a bit)
Let cool.
Top with chocolate icing layer (this can be thick-take one pass over the cake and add rather than swirling)

ICING:
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 lb confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Heat milk and butter together. Beat in confectioners sugar, cocoa and vanilla.

Groundhog Day Chocolate Cupcakes

I love to decorate cupcakes and cakes for special occasions. February 2 is the day when Punxsutawney Phil peaks his head out, and, if he sees his shadow and returns to his hole, it means there will be another 6 weeks of winter. If he doesn't see his shadow and comes out, there will be 6 more weeks of winter.  This holiday was brought to international attention by the film Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

Here's an adorable decorating suggestion for "Cupcakes for Young and Old" to enjoy. This is from Food.com (not my photo, but Marg's on Food.com). She did a great job, don't you think? For this holiday, you can make your own cupcakes or buy rich chocolate-y ones at your favorite bakery!

Groundhog Day Chocolate Cupcakes (decorating)

Ingredients:
12 baked chocolate cupcakes
6 Almond Joy candy bars
10 white jelly beans
3 watermelon slice candy
48 brown miniature M&Ms
4 chocolate cookies
white frosting
black decorating gel

Directions:
Remove a piece of cake the width of an Almond Joy candy from the center of a baked cupcake.
Set candy bar upright in hole, then spread a layer of white frosting on the cupcake.
For groundhog's eyes, trim ends from a white jelly bean, stick them in place with frosting, then dot them with black decorators' gel.
Add a tiny triangle cut from a watermelon slice candy for a nose, brown M&Ms Minis for ears and cheeks, and a tiny rectangular piece of white jelly bean for teeth.
Sprinkle chocolate cookie crumbs around the partially emerged groundhog, for dirt!

BAKED ALASKA BROWNIES! It's the Bombe!

Today is Baked Alaska Day. This Retro dessert is making a major comeback, and I've seen it on several restaurants in San Francisco, New York, L.A. and Chicago. This dessert originated at New York City’s Delmonico’s restaurant to commemorate the United States’ purchase of Alaska in 1867. Baked Alaska is an ice-cream cake covered with an igloo of toasted meringue. It's a real show stopper!

Following is an easy and delicious recipe from Betty Crocker. This version consists of an ice cream dome on a brownie base, topped with meringue. 

No time to bake? Ben & Jerry's used to make Baked Alaska Ice Cream, but you can always make this simple Baked Alaska Sundae using their ice cream. 

Want to spend more time, check out Martha Stewart's Baked Alaska with Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Ice Cream. It's the Bombe!

Baked Alaska Brownies!

Ingredients

Ice Cream Dome 
2 cups (1 pint) peppermint ice cream, softened
6 cups (1.5 quarts) mint chocolate chip ice cream, softened
6 cups (1.5 quarts) vanilla ice cream, softened

Brownie Base
1 cup butter
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Merinque
8 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup sugar

Directions

Line 3 (or 4) quart bowl (with 9 inch circumference) with plastic wrap. Fill base of bowl with peppermint ice cream; layer with mint chocolate chip ice cream, then finish with a layer of vanilla ice cream. Cover surface with plastic wrap and freeze until ice cream is very hard, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours in advance.

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray, line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.

Place butter and chocolate in medium glass bowl over saucepan of hot water (or use double boiler) and stir butter and chocolate until melted. Set aside to cool

In separate large bowl, whisk  eggs, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. In another medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add cooled chocolate mixture to eggs and whisk to combine. Add flour to chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Pour into cake pan. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

When brownie is completely cool, about 1 hour, turn brownie out onto large flat, ovenproof plate. Unmold ice cream dome on top of brownie layer. Place back in freezer.

With electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Increase speed to high and add sugar in slow stream until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Remove ice cream dome from freezer. Remove plastic wrap. Cover ice cream dome with meringue, covering completely, using back of spoon to make swirly peaks. Freeze for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.

Heat oven to 500°F. Bake for 2 minutes or until peaks start to turn a golden brown color.

For easier slicing, let cake stand for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.