Banana-Coconut Upside-Down Cake

I found this recipe in All You magazine. I didn't even have to read the recipe to wanna try this one. The picture did it for me. This is the recipe that made me wanna try a bunch of banana recipes. It looks so yummy. What do you think?

Photo from All You August/27,2010 issue

And this is mine:

Doesn't look quite the same does it? I wasn't disappointed at the overall appearance of it, nor the fact that all the banana slices stuck to the bottom of the pan when I turned it out. (Yes, I had to replace every single slice of banana!) I was disappointed that it fell apart when I cut into it. The taste was okay. Not what I expected. If you try this recipe, and it turns out great, please let me know. This was the first time I tried an upside-down cake...maybe I went wrong somewhere. I was so excited about trying this one, but was failed! Hope it turns out great for you! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
Topping:

- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

- 4 bananas, sliced ¼-inch thick

- 2 cups loosely packed shredded coconut

Cake:

- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour

- 1½ teaspoons baking powder

- ½ teaspoon salt

- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

- ¾ cup granulated sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- ¾ cup milk (I used whole milk.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Make topping: Melt butter over medium-high heat in a 10- or 12-inch ovenproof skillet at least 2 inches deep. Stir in brown sugar and cook, stirring often, until smooth, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice; stir until bubbling, about 1 minute. Arrange bananas in a flat layer over bottom of pan and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle coconut on top; remove from heat.

2. Make cake: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture.

3. Pour batter over bananas and coconut; spread evenly. Be careful not to mix bananas and coconut into batter.

4. Bake until cake springs back slightly when touched in center, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cake sit in skillet for 5 minutes to allow juices to blend into cake. Run a knife around outside of cake to loosen, then carefully invert onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe Source: All You magazine/August 27, 2010 issue

In the spirit of Mardi Gras -- I attempted King Cake

The key word here is attempted. It did not turn out like I had hoped. I got this recipe from Emeril Lagasse, of course, because he's from Louisiana. Well, this is a time consuming recipe...don't expect it to take just an hour. This takes a few hours to put together. The one thing I didn't like about the cake - well, besides the fact that it didn't really turn out - is the overdone lemon taste. There was too much lemon. I followed every step exactly...tried to at least. I thought it tasted really yeasty (I don't know if that is a word or not. Lol!), and I didn't like the texture. The inside of it didn't look like a king cake to me either. Well, here's the recipe, pictures, and some notes to go with it. Good luck...if you try! For me, I'm going to buy a king cake...lol!

Recipe Source:  Emeril Lagasse

INGREDIENTS

• 2 packages dry active yeast
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
• 4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Vegetable oil
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Purple, green, and gold sugar sprinkles
• Plastic baby toy - I opted out of this.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Combine the yeast, sugar, butter, and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the milk. With the mixer on low speed, beat the mixture for about 4 minutes to dissolve the yeast. If the yeast mixture doesn't begin to foam after a few minutes, it means it's not active and will have to be replaced.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed until it lightly comes together, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and climbs slightly up the dough hook.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl. Coat the dough with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set in a warm, draft-free place, and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix well.
5. In another small bowl, combine the remaining powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk. Mix well and set aside.
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out 30 inches long and 6 inches in diameter. Spread the cream cheese filling across the center of the dough.
7. Bring the two long edges together and seal all sides completely. Using your hands shape the dough into a long cylinder and place on a greased baking sheet, seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring. Place a well-greased 2 pound coffee can or shortening can in the center of the ring to maintain the shape during baking. Press the plastic baby toy into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Cover the ring with a towel and place in a warm, draft free place. Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

I didn't have a metal coffee can or shortening can. This was about the only thing I could think of to use. It's an oven-proof pot.
8. With a sharp knife, make several slits around the top of the ring. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. After baking remove the coffee can immediately. Allow the cake to cool.

The reason my cake looks "all banged up" on the bottom is because that is how many times I took the cake out to check for doneness. =(

9. Drizzle the cake with the sugar glaze. Sprinkle the cake with sprinkles, alternating colors. Cut the cake into individual pieces and serve.

I don't know what happened. I checked the cake 3 times. Maybe I shouldn't have...I don't know. The 1st time I checked: not done, 2nd time: not done; 3rd time: overdone. Ugh! The cake, like I said, tasted yeasty, the glaze & cake were too lemony, and the cream cheese filling was basically dried and had absorbed into the cake. The filling should've been creamy. Anyways, I probably will never try a king cake again, but if I do, I will make sure I have ample time to make it and am not stressed out at the time...lol!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

BIG FLOP!! I was SO disappointed with this pound cake. I followed this recipe exactly. EXACTLY! I found this recipe in an issue of the Taste of Home magazine...I don't remember what month. It said cook for 50-60 minutes. So, I cooked it for 50 minutes...still not done, then I kept cooking it for 5 minute increments for about 30 minutes, and it still was NOT done. I took it out anyways, let it cool, and cut a slice...only to find out that half of the cake was hard as a rock, and the other half was RAW! UGH! So, I go to go look for the recipe on their website to see reviews, and the time for cooking the cake has changed, not that I think it would've made a difference. This cake had a lot of ingredients in it...like 1 1/2 cups butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 6 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, etc. You are also supposed to put 1 teaspoon of lemon extract. I myself thought that seemed like a lot when I was reading the recipe, but I put it in anyways. When I took the cake out of the oven, the first thing I smelled was lemon. When I took a bite, the lemon was overwhelming to me. Anyways, if you try the recipe, and it works out for you, let me know. Recipe is found HERE.

 

Pina Colada Cupcakes

I said in the beginning that I would share all of my trials & tribulations...even the bad ones. Here, I have one that didn't turn out quite so well for me. Well, I think it turned out like it was supposed to, it just wasn't a big hit. I did everything exactly as the recipe stated. Just a couple opinions: 1) I think the cupcake was too sticky, and I didn't like the texture of it. 2) The icing was weird. I'm not sure if I liked the pineapple-cream cheese combo, and it was a little runny. and 3)The combo of the cupcake and the icing was TOO sweet. I'm not going to post the recipe, I'm just going to post the link to it. Let me know if you try this and get better results.

Recipe Source: Beantown Baker