Oops, a banana bread! [Greek Yogurt Banana Bread]

If I've been a little quiet, it's because I'm away on vacation! I'm enjoying a little much-needed time up at my parents house.  I've been waterskiing, paddleboarding... just about everything except cooking.

My cousins came for a visit the other night and in the morning I decided to make banana bread with the littlest one since it was raining and we needed a little entertainment.  Even though I have my go-to recipe that always comes out great (although I'm failing to find it in my archives), I wanted to try something new.  I thought this Greek Yogurt recipe might make it even healthier, so I tried it out. Although we had no strawberries, so I substituted for chocolate chips.  Same thing, right?



Of course, I got a little distracted cooking with my cousin, and after the bread had been in the oven for 10 minutes I realized I forgot the sugar.  Healthier, sure, but it would taste terrible. So I took it out of the oven and stirred in the sugar and... well not my best attempt at making banana bread. It definitely isn't even close to as good as when the Monkey Scientist's mom makes it, but experimenting with greek yogurt is worth a try!



Strawberry Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
from Closet Cooking

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup strawberries, sliced (I used chocolate chips)

Instructions
1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
2. Mix brown sugar, bananas, eggs, vanilla extract, yogurt and strawberries in another large bowl.
3. Mix the dryy ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
5. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes.

Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to really feel summer.  We've already been to the beach, the pool, and even for a small hike.  I love being able to get outside, but more importantly, I love summer foods.  Nectarines, peaches, and berries have been arriving and looking gorgeous at our grocery store and I couldn't be happier.  When I saw this recipe, it just screamed summer to me with fresh strawberries and buttermilk.



We brought this cake to a party the Monkey Scientist's office has every year for the team members ending their 2-year Fellowship (like him).  I was really excited to meet everyone who he works with.  I've heard many of their names for a long time, it was nice to be able to associate each one with a face.  The dinner was absolutely lovely.  There was tons of food and everyone was really nice.  His PI made us all feel at home in his house, which always makes for a particularly enjoyable party.

Oh yeah, and the cake!  Everyone seemed to enjoy the cake!  I had to make it the day before and keep it in the fridge, so honestly it was a bit dried out.  But the flavors were great - I think that the almond extract was KEY!  The strawberries were delightful, but you could really use any type of berry or fruit (peach slices would be great!) on top.  It was so easy to throw together - I recommend it for any summer event!



Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Cake
from joy the baker

Ingredients
Roasted Strawberries:
8-oz (1/2 lb) medium strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Buttermilk Cake:
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
roasted strawberries
3 tbsp turbinado sugar for topping

Instructions
To make the strawberries:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. The strawberries get juicy, so a rimmed baking sheet is important. Set aside.
3. Cut each strawberry in half and place in a mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, olive oil, and salt (notice I didn't say balsamic vinegar...made that mistake). Whisk together until completely incorporated. Drizzle the mixture over the strawberries and toss until each strawberry is coated. Arrange strawberries in a single layer across prepared baking sheet.
4. Roast strawberries for 40 minutes. The juices will thicken, but remove the strawberries from the oven before the juices begin to burn. Remove the berries and juice from the pan while still warm. Place in a small bowl, stir in balsamic vinegar, and set aside.
To make the cake:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 11-inch cast iron skillet. You can also use an 11-inch round tart or quiche pan, or a 9×13-inch pan… although the cake will be more thin and you’ll need to keep a close eye on it in the oven.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Whisk in the vanilla or almond extract.
4. Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Top batter with half of the roasted strawberries and juice. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before slicing to serve. Serve with the remaining roasted strawberries.

Cake will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.

White Chocolate Strawberry Chunk Ice Cream

I finally did it!  I've been talking about making ice cream for well over a year now, and finally I made the move.  Despite the fact this is not a cost saving way of eating, I don't think I can ever buy ice cream in a carton again.





I stole my ice cream maker from my parents house when they moved up to the lake.  They bought it at a yard sale from our old neighbors when they moved from their house.  It had never been used until I made this ice cream, but it's far from new.  It's even hand crank...but honestly it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it'd be.




I saw this recipe a while back and it definitely peaked my interest.  Have I mentioned my love of white chocolate?  Strawberry ice cream is pretty suburb as well. The Monkey Scientist encouraged me to finally go ahead and make this, and even lent me a helping hand.  It took a long time, but none of the steps were really that difficult.




The ice cream was really amazing.  The base was so silky and sweet.  The strawberries got a little bit icy, but I think if we chopped them a little bit smaller they may have been fine.  My new ice cream scoop, on the other hand didn't quite make it.  It wasn't fancy ($1 at CVS) but I figured it'd least give me one scoop before it snapped....not so much.





I'm totally hooked on homemade ice cream...what kind should I make next?



White Chocolate Strawberry Chunk Ice Cream
from day dreamer desserts

Ingredients:
1 lb finely diced strawberries
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 c heavy whipping cream
1 c whole milk
6-7 tbsp white chocolate hot cocoa powder (I used World Market Dulce de Leche White Hot Chocolate + 1 tbsp malted milk powder)
3/4 c granulated sugar
pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3.5 oz high quality white chocolate, chopped

Instructions:
1. Place diced strawberries into a medium bowl.  Spring 2 tbsp sugar over strawberries and toss to coat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, pour 1 c of heavy cream, and place a large strainer on top.
3. In a medium saucepan warm remaining 1 c of the heavy cream, milk, white chocolate hot cocoa powder, sugar, and pinch of salt.
4. Crack eggs into a small bowl and whisk lightly. Temper the eggs by slowly pourinng about half of the heavy cream mixture in a thin stream into the egg yolks while whisking constantly to warm the egg yolks. Then return the egg yolks back into the sauce pan. Over medium heat, stir the ice cream base with a wooden spoon making sure you scrape the bottom of the pan while you stir until the ice cream base thickens and coats the back side of the wooden spoon.
5. Pour ice cream base through the strainer and stir it into the large bowl with heavy cream.  Add vanilla extract and diced strawberries. Stir well to combine. Cool ice cream base over an ice bath then finishing chilling in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours, preferably overnight.
6. Pour ice cream base into your ice cream maker and follow your manufacturer's instructions.  About 5 min before the ice cream is done churning add in white chocolate chunks. Transfer ice cream into a sealable plastic container, cover and place in the freezer until thoroughly frozen approximately 4 hours.

American Flag Cake

I apologize here for a few reasons.  For one, I made this cake before either of the shower recipes.  But everyone had been asking for the recipes from the shower, so I had to get those up first.

I also have to apologize, because this recipe is about as Sandra Lee as I get.  The Monkey Scientist will tell you (if you haven't realized already) that I really like to make EVERYTHING from scratch.  But I got the idea to make this mere hours before I had to be at a BBQ, so I did go the boxed cake route.

However, I did try to play with the boxed cake a bit. I used both white cake and strawberry cake, and swirled them. It made for a pretty and patriotic design.  Everyone was quite surprised when they cut into it! My friend taught me to sub 1/2 the water for whole milk, which makes for a much moister cake.  You should try it!

Also, while I was cutting this, one of my strawberries sliced into perfect hearts. How flippin' adorable is that?

I made this cake for a Memorial Day BBQ, but it would be really great for the 4th of July as well.  It couldn't be easier to throw together - although if I make it again I promise to make the cake from scratch! It is a huge hit and of course tastes delicious. (It's just cake, Cool Whip, and berries, how could it not be delicious?)  Sandra Lee may not be a recipe writer but she is a great decorator - so sometimes it is good to emulate her, right?

American Flag Cake
(makes 2 cakes)

Ingredients
1 box white cake mix
1 box strawberry cake mix (you can add red food coloring to white cake if you don't like strawberry)
ingredients on the back of the box, but sub 1/2 water for whole milk
2 containers Cool Whip
1 lb ripe strawberries, sliced thin
1/2 pint blueberries

Instructions
Mix the cake mixes as instructed on the back of the box.
Spread half of the white cake into each pan.  Put dollops of strawberry cake mix on top. Using a thin knife, swirl with the white cake below.
Bake as direction and let cool COMPLETELY.
Place the blueberries in the top left corner and make stripes with the strawberries to resemble an American flag.