May 20, 2012

Carmelized Banana Upside Down Cake is Semi-Finalist in Amateur Bake-off Contest

Posted by chloe.rosen at 02/2/12 9:16 PM in All Recipes | Desserts | The Ultimate Best Recipes

Here’s my recipe for Carmelized Banana Upside Down Cake which was a Semi-Finalist in the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund’s Fourth Annual Benefit for the Homeless. Try it and let me know what you think!

FOR THE CAKE:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

FOR THE BANANAS:

1 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/8 cup water

3-4 bananas, sliced diagonally into coins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. FOR THE CAKE: Cream butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

3. In another bowl, mix flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder together. Add to butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk. Add in lemon zest and mashed bananas and stir until combined.

4. FOR THE BANANAS: In a small saucepan, place butter and brown sugar. Mixing well over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. When the mixture is smooth and thick and boiling, add the water and stir quickly until smooth and dark-colored. Remove from heat.

5. In the bottom of a greased 9-inch baking pan, spread a thin layer of the caramel mixture and then cover it with banana slices, spiraling out from the center and overlapping slightly. When the whole bottom is covered, drizzle a few more tablespoons of the caramel mixture on top so each banana is covered. Set the rest of the caramel aside for later. Spoon the cake batter on top of the bananas and bake for about an hour until the top is puffed and golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. Let the cake cool in its pan for 5 minutes, then invert and turn out onto a flat serving dish. Drizzle the cake with the remaining caramel mixture and serve warm with whipped cream and fresh mint. For more delicious recipes from Chef Chloe, click here!

2011 Semi-Finalist in Amateur Bake-Off

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Kiwi Magazine’s Next Great Young Chefs Contest – Winning Recipe

Posted by chloe.rosen at 02/2/12 2:33 AM in The Ultimate Best Recipes | Videos

Here’s my recipe for Double Trouble Chocolate Zabaglione. What’s cool about this recipe is that you make one yummy recipe that can be used in 2 different desserts!

My Double Trouble Chocolate Zabaglione

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 bar Supreme Species Dark Chocolate
1/8 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1/2 of the inside of a vanilla bean ( equivalent to about 1/8 of a teaspoon)
5 Egg Yolks
1/2 Cup Wholesome Sweetners Organic Sugar
1/3 cup lowfat milk
1 pinch of salt
Berries of your choice

To Make Hot Milk Mixture

First, take 1/2 cup of heavy cream and simmer on low heat for about 1and 1/2 minutes.  Add 1/8 teaspoon instant coffee granules and stir. Chop up chocolate bar into very small pieces and then add to hot milk mixture.  Stir up until smooth and all the chocolate is melted.  Then set aside to cool.

To Make Egg Mixture

Now, cut 1 vanilla bean in half, and scrape out insides to get all the vanilla beans. Set aside.
Separate 5 eggs so that all the whites are in one bowl and the yolks are in another.
Next, add 1/2 cup of Wholesome Sweetners organic sugar.  Then add 1/3 cup of lowfat milk and a pinch of salt.  Stir into egg mixture until combined.
Now set egg mixture on top of a simmering pot part-way filled with boiling water. Be sure to not let the bottom of the egg mixture pot touch the boiling water in the other pot. Stir the egg mixture until it gets thick… about 2 and 1/2 minutes.

Then gently fold the chocolatey mixture into the egg mixture and serve warm over berries. YUM!!

Homemade Whipped Cream

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/4 Nielsen – Massey Tahitian Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Sugar

Chill bowl and beaters in freezer in advance.  Pour whipping cream into bowl.  Add vanilla. Beat for about 2 minutes. Then add sugar and beat for an additional 2 minutes, or until you see little peaks on the beaters.

To Make the Double Trouble Trifle Tower

11/2 pints of strawberries (wash and slice all but the biggest ones.  Biggest ones slice in half and leave on the stem)
2 1/2 tablespoons Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Sugar
Washed blueberries, raspberries and blackberries on hand
Angel Food Cake
Double Trouble Chocolatee Zabaglione (from recipe above, chilled)
Homemade Whipped Cream

Cut up Angel Food Cake horizontally in 5 even slices.  Assemble Trifle by alternating layers of cake, fruit, chocolate zabaglione and whipped cream.  Decorate top with big strawberry halves with stems facing outside the top of the cake.

Let me know if you liked it!

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