Chocolate-Banana Pudding

Two of my daughter’s Jane’s Kitchen favorites are Brownies and Banana Cake. On the day we made this pudding, we neither had enough ripe bananas for a banana cake nor enough baking chocolate for Brownies. So we decided to make this Chocolate-Banana Pudding. It requires less of both ingredients but will definitely satisfy your cravings for both. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone! One tip, do not over-process the almonds so that there would still be something crunchy to the bite. It adds just the right amount of textural variety while eating the pudding.

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed firmly

2 large eggs

3/4  cup all-purpose flour

1/4  cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup evaporated milk

2/3 cup ground almonds

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven at 175 degrees Celsius.

2. In your electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until creamy.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

4. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, cocoa and baking powder. Sift this dry ingredient mixture onto the butter mixture, add milk and beat until just combined.

5. Fold in the mashed bananas, chocolate and almonds.

6. Transfer the mixture to a greased baking pan and place it in a water bath. (Fill up the baking tray with hot water.) Cover the top of the baking pan with foil.

7. Baked in the oven for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pudding comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven and let it cool a bit for about 10 minutes.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Cheers!

Jane

Banana Rolls

Here's a sweet offering, an all-time favorite Pinoy snack or merienda which can be bought almost anywhere in the Philippines. It is best consumed right after it is fried to enjoy the wrapper's crispiness and while the filling is still warm. It is commonly known as "turon" and sometimes filled with sweetened green or red bean, or a thin slice of fresh jackfruit.

 

 

Ingredients:

Banana (saging na saba) cut into two, lengthwise

Light brown sugar
Spring roll wrappers
Cooking oil for frying

Procedure:
1. Roll the sliced bananas in sugar and wrapped the two halves in spring roll wrapper. Do this until you have wrapped all the bananas.
2. Roll the prepared rolls in sugar just before frying.
3. Fry the rolls until golden brown and drain the excess oil.

At this point, the banana rolls can be eaten as it is or can be served with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and topped with almond slices. Serve immediately.

Share the sweetness!
Jane

Banana Bundt Cake

I usually see Philippine bananas here in Singapore groceries. They are really in very good quality, I must say. The problem with imported bananas is that one day they are unripe, the next day they are overripe. So the “best time to eat” time is just a short period of time, usually a day. But thanks to this recipe, now we don’t have to be sorry for overripe bananas. Because that is what this recipe’s main ingredient is.

<Remaining post content deleted>

Banana Upside Down Cake

They say the original recipe comes from Brazil, and this cake is a very common find in Brazilian bakeries. But there is something in that caramelized banana topping that is reminiscent of the sweetened banana dessert from the Philippines, the one we use for our Banana con Yelo. Try this recipe to see and taste for yourself!

Ingredients for the topping:

1 cup brown sugar

5 ripe bananas

Ingredients for the cake batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs, separated

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

Procedure for the topping:

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, pour in the brown sugar, stirring continuously. Once it caramelized, distribute evenly all over the bottom of a non-stick pan. Set aside and let it cool.

2.  Cut the bananas lengthwise and arrange them with minimum gaps (cut side down) over the dry caramel. Set aside.

Procedure for the cake batter:

1. Preheat the oven 180°C.

2. In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients- flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Set aside.

3. In another bowl or on your electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and egg yolks.

4. To this, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, mixing constantly on low speed.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. With a spatula, fold the beaten egg whites to the batter.

6. Pour the cake batter carefully over the prepared baking pan with the caramel and banana layer.

7. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Make sure you’re inserting on the cake batter only and not on the bananas underneath.

8. Remove from oven. Let it cool a bit.

Flip the cake upside down on a serving dish while it is still a bit warm. Serve with a dash of whipped cream.

Cheers,

Jane