June 17, 2011

Knitted Cake - A Lionbrand Knitting Pattern


Ok, how cool is this cake?  Combining my love of knitting with my love for cakes, this 3-tiered red velvet ribbon cake knitting pattern.... well.... takes the cake!  It's a Lionbrand pattern (not one of my own creations), so follow the link below if you like:


Happy delicious knitting!

June 11, 2011

Dark Banana Bread Recipe - For That Richly Moist Dark Brown Color!


When I go to a cafe and order a yummy slice of banana bread it is always so richly dark in color and very very moist. Of course I could never replicate this at home. My banana bread was too pale, too bread-like, and too dry to even come close to something "store-bought". So if you are like me in search of a banana bread that is dark in color and moist too, here is my tried-tested-true recipe for you!

Recipe Yield: 1 loaf

Dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
A pinch of table salt

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups very very ripe bananas, the more ripe the better!  This is approximately 5 large bananas or 8 small ones I think.

Directions:
1) Mash or puree the bananas.  You can also mash the bananas a day before and put them in the fridge for later.  I usually try to make more pureed bananas so I can measure out what I need to make my banana bread and then the rest save it for my baby food.
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease one standard loaf pan (9" x 5" x 3"depth).
3) Mix all dry ingredients together making sure the brown sugar is evenly distributed (no big clumps!).
4) Add all wet ingredients and mix together (just til all the wet and dry ingredients come together smoothly, don't over mix it).
5) Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Poke a skewer through the loaf and see if it comes out clean to ensure it is completely baked through.
6) Remove loaf pan and let it cool for 10 minutes before removing banana bread from pan. Cut and serve.

Footnotes:
Optional ingredients to add are 1 cup crushed walnuts, chocolate chips, or blueberries. You can check out more of my recipes on my website thecreateryshop.com. Enjoy!

 

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