Banana Pudding with Salted Caramel

This may be the best thing I've ever eaten. EVER. Holy cow...

I never knew I was such a fan of banana pudding, I mean, I've always liked it but this? This has changed my life. I set out looking for a recipe to try and came across the Magnolia Bakery recipe, I was very hesitant since it uses convenience ingredients like instant pudding and sweetened condensed milk. I passed by it several times thinking I wanted to make a scratch pudding or pastry cream but eventually decided to give it a shot since so many people swear by their version. Although I'm not sure the magic of the dish is a result of these ingredients, it works and it works well. The addition of salted caramel takes this from really good to mind blowing, as in take this spoon away from me or I will eat the whole batch. I've already declared this as my birthday dessert and my birthday is over 2 months away. That's how good this is.

Banana Pudding with Salted Caramel
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1½ cups ice cold water

1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)

3 cups heavy cream

1-2 boxes Nabisco Nilla Wafers (depending on preference, I like a lot)

4 cups of ripe bananas, sliced

Salted Caramel Sauce

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the water and the condensed milk until well mixed, add your instant pudding and continue whisking for about 2 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until set ( I only waited about an hour but recipe says 3-4).

Once set, whip your heavy cream to stiff peaks and gently fold in your pudding.  In the vessel(s) of your choice, layer the wafers, pudding and bananas, and caramel, making sure to end with a layer of pudding to keep bananas from being exposed to the air. Refrigerate overnight to allow cookies to soften.

Note: You can make one big dish or like I did, individual servings, this recipe makes a lot.

Adapted from Magnolia Bakery via Yumsugar

© 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Crepes

Dessert the other night was a spur of the moment decision and a good one at that. Crepes. Not something I've made in years and years, maybe 10-12 years ago was the last time? I don't know what lit the fire under my behind or what I was waiting for but I've got to make up for lost time. I had recently seen an episode of Mexican Made Easy, Marcella made savory cheese crepes with a poblano cream sauce (these sound great don't they? Note to self to try them soon) but I used her recipe for the crepes mainly because she mentioned the added yolk made for a sturdier crepe that was easier to deal with, I don't know if that was the key but these were super simple. Mix all ingredients in the blender, let sit and throw it in the pan, I had no trouble flipping them just loosened it with a spatula and flipped it by hand. I chose to fill some with fresh berries, Nutella and whipped cream, others with just banana slices and Nutella, both were mind blowing but the possibilities are endless.

Crepes
Yield: about 8 crepes
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to let bubbles settle. When you're ready to make the crepes, heat a 10 inch skillet over medium high heat, spray with cooking spray and add 1/4 cup of your batter to the pan. Immediately swirl the pan to evenly distribute batter to cover bottom of the pan. Cook for 30 - 40 seconds until set and bottom is starting to brown. Loosen the edges with spatula and flip, cooking for another 30 seconds. Repeat until no batter remains. I kept the completed crepes warm on a plate in a 200 degree oven. Fill as desired.

Recipe adapted from Mexican Made Easy


©  2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Olive & Cheese Loaf

 

 

 

Within the last month or so, I've tried a few 'no knead" bread recipes and I've had very good luck with all of them but this one is the hands down favorite. The technique is usually the same, mix together a few simple ingredients, cover and let sit overnight, punch down, let rise again and throw in a smokin' hot oven but the olives and the Gruyere put this one over the top. It's so simple and produces such a wonderful bread, crusty on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside there's really no excuse not to give it a try.

 

Olive cheese loaf
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bread flour (I didn't realize I was running low so I used 2 cups bread + 1 cup APF)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 3/4 cups cubed Gruyere
• 1 1/2 cup pitted olives, sliced ( I used Kalamata)
• 1 1/2 cups cool water

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and yeast. Add in your Gruyere and olives and toss to combine. Stir in your water, starting with 1 1/4 cups, adding more if needed to form a wet sticky dough. Cover and let sit a room temperature for 12 hours or until dough is bubbling and has doubled in size.
Flour your work surface and turn out the dough and using a bench scrapper or spatula, fold the edges of the dough to the center.
Generously (and I mean GENEROUSLY) flour a piece of parchment paper and place dough on top, seem side down. Cover with another sheet of parchment and then a kitchen towel. Let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours until it has again doubled in size.
Place a dutch oven (handle unscrewed and removed and hole lugged with foil) into your oven and preheat to 475 degrees, allowing your pot to preheat with the oven. After 10 minutes, remove the pot from the oven and gently place your dough inside and return covered to the oven and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake uncover for 20-30 minutes longer, until crust is dark brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

© 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Baked Egg Boats

On Saturday I had the pleasure of sitting down at the kitchen table with a glass of juice, an iced coffee, some fruit and these wonderful "egg boats" that I'd seen on spoonforkbacon. As usual, I was out and about early and managed to get my hands on some fresh from the oven demi baguettes from a local store. These remind me quite a bit of quiche, taking my least favorite element out the equation (the crust) and replacing it with a crusty, chewy piece of delicious bread. I followed the original recipe's flavor profile fairly closely but these would work with any combination of add ins you'd like. I will say that these were very good right out of the oven but that I much preferred them closer to room temperature where the flavors melded together and really had a chance to shine.

Baked Egg Boats

Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 demi baguettes
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 4 oz cooked ham, chopped
• 3 oz Gruyere, shredded
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut out a channel in the top of each of your baguettes and remove some of the bread to create a boat in which you will pour the egg mixture. Be sure to leave about 1/2 inches of bread on the bottom/sides. In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk your eggs, half and half and salt and pepper together until well broken up and combined. Now add in your ham, Gruyere and scallions, give another quick whisk and pour mixture into your prepared baguettes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until tops are puffy and starting to turn golden brown. Let cool a minimum of 5 minutes to allow eggs to set but as I said earlier, I much preferred these when just barely warm.

 

Adapted from SpoonForkBacon

 

© 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Green Smoothie

With it being St. Patricks day and all, this was my afternoon snack.....

... a green smoothie! I've been drinking a lot of smoothies lately and this is the one I threw together today for the occasion, pineapple, banana and spinach. For those of you who have not tried a green smoothie, this is a good place to start. Spinach has a very mild flavor so it's not even detectable in the finished drink, I didn't feel the need for anymore sweetness but feel free to add some honey or maple syrup if you desire.

Green Smoothie
Yields one 24 oz or two 12 oz smoothies
Printable Recipe

1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 large banana, frozen
1 cup milk, I used unsweetened SoDelicious coconut milk (50 cals per 8oz)
2 big handfuls of spinach
8-10 ice cubes
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until very smooth. Enjoy!

© 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Bailey's Scones

 

Since St. Patricks day falls on a Saturday this year, why not take advantage and take a few minutes to whip up a celebritory breakfast for yourself and those you love? These scones are bursting with the flavor of Irish Cream thanks to the addition of Bailey's brand coffee creamer. If I'm honest, in general I'm not a huge fan of Irish cream but in these scones it mellows enough and combines with the cappuccino chips and creates something quite unbelievable. I can say with confidence that I will continue making these throughout the year. My inspiration for using the creamer in place of cream/milk/buttermilk was thanks to Amber and her caramel macchiato scones (which are super yummy!) from Bluebonnets and Brownies. This has now become my go to scone recipe, swapping out flavors of creamers and add ins to achieve different results.

Bailey's Scones

Makes 8 large scones

Printable Recipe

• 1/2 cup Bailey's or Irish cream flavored coffee creamer
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup cappuccino chips
• Sparkling Sugar for topping

Preheat over to 375 degrees. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the cream and the egg, set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to break up any lumps. Using a cheese grater, grate your frozen butter into your dry mixture, working as quickly as possible so butter stays frozen. Add in your chips and lightly combine butter/chips into dry mixture with a fork. Pour in your creamer and egg and stir until dough just comes together. Pat out into a circle that is about 1 1/2 inches thick and cut into 8 equal wedges. Place wedges on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush the tops of the scones with the egg/creamer residue left in the bowl and top with sparkling or sanding sugar. Bake for about 14 minutes until tops are just starting to brown.

 

Recipe adapted from Bluebonnets & Brownies

 

©  2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Baked French Toast

 

My weekends lately have included what I've been referring to as "special breakfasts". You see, as much as I hate to admit it, I don't normally eat any sort of breakfast in the mornings, especially on weekdays. Having these "special breakfasts" on the weekends have really been giving me something to look forward to. It could be something as indulgent as french toast or as simple and healthy as the baked oatmeal I shared a few weeks ago, the joy is in planning, making and taking the opportunity to sit down and enjoy them. This baked french toast was pretty incredible, almost like a cross between french toast and bread pudding, served with fresh berries and topped with almonds and real maple syrup, it was a perfect start to my Sunday.

Baked Almond French Toast
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
•  1 loaf of Brioche, sliced into thick slices, approximately 11/2 inches thick
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 4 eggs
• 1 12 teaspoons vanilla
• Pinch of salt

For serving:
Fresh berries
Powdered sugar
Pure maple syrup

1. The night before, slice your bread and let sit uncovered on the counter to stale slightly so bread will absorb more of the custard.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack set in center of oven. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together almonds, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter; set aside. Arrange bread slices in an even layer in prepared baking dish; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, half and half, eggs, vanilla, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Pour over bread and let stand 5 minutes. Carefully drain custard from baking dish and pour over bread a second time, tilting baking dish to evenly distribute; let stand 5 minutes. Custard should be almost completely absorbed. Sprinkle evenly with almond mixture.
5. Cover baking dish with parchment paper-lined foil and transfer to oven; bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until slightly puffed and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Serve immediately with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and berries.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

 

© 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Bailey's Marshmallows

In the past few weeks, I've made vanilla bean marshmallows, smoked vanilla bean marshmallows, espresso marshmallows, creamciscle marshmallows, cake batter marshmallows and these. Bailey's Marshmallows. To say I've been on a bit of a marshmallow kick would be a gross understatement. I plan on sharing many, if not all of these recipes with you at some point but since it's so close to St. Patricks Day, these got top priority. Marshmallows are extremely easy to make and the recipe is surprisingly adaptable. These would be awesome in a cup of coffee or mug of hot chocolate - spiked or not, your choice.

Bailey's Marshmallows
Printable Recipe

• 3 packets of gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup Bailey's, cold
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Powdered Sugar to coat marshmallows and pan

Place the cold Bailey's in the bowl of your stand mixer, slowly sprinkle the gelatin on top. Set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. Using the whisk attachment, whisk the gelatin mixture while pour your hot sugar mixture in in a very slow but steady stream. Once it has all been added to the mixer, turn up to the highest speed and whip for about 15 minutes or until mixture has lightened and tripled in volume. While mixer is running, prepare a pan of your choice (I've used 9 x13 but prefer 9x9 as I like the thicker cubes) by lining with parchment, spraying completely with non-stick spray and then dusting powdered sugar to cover. Once your marshmallows are done mixing, pour into the pan ( a greased spatula helps with this) and allow to sit overnight uncovered to firm up. Cut into desired size(s) with a pizza cutter and coat each marshmallow with powdered sugar. This will keep in a storage bag for at least a week, probably longer.

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

 

© 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Rice Pudding

 

 

Some days you find yourself in need of some good ol' fashioned comfort food. The other night we had a dusting of snow and we'd both had a rough day so I thought I'd whip up something warm and comforting. Dave is a big fan of rice pudding but I'd only attempted making it once a few years ago using already cooked rice. I was not in love with the result. This time around, I decided not to follow any recipe, just to use my instincts. Apparently my instincts were pretty good because the resulting rice pudding was delicious, much better than any store bought I've had. The secret (if you can really call it that) is to start with uncooked arborio rice, the kind normally reserved for risotto. The constant stirring develops the starches in the rice and make it nice and thick - and creamy to boot. You could really go any direction you want in terms of flavoring, I kept it pretty simple using a vanilla bean, cinnamon and some freshly grated nutmeg. Top it all off with a dollop of whipped cream and call it a night. 

Rice Pudding

Serves about 6

Printable Recipe

• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup half and half
• 3/4 cup arborio rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt 

Split vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds, place (along with pod) in a medium saucepan with remaining ingredients. Heat over medium low uncovered, stirring frequently for about 40 minutes until the rice has absorbed most of the liquids and you are left with a creamy, thick pudding. In the beginning you will question whether the rice will absorb all of the liquid, I assure you it will. Remove vanilla bean before serving.

Note: You can also serve at room temperature or cold from the fridge but I preferred it warm.

 

© 2012 - 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Guinness Bundt Cake

In honor of St. Patricks day, which is quickly approaching, I thought I'd share the recipe for this yummy cake. Now I know many of you are thinking that the idea of Guinness and chocolate doesn't sound appealing but let me assure you the cake does not taste of Guinness. It definitely changes the flavor profile so you know something is different but the flavor does not scream beer. I made a few modifications to the original recipe by adding chunks of dark chocolate and cocoa nibs to the batter. This was the first time I had baked with the cocoa nibs and I have to say that I quite like the results. They add a slightly crunchy little bite, a nice little texture change. The cake stays nice and moist from the addition of sour cream and the ganache bumps up the chocolate factor to another level. If you're planning a St. Patricks day celebration (let's me honest, even if you're not) consider adding this to your menu.

Guinness Chocolate Bundt Cake

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more to coat the pan
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for the pan
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup stout beer (such as Guinness)
• 16 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped (8oz for batter, 4oz for chunks, 4oz for ganache)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup roasted cocoa nibs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with the cocoa powder, tapping out the excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and stout. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted. Remove from heat, add 8 ounces of the chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars on medium-high until fluffy. Beat in the chocolate mixture and sour cream. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in the flour mixture until just combined (do not overmix). Mix in your chocolate chunks and cocoa nibs by hand.
4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.
5. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a boil. Remove from heat, add the remaining 4 ounces of chocolate, and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Set the cooling rack with the cake over a baking sheet. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let set before serving.

Recipe adapted from Real Simple

© 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.

Brown Butter and Bacon Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Bacon + Browned Butter + Dark Chocolate Chunks = Heaven

Does it get any better than this? If so, I can't think of what. The combination of these three components is out of this world. The salty smokiness from the bacon, the nuttiness from the browned butter and the sweet bitterness from chunks of chocolate. The only thing I changed up was using a good quality bar of dark chocolate that I'd cut up into nice big pieces rather than using store bought chips. I've decided recently that I prefer this in my cookies, I think it (obviously) gives better flavor but I've found that I also enjoy the texture more. I guess I'm not so much a fan of the waxiness of the chips. Not to say I won't use them, I know myself well enough not to make that promise but when I'm looking to make something special, I will be sure to reach for the bar rather than the bag.

Browned Butter and Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Printable Recipe

14 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup dark chocolate, chopped into desired size

3 tablespoons milk chocolate, grated

10 strips bacon, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, line two baking sheets with parchment. In a saucepan over low heat, melt 10 tablespoons of the butter stirring frequently. Continue to cook until butter has browned which should take about 10 minutes. Now remove from heat and stir in your remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachments, mix the sugars, salt, vanilla, egg and yolk. Slowly add in your melted, slightly cooled butter until it is well incorporated. Add your flour and baking soda, mixing until it just comes together and no flour is visible. Add your chocolates and bacon and finish stirring by hand to be sure not to over work the dough. Scoop out onto your prepared baking sheets into your desired size and bake for 12 - 14 minutes until cookies are just barely set. Cool and enjoy.
Recipe adapted from From Away
© 2012 - 2012 Mostly Sweet & Sometimes Salty - All Rights Reserved.