Got Bananas you need to use up? Tired of that same old banana bread? Try these Banana Bars made with Fage 0% Fat Greek Yogurt instead. They are made just that much more delicious here, by being topped with a Browned Butter Glaze.

Afternoon delight!

The original recipe for these came from my Aunt B as the most delicious Sour Cream Banana Bars (she is an awesome baker) so feel free to substitute sour cream for the Fage 0% Greek yogurt I use here if you want. I also increased the pecans and vanilla extract to my taste in the recipe below.

Banana Bars - my way (makes one half sheet pan)

• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup Fage o% fat Greek yogurt (may substitute sour cream or low fat Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (throw out any overly bruised parts before mashing)
• 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts of your choice or leave out if you don’t like them)

Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter and flour a jelly roll pan (half sheet pan aka 11 x 17 x 1″ pan) Cream the butter with the sugar, add the eggs and yogurt and beat at high speed for one minute. Add the banana and vanilla extract, beat 30 seconds more. Combine the flour with the salt and baking soda and mix into the batter. Add the nuts. Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake in oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and springs back when touched in the middle. Cool completely and then frost with browned butter glaze.

Browned Butter Glaze

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans or other choice of nuts (optional)

Brown the butter in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat until it turns a light golden brown. Mix in the other ingredients and beat with a whisk until smooth and spreadable. Spread evenly over cooled cake and top with chopped nuts if desired. Cut into bars.

Hope you enjoy!

FYI: I did not receive any incentive from Fage to post this recipe and BTW if you head on over to their page, I think they are running a Greek vacation give away contest. Plus they have coupons. Just saying…

Several years ago they were the darlings of the restaurant world. I finally got around to making some and I wonder why I didn’t sooner.  Some trends are worth it.

First you must make some chocolate truffles. Don’t be afraid this is SO easy…

Chocolate Truffles

• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 pound of best quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped- I use Callebaut Bittersweet- don’t use supermarket chocolate chips.
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso (optional but it does enhance the chocolate flavour)
• 2 Tablespoons liqueur of your choice ( I use Amaretto but you could use Gran Marnier, Chambord, Cassis, Frangelico or whatever you choose.)

Heat the cream to scalding, pour over the chopped chocolate in a glass or metal bowl. Whisk until smooth, add the butter, liqueur and espresso if using. Whisk until all is smooth. Cover the top with plastic wrap and chill until firm. Scoop into Tablespoon sized balls. Set aside 6 of these on a tray and cover tightly with plastic wrap then place into the freezer until needed in the cake recipe to follow. You can roll the rest in powdered sugar and/ or cocoa powder or dip into tempered chocolate and store in a tightly covered container in the fridge indefinitely. You most certainly will eat them before they have a chance of going bad.

Molten Chocolate Truffle Soufflé Cakes  (makes 6 individual cakes)

•  1 cup granulated sugar (plus a bit more to coat ramekins)
• 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
•  2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon  AP flour
• 4 ounces (by weight) best quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces (by weight) best quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped
•  1 Tablespoon unsalted butter (plus a bit more to coat ramekins)
•  4 large egg yolks
• 4 large egg whites
• 6 frozen chocolate truffles from above recipe
• slightly sweetened whipped cream for garnish
• powdered sugar for garnish

You’ll need (6) one-cup ramekins. Coat the insides of each with butter and place a parchment circle cut to fit the bottom diameter inside each ramekin. Butter the parchment too then sprinkle in some granulated sugar and turn to coat then entire interior surface of the ramekins with sugar. Tap out the excess. If you are going to bake the cakes immediately, preheat the oven to 425F.

Reserve two Tablespoons of the granulated sugar from the one cup measured. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the milk, sugar (less the reserved 2 T) and espresso powder until it comes to a full boil. Whisk in the Tablespoon of flour  and reduce the heat to medium-low so that the mixture simmers for one minute. After the minute, remove the pan from the heat and add both chocolates. Whisk until smooth. Add the butter and the egg yolks one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Set aside whilst you whip the egg whites.  

 Tip:I find it works best to wipe my mixer bowl with a paper towel moistened with vodka to remove any grease that may be lurking there prior to whipping egg whites. I also wipe down the whip in this manner.

Place the four room-temperature egg whites in the bowl of the mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Beat on low until frothy. Add the two Tablespoons of reserved granulated sugar from above and beat on medium high until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Take a large spoonful of the whipped whites and add to the chocolate base to lighten it. Then add the chocolate base to the whites and fold in gently using gentle strokes through the center and up the sides until the mixture is fully incorporated but not deflated. Fill each of the six ramekins half full and then place a frozen truffle in the center of each. Top each ramekin off with the remainder of the batter. At this point they can be baked immediately in the 435F oven for 10- 12 minutes and served hot or they can be held in the fridge for a day or even up to three -although they lose some potential volume each day.

This cake was mixed on Tuesday and held in the fridge then baked on Friday with only a small amount of loss in volume.

From the fridge you must increase the baking time to about 17 minutes. They can also be wrapped tightly and  held in your freezer for up to a month.  When you need a quick and impromptu dessert just remove the plastic wrap and pop them frozen into the oven at 425F and increase the baking time to about 25 minutes.

 Serve hot from the oven inverted on an individual serving plate, parchment removed and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Top with slightly sweetened softly whipped cream for the perfect dessert.

Enjoy!

As you can probably tell by now I am an almond paste addict. I love to put it in all sorts of baked goods. The problem is that at $9.00 for 8 ounces and up it can be rather expensive to buy and sometimes it is a bit past its prime as well. But luckily it is so easy to make at home- it just takes a bit of time, some good quality ingredients and a food processor.

I made 2 pounds of it a couple of weeks ago. The cost without my labor was around $5.75 instead of $36.00- not a bad savings and may I say a rather superior product as I know exactly what went into it and just how fresh it is?It will keep for weeks  in the fridge or months in the freezer and can be used for marzipan candies and other baked goods during the upcoming holidays.

Almond Paste-
(to make two pounds total – can be halved)

• 1-1/2 pounds whole natural almonds (about 4 cups)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cups water
• 1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (cane syrup)
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

Place the almonds in a large glass or metal bowl. Cover them with boiling water and let them sit for 2-3 minutes. Drain well and then pinch each almond on the fat end and they should pop right out of their skins. If they are resistant, drain and recover with more boiling water. This should be kind of fun and easy to do.

When you have removed all of the skins, blot the almonds on paper towels and place on to a rimmed baking sheet into a warm but not hot oven. You can preheat to 200F and then turn off the oven while skinning the almonds and it should be about right. Leave them in there while cooking the sugar syrup. They should be warm when you begin to grind them.

Place the sugar, water and golden syrup into a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium  heat and cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 235F* which is between a thread and soft ball stage. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract.

Grind the almonds in your food processor fitted with the metal blade. It may be necessary depending on the size of your bowl to do this in batches. Pulse them until the texture is fine and smooth- you can add a tiny bit of water if necessary to loosen the grind up a bit -but only a little and only if absolutely necessary. Once the almonds are ground finely, pour the sugar syrup in a slow steady stream while the processor is going. Process until all is uniform.

Place two sheets of plastic wrap flat on to your counter or work surface and remove the paste from the work bowl onto them. Wrap the paste tightly in the wrap and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

The paste may be used in pastries,cookies, cakes, pies or made into marzipan with the addition of confectioner’s sugar, egg whites and vanilla. More on that later…

I put some in these cherry scones…yum…so terrific!

Have a grand day!

I love the tastes of Autumn and this yummy Apple Torte with Marzipan Crust is filled with some of Fall’s best flavours. Enjoy it with some vanilla ice cream,  a bit of Creme Anglaise or even a dollop of Creme Fraiche. The crust can be a bit crumbly to work with but just roll it out and pat it into place it will have a nice crisp yet tender texture when baked.

Apple Torte with Marzipan Crust

Crust:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
•  1 teaspoon of ground Ceylon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) of fresh chilled butter
• 3 ounces of fresh almond paste
• 1 lightly beaten egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to combine. Cut the butter and almond paste into smallish pieces and add. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Mix the egg and almond extract together and add along with the lemon juice. Pulse the machine until a ball begins to form and pull away from the sides.  Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ ungreased springform pan. Form the remaining 1/3 of the dough into a disk and set into the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill together while you prepare the filling.

Preheat your oven to 350F while you prepare the filling:

Filling:

• Peel, core and slice 3 quarts (12 cups) of mixed tart and sweet baking apples
• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) of fresh butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• zest from 1 whole lemon finely grated or zested and minced
• 1/4 cup Calvados- apple brandy
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) chilled fresh butter cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Peel, core and slice your apples. Melt the butter in the bottom of a large stockpot or dutch oven. Add the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice. Add the apples and cook until tender stirring often. Mix the cornstarch into the Calvados and add to the apples. Cook until the juices are thickened. Remove from heat. Place the 2 ounces of chilled butter into the bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the flour and sugar and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the sliced almonds and pulse a few times. Set aside. Pull the crusts from the fridge and roll the disk of 1/3 reserved crust into a 9″ circle. If it crumbles just press it back together. Pour the apples and juices into the bottom crust in the springform pan. Add the reserved flour, sugar, butter, almond mixture and pat down. Top with the rolled out crust and cut some decorative slits for any steam to escape whilst baking. Place the pan on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack then remove the sides and serve warm or at room temperature for best flavour.

Hope you enjoy!