One Bowl Banana Coconut Mini Bundts

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Sitting here at midnight, only thinking about the transience of so much. Day by day, shadows work their way around my feet. Before I’ve even come to terms with fact that term time is almost up, people in other unis have started summer, champagne bottles are being popped. Hyperactivity everywhere.

With all the frantic house-hunting and exam stress (and worrying over the efficacy of actual study technique), there’s comfort in the close strong bonds you know you always have with loved ones, and the smell of something warm and sugary rising in the oven. I knew I had to use my one precious, scratched mini bundt pan at some point before the end of first term. I hauled all my stuff from Singapore for a reason, right? Yeah, it’s been a while, but mea culpa.

Before I move on, a few things that’ve caught my eye this week. I do feel more inclined to share what I read regularly on this platform, which is pretty much everything nutrition/science-related:

Fascinating

Darya keeps linking the best, most informative and relevant articles

‘good science writing is not just about about turning over conventional wisdom about complex things.’ So much yes.

Love this man. A great retelling

And now.

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The fluffiest, softest mini cakes you will ever make, stuffed with mashed banana, topped with a coconut milk icing.

Now with blogging comes honesty. I’m not kidding when I add the ‘you will ever make’ bit, because they really truly are. I just can’t kid when it comes to this sort of thing. Despite its ease and speed, this recipe has yielded the softest cake texture I have attempted by far. Stuff of cloudy dreams. I hate overhyping something, but the excitement is all too real right now. THE absolute best bit?

It’s all made in one bowl, just a bit of mixing, no elbow grease or sweat or fiddling whatsoever. No worrying about whether you have to ‘make time’, because you will have the time.

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These little cakes really are quite special. Perhaps it’s the irresistible fluff factor, or the mashed banana in the middle, making it a triple-layer banana hit. Probably both, not forgetting the slightly balmy, creamy addition of coconut. The next time I make these, I’ll add more coconut extract for an extra exotic kick. The delicacy of the crumb in this cake deserves the trueness of flavour.

You definitely don’t need a mini bundt pan for these, and can do the same thing in a mini muffin tin, or spread the batter in a square tin and bake for the same amount of time, then cut little squares/whatever your wild heart desires out of the final product.

And if you’re in the mood for more…

Feeling like cookie butter?

Or perhaps a little lemony?

Clearly I’ve run out of humour.

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One Bowl Banana Coconut Mini Bundts with Coconut Icing (makes 12-14 mini cakes)

Ingredients

For the cakes:

60g soft, unsalted butter

1 1/2 mashed bananas (should amount to a half cup)

an additional 2 mashed bananas for the filling

225g (1 cup) white sugar

2 eggs

60ml each of coconut cream and coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

190g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour mixed with a half tsp of baking powder (alternatively, use self-raising flour)

quarter teaspoon of salt

For the coconut milk icing:

2-3 tbsp coconut cream (or use coconut milk)

75g icing sugar

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and butter your mini cake/bundt/muffin tin. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter and mashed banana together in a microwave to add a little caramelised effect to your already-ripe bananas, around 20 seconds. Pour contents into a larger bowl (makes mixing a bit easier later on), then add all the other ingredients for the cake, except for the 2 mashed bananas which you need for the filling afterwards.

Spoon a tablespoonful of batter into the bottom of a well in your tin, add a teaspoon of mashed banana in the middle, then fill the rest of the well with batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes (mine were fine at 18). Whilst they are baking, mix the icing ingredients in a bowl and set aside. It’s hard to test for doneness due to the moist banana filling, but a little poke into the sides with a wooden skewer should reveal a mostly clean tip. A few moist crumbs clinging to the tip are fine; these cakes are pretty fragile and need to rest in the tin for a good 20 minutes before removing anyway.

If using a mini bundt pan, use a serrated knife to cut the tops off (these make wonderful little snacks). Loosen the edges with a blunt knife (just use a normal dinner knife), then tip the pan over to remove the little cakes. You don’t need to do this if using a normal muffin or cake tin. Drizzle with the coconut icing and top with coconut flakes. Fragile, sugarplum fairy-esque teatime treats await.

Posted on May 20, 2016February 21, 2022 by alexcrumb 0

Spotted Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Loaf Cake

Simon and Garfunkel– Cecilia. Now I’m ready.

It feels good to just sit and write, even if it’s something completely unrelated to course content. The mind can think and meander, explore different routes, modes, moods. Creative inspiration seems much more inclined to approach a weary mind when you’re willing to let a bunch of different feelings and experiences coalesce. To just let yourself go.

Fluffy, moist brown sugar pound cake ‘spotted’ with dark brown sugar bits, peanut butter and chocolate spread.

I personally have nothing against the word moist, which I think describes this perfectly, along with sweet, treacly and buttery. Are those last 3 ok? I actually recently read an article on word aversion which I could fully relate to. I have zero aversions to any word. I just love English. And words. But I do have an aversion to word aversion.

Right smack in the middle of exam season, and everyone is jostling in the library. Noses to books, noses to screens, pen to paper. I can feel the heat emanating from everyone’s bright and burning brains almost immediately upon stepping foot in the silent arena. A battle zone of books. There seems to be little time for anything now, but having just a little time in the kitchen to experiment has become a priority to me. The other day I came across a well-known brown sugar pound cake recipe by one of my favourite lady bakers, so I couldn’t resist the opportunity, when it struck unexpectedly one free day, to give it a go and perhaps see where my creative endeavours led me down the road.

I used an especially dark, treacly, molasses-y brown sugar (oh, what is English?). You’re probably wondering what’s with the ‘spotty’ label, and I figured that the picture right above provided an appropriate example– something which arose from chance rather than prediction. You take thick chunks of sticky dark brown sugar, and crumble it with your hands. The result? Some larger chunks (not too large) some sandy pools, some little peas.

You make the batter, pour half into the pan, dot with blobs of peanut butter (I used all-natural chunky) and chocolate spread, spread on the other half, BAKE.

I term this ‘loaf cake’ instead of ‘pound cake’ because I did have to modify the recipe a little with the quantity of brown sugar I used. The ‘spotted’ factor makes it all the more rich without being sickly. The rise and density of the loaf is spot on. Though it doesn’t have quite the same sharp crust as my favourite-ever banana bread recipe, the flavour is there, all you want and more. There’s a real nice split down the middle as it bakes, relatively even, revealing a little of the sticky, soft inside. Like the formation of the primitive streak during gastrulation in embryo formation. Hope that didn’t sound too weird.

You might die of joy from the smell, but then you’ll take a bite. Life, welcomed. Relish all the fused flavours, all that nutty, brown sugary goodness, hit the tender middle with speckles of brown sugar and chocolate and peanut butter which seeps right into the batter. Pick at the caramelised edges and tops, which are always the best bits.

Spotted Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Loaf Cake (makes one 9×5-inch loaf, adapted from Yossy’s brown sugar pound cake)

Ingredients

200g (a little more than 1 1/2 cups; used slightly more than stated in the original recipe) flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

110g (1/2 cup) white caster sugar

220g (1 cup) dark brown sugar, the darkest you can find at your store, packed

200g (7 oz) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

120ml (1/2 cup) whole milk

3 heaping tbsp peanut butter of choice

3 heaping tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread

Directions

Preheat your oven to 170C (325F). Butter your loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the softened butter (has to be soft!!) and white sugar. You could use an electrical whisk here if you wish as well, but I just like to use a standard wire whisk. Take your brown sugar and crumble it into the butter and white sugar mix, leaving some large and some small clumps. Whisk briefly so as not to break up those larger lumps.

Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Pour the dry mix into the wet, add the milk, then whisk everything together. Pour half of this batter into your loaf pan, then dollop blobs of peanut butter and hazelnut spread on top. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes; take out when a wooden skewer inserted in the middle has moist (and peanut buttery) crumbs clinging to it. Leave to cool, then serve. As the original recipe states, wrap and store this at room temperature for 4 days (mine just didn’t last as long; thank you fellow floor mates).

Perfect for breakfast, tea, those tiny breaks between lectures. Ho yes.

Posted on May 12, 2016February 21, 2022 by alexcrumb 1

Honey Balsamic-Roasted Rhubarb Coconut French Toast

A change has occurred, indeed.

But it’s ok– the change shall be regnant, sustained. What exactly is it?

It’s been a full half a year since I’ve been without my other half- much has happened that has caused it to wane in importance in my life.. or so I thought. NOW I am reunited with my Nikon, complete and happy with old-fashioned clicking, rotating, manual correction, an old bit of Alex has been brought to life.

With the first set of exams over, what better way to celebrate than with a french toast, aka my favourite breakfast thing in the world ever?

A simple plate of french toast infused with coconut extract, topped with rhubarb roasted with honey and 12 year-old balsamic vinegar, topped with coconut extract, sweet, thick balsamic and maple syrup.

Rhubarb is in season and it was that fateful Thursday morning I decided to make the most of it. It’s simple but lush; the honey balsamic pairing adds succulence without being overly sour, the sweetness balanced by the almost sophisticated yet playful addition of coconut extract in the french toast batter.

OH. It’s the roasting with aged balsamic vinegar that truly makes all the difference. Best bit is that it takes no longer than 12-15 minutes, so all you have to do is chuck the chopped rhubarb on your pan, chuck that in the oven, then make your french toast. It all fits into a decent timeframe, saving you from excess mental exhaustion, even if it is meant to be a relaxing morning for creative expertise to take hold of the system. Sometimes one just can’t think straight in the mornings. This is one of those recipes that cooperates a bit with an occasional blur streak.

Just make sure you buy the aged stuff, vinegar-wise, for the ultimate sweet and sticky rhubarb experience. The rhubarb soaks up the tangy glisten of deep golden-black, the rest lingers in a finger-thick puddle for you to lick up a little later (oops).

Honey Balsamic-Roasted Rhubarb Coconut French Toast (serves 1 but may be scaled up)

Ingredients

1 slice bread of choice– soft whole wheat (I took a frozen homemade slice and microwaved it so it was the right texture for dipping into french toast batter) was used here, but so can brioche/ challah/ classic white bloomer

1 egg

splash of milk

1/2 tsp coconut extract

2 tbsp honey (though there is no need to measure, simply drizzle as much as you want before roasting)

2 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar

1/2-1 stalk rhubarb

Toppings: maple syrup, more balsamic and coconut flakes

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Chop up your rhubarb into pieces 1.5-2cm long and lay them on your oven pan (won’t take up lots of space). Drizzle on the honey and balsamic vinegar, then chuck in the oven and let roast for 12-15 minutes– they should be done by 15 maximum.

Preheat your pan on medium heat and ready some butter. In a bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and coconut extract. Once the pan is hot, add a knob of butter to the pan and let sizzle– it should not burn and turn brown; if that’s the case, turn down the heat a little and wait for that to settle. Dip both sides of bread into the batter, 5-10 seconds on each side, then lay one side into the pan. Flip after half a minute and cook the other side.

Serve the french toast with the cooked rhubarb, bubbling, sweet and tangy, and any extra juices left from the roasting. Add maple syrup, coconut flakes and more balsamic vinegar if you wish. I had this the other day with some almond butter and blueberries, and that was pretty darn magnificent too.

Posted on May 1, 2016February 21, 2022 by alexcrumb 0

Apple Pie Pillow Pancakes

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My pillow pancake series is getting a tad out of hand.

No actually I take it back. Would take too much for me to quit this. What morning comfort.

Introducing the newest little baby to the family: thick and fluffy pillow pancakes, based off my original recipe for outrageously thick, tender and fluffy pancakes, this time stuffed with apple, custard, topped with yoghurt and a nutty ‘crumble’.

This also features a delicious dessert bar, one of the many I received yesterday morning from the lovely guys of rhythm108. All cut up and used as part of the ‘crumble’ bit. Seeing they actually had an apple pie flavour, I just couldn’t not use it as part of this getup. Crowning glory. They remind me a little of Naked bars, but at least 2.5x better, because you pop them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, and lo and behold, you have the perfect little melt-in your-mouth dessert bar. Gooey, warm and sweet. How easy is that? Delicious, naturally sweetened (oh what a change for Alex), mini delicious morsels. And in a wide array of flavours- think apple pie, coconut macaroon (ok I have yet to try this one but I’m bubbling with excitement), banana muffin. I think the concept makes for such convenience. Check them out!

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The recipe follows my standard pillow pancake recipe, but with a few modifications which I shall detail down below. Namely a load of apple, cinnamon and custard, of course.

Mix together the wet, mix together the dry, plop one into the other, mix, apple chopping and tossing, fry on a pan on medium heat. Watch them rise, then settle. A brown glisten on both sides.

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Yes!! Soft, warm, fluffy.

Things I love about this variation:

the half-made custard which makes up most of the wet mix injects a mellow sweetness and silky smoothness to the final batter
warm, cooked apple on the inside and freshly cut apple on top makes for wonderful textural contrast
and just like all the other pillow variations, this is so, so versatile. Dress it up or down, top with whatever you like (ok but please include the maple syrup, no arguments there)

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Directions (makes 6-8 medium pancakes)

Make the pillow pancakes as how I state for the original recipe, but before you do that, have these ingredients on hand:

1 apple, chopped

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp custard powder+ 3 tbsp white sugar

3 tbsp butter, instead of the 5 tbsp stated in the original recipe

Topping (optional): yoghurt, maple syrup (not optional), more chopped apple, handful of chopped almonds and granola for the crumble part of this whole recipe

Whisk together the dry ingredients as stated in the linked recipe, but add the 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon as well before whisking. Then when putting together your wet mix, add the 1 tbsp of custard powder and 3 tbsp of white sugar into the one cup of milk or buttermilk, and microwave this on high for 3 minutes. After microwaving, add the 3 tbsp butter and let it melt. Then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients, and pour into dry mix.

Add the chopped apple to the final batter, then cook as stated in the recipe.

Posted on April 20, 2016February 21, 2022 by alexcrumb 1

Gin-roasted stuffed pears with yoghurt

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I call it a grand break. A super grand one. I don’t want to sound hubristic, but damn this was one irresistible breakfast.

I like sticking with familiarity on most days– oats, toast, my beloved french toast. The classic stuff. But sometimes change awakens and broadens your horizons, and what oftentimes seems like an alarming shock to the system turns out to be inspiriting.

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So you buy a pear. That’s the first step. The first step in this magical process.

Take a knife, cut it in half. Then take a melon baller and core it, or be like Alex and not actually have one of those, and use a knife instead to cut out little half=spheres from each half. Chop up some almonds and dark chocolate (because chocolate and pears! Unfortunately the picture above was before the chocolate stuffing bit), then stuff the middles with the mix.

Then you roast it with gin, cinnamon and honey. After some research, I found that roasting something for 15 minutes retains the most (around 40% of whatever you’re using) alcohol, so I tested it, and it turned out sublime.

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Then you eat this lump of caramelised, tender deliciousness with thick Greek yoghurt, drizzled with whatever you want. That day in particular necessitated honey, a little almond butter and this divine mango chutney that a friend recently purchased for me (hi Claire!!).

The warm, firm yet soft pear complements the creaminess and sourness of the yoghurt just perfectly. Nuts provide crunch, the cocoa and cinnamon add a sultry dimension, one of apt luxury.

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Gin-roasted stuffed pears with yoghurt (serves 1, but can be scaled up or down)

Ingredients

1 firm pear (Bartlett/ Concorde)

4 tbsp unflavoured or flavoured gin (I used gooseberry which is sweeter, so you might need less with something unflavoured/stronger)

small handful (around 1 oz or 28g in total) of chopped almonds and dark chocolate

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp honey

80-100g yoghurt (of course this bit is completely up to you, but this ratio works well)

topping options: honey, maple syrup, berries, more nuts

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Cut and core your pear (or, as I said earlier, be like me and forgo the melon baller, instead using the same knife to just cut half-spheres in each pear half).

Add one tablespoon of gin to each ‘hole’, and leave for around 30 seconds to let the pear soak it up. Then add your mix of chopped almonds and chocolate to each half. After filling, add one tablespoon of gin to each half again, drizzling all over the pear. Sprinkle on the cinnamon and drizzle the pear with honey.

Place in the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes, no more and no less. If your pears don’t lie flat, use a knife to cut a little bit off the backs of the pear halves so that they do.

Remove from oven and serve with yoghurt, together with whatever toppings you want!

Posted on April 15, 2016February 21, 2022 by alexcrumb 1

alexcrumb

recipes, catering, creativity

alexcrumb

Tag: huffposttaste

One Bowl Banana Coconut Mini Bundts

Spotted Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Loaf Cake

Honey Balsamic-Roasted Rhubarb Coconut French Toast

Apple Pie Pillow Pancakes

Gin-roasted stuffed pears with yoghurt