Spongebob for my nephew

My nephew's birthday was June 29th, but all my baking supplies were in storage so I couldn't do his cake. He told us that his birthday was going to continue until he got his cake. This cake was a little less than a month late, but better late than never.

The flavor he wanted was the same as last year, banana strawberry, and I wanted to try a different recipe so I used Dorie Greenspan's Lots of Ways Banana Cake. I boiled some strawberry jam with a little water and spooned it over the cake. The icing was strawberry flavored, so he was able to have both flavors.

My girlfriend ate the scraps and said the cake was good, hopefully my nephew did too.

Happy 5th Quantay!

TWD: Honey Wheat Cookies

This week's TWD was chosen by Michelle of Flourchild and she chose Dorie's Honey Wheat Cookies. These cookies use wheat germ and of course honey.

As a child my parents always kept a jar of wheat germ in the fridge, so when I saw the pick I knew these cookies had to be made. They came together so quick and easy that it seemed like they were store bought....time wise not taste. These cookies have an acquired taste, but I did like them with a little strawberry cream cheese frosting.

You can find the recipe on Michelle's blog or purchase Dorie's book for this and other recipes.

Ode to the King

This post starts about 2 years ago when a neighbor went to Jamaica for some Navy business and he bought bake some banana liqueur for my girlfriend and I. Since I am more of a social drinker, there was plenty of liqueur left. Thinking of things to do with it, I decided on cupcakes, but not just any cupcakes....The King's cupcakes.

Elvis is known for his music, hip moving, and that lip. He is also known for his peanut butter and banana sandwich. If this combination is good enough for a sandwich it has got to be good enough for cupcakes.

I sat down sometime in December and just wrote a recipe and finally got around to trying it in January. The flavors were awesome....to me. What would others feel about this cupcake? Would it be moist enough? How would people react to the peanut butter and banana together? Would they be able to tell the flavors apart yet get the understanding of them together? That's what my neighbors are for. They are my guinea pigs, so to speak. I can always trust them to tell me what is definitely on their mind. This taste test was easy, only one person would have like more peanut butter flavor in the frosting.

I also took some to my humming sister and her humming kids....lol. The reason I call them that is because when they eat and the food is good, they hum. All 4 of them! How did the test taste go? Hmmm mmm mmm, I assume you get the idea. This went so well that my oldest nephew change what he wanted for his birthday. Initially he wanted Dorie Greenspan's sweet potato biscuits, but it quickly changed to these cupcakes.

I didn't want to put this recipe up until I had tried it out a few times. Each time they came out right. So, here it is for your baking pleasure:

Banana Cupcakes
Makes 24 regular cupcakes

Recipe by Devona McGill

3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup milk, room temperature
¼ cup banana liqueur
2 bananas, ripe and mashed appx. 6-8 ounces (I buy bananas that have brown spots and freeze them, so the weight might be a little different)

Preheat oven to 350˚

Line two 12 cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.

In medium bowl sift together the first 3 ingredients, set aside. In another bowl mix the bananas, milk and liqueur together.

In mixing bowl of stand mixer, with paddle beater, cream butter and sugar together until light, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time making sure that each addition is incorporated completely. Add vanilla.

Alternately add the flour mixture and the banana mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. After all ingredients have been added beat on medium-high for 1 minute.

Using a #24 scoop (or just spoon it in), generously fill each liner with mix and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool on cooling rack.


Peanut Butter Frosting

Recipe by Devona McGill

6 ounces peanut butter
4 ounces butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Place all ingredients in bowl of stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment beat frosting until it becomes creamy.

Random Shots with Random Talk

I have been so busy between school, kids and the school, cake show, and just life in general that I don't have much blog time. I try to get pictures of things that I make or see so that when I have the time to blog I can post pictures along with the words.

I am taking French and Precalculus along with Alice(programming) and World Civilization. Let's just say school is kicking my butt this semester. No more talking about what you could care less about and on to the good stuff...FOOD!

This is some 3 cheese macaroni, which include Dubliner, Gruyere,and age cheddar(no yellow needed). I have been making macaroni for as long as I can remember so I have it down to a science in my head that when people ask me for the recipe I tell them to use what's on the box and adjust it to your taste. As you can see I don't like dry baked macaroni so I add extra milk and extra cheese.Here we have Dorie Greenspan's Party cake except an orange version. I must say that I liked this one better than the lemon. This cake is enrobed with cream cheese frosting.

How about my girlfriend and I went to the library and saw these geese going the wrong way. Maybe they needed to go in and learn to read.

Just a pic of the front of the library

Martha Stewart's graham crackers from her baking handbook...of course mines look nothing like hers. Nonetheless they were still good.

During all the rainy weeks in Virginia lots of mushrooms were popping up everywhere and I just couldn't resist the urge to get some shots.

An last but definitely not least, Bambi and mother. The must live in the brush near the school because they kept coming out to graze and going back in. AWWWW so cute!

TWD: Honey Peach Ice Cream

This weeks TWD was Honey Peach Ice Cream selected by Tommi of Brown Interior and it is such a summertime treat. This ice cream was really creamy at first, but after leaving it in the freezer for a week it became less creamy. I'm pretty sure putting it in the door or on the counter for a little bit would bring it back to it's creamy state.

I also had a dislike with the peach bits. They were too icy/hard for my taste, so the next time I make it I will puree all the peaches which should give it a huge peach boost. You can get the recipe from Dorie's book or Tommi's site http://browninterior.blogspot.com/