Banana Cake (With chocolate frosting)

I know that’s not very conventional. I really do not like the flavour of banana as a fruit personally, so the idea of banana cake was not at all very appealing to me. But my conception totally changed when I tasted one. The one I tasted had a cream cheese frosting. I was too eager to make it. But didn’t have cream cheese at home so opted for the most convenient & safe one – ‘Chocolate’. 

The second time when I tried, I did it without any frosting. Though I was a bit sceptical, but it was equally good with much less calories of course. 

So let get started.

Ingredients
• ¾ Cup of self rising flour
• 1 Tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tsp of baking powder
• 50 ml of cream
• ½ Cup of granulated sugar
• 1 ripe banana
• 4 Tbsp of butter
• ¼ Tbsp of salt
• ½ Tsp of baking soda

For Frosting (optional)
• 6 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 Tbsp of unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract
• ¾ Cup of brown sugar
• 5 Tbsp of condensed milk
• Icing sugar to sprinkle on top
• Chocolate Sauce

Method
Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Grease a cake pan properly. Sprinkle a little bit of flour.

Put the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into the food processor and whiz them together for about 15-20 seconds.

Chop the banana into the food processor next and whiz into a pulp. Make sure the banana is really ripe. It can be done by hand using a fork or potato masher, in a separate bowl.

Add the sugar and eggs to the mashed banana and whiz for another minute. Then add the butter and whiz for another minute until the mixture is thick and creamy.

Next, add the cream and vanilla extract. Fold together carefully,  making sure that there are no air bubbles.

Now fold the flour mixture into in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and fold until just blended.

Scoop into greased tray and smooth out the top layer evenly.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top turns golden brown and the cake passes the skewer test. Remove and let cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting
In a medium bowl, sift together the brown sugar and cocoa powder, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with condensed milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

When the cake is cools, layer the frosting on the frosting on top & sides with a spatula. Then using a spoon, pour chocolate sauce in patterns on the cake. Sprinkle some icing sugar on top through a sieve.

Cut and serve.

And don't forget your potion of love.

Happy Cooking
Shreya

Sunday Brunch – A Quickie!!!

We all love Sundays, don’t we??? Waking up late is a great way to begin it. So obviously the time for breakfast is gone and you feel hungry before lunch time. On top of that you do not feel like cooking, like actual cooking! So here we come with our quickie Sunday Brunch. A salad, a sandwich served with wafers along with a thirst quencher.. And the best part is everything together took just took a little over half an hour..  So let’s get started!!!

Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich

Egg is always one of the best options for breakfast, a very healthy & nutritious choice. And this sandwich is quite a filling one, atleast not to make you hungry till evening.

Ingredients

• Sandwich Bread (4-6 slices)
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Tbsp of Mayonnaise
• 1 Tsp of mixed herbs
• Pepper
• Salt
• A pinch of red chili flakes
• Butter
• Wafers

Method

Boil the eggs, peel them & keep aside. The best time to peel boiled eggs is when they are still hot.

Cut the eggs into for pieces and put them in a bowl.

Put the mayonnaise, herbs, pepper, chilli flakes, salt as per taste in a bowl & mix it well.

Mix the mayonnaise mixture with the eggs, making sure that the eggs are not smashed. We want to keep the texture of the eggs.

Put butter on the bread slices. Put the egg mayonnaise mixture on one slice & cover it with another.

Grill it if you like a grilled sandwich and serve it with wafers.

Watermelon Juice

No other fruit says summer choice than the faintly crunchy, thirst slaking watermelon. Summer’s preferred fruit has more going for it than a better excuse for a picnic. Turns out this sweet and juicy luxury is loaded with hither multiple that charges blood movement in much the same way Viagra and other “performance” drugs do.

Ingredients

• One watermelon chopped
• Sugar as per as your taste
• A pinch of salt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tsp of Jaljeera
• Mint leaves if you like

Method

Slice the watermelon. Take out the red pulpy layer and chop it roughly into parts. Abandon the outer white layer.

In a mixer add sugar, lemon juice, salt and along with watermelon. Blend it well. Store at a low temperature for a while. Do not add water as watermelon itself has water content in it.

Best when served cool.

Chicken Salad

To many people salad seems to be very boring and so a complete no no. But I am sure that this one they would have more than willingly.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups of chicken cubes
• 1 Cup of chopped lettuce
• 4-6 green olives pitted
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• Half cup of chopped onions
• Chopped cherry tomatoes
• Chopped broccoli

For the dressing

• Basil
• Thyme
• Red Chili Flakes
• 3 Tbsp of Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp of Mayonnaise
• Parmesan Cheese

Method

To poach chicken for this recipe, start with a pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large (2 to 3-inch) pieces. Bring a 2 quart pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add the chicken to the boiling water, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the chicken pieces sit in the hot water for 15 minutes, then drain the water and chop the chicken pieces into smaller pieces for the salad.

Blanch the broccoli in salt water. Chop all the other veggies into small pieces. Mix them with the chicken pieces.

Prepare the chicken salad dressing in a separate smaller bowl. Mix together the mayonnaise and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add basil, thyme and chilli flakes.

Gently stir the dressing in with the chicken and other salad ingredients. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Grate the parmesan cheese on the salad and mix it well.

So there you go with a wonderful brunch!!

Happy Cooking

Shreya