Tuesdays with Dorie: A Big Banana (Cup)Cake

I was really looking forward to the Big Banana Cake recipe because I've been on the hunt for a long time for a recipe that replicates my memory of my grandmother's banana cupcakes.  She made them for all sorts of occasions and they were a favorite.  Unfortunately, she passed away when I was young and I do not have any of her recipes. I've made lots of banana cake recipes but none of them have the banana flavor and light texture of her cupcakes.

None of my April plans aligned with a "big" cake and I was concerned that the cake would be competing with Easter candy and desserts.  I decided to make one quarter of the recipe and bake it as cupcakes.  

I bought a jar of cookie butter at Trader Joe's and hoped to use some leftover whipped cream cheese to give the frosting a nice flavor and lightness.  I took a cue from Steph and added an equal amount of baking powder to the specified amount of baking soda.  The one-fourth recipe yielded 6 small cupcakes, baked for 17 minutes at 350 degrees.

I was pleased that the cupcakes were lighter than banana bread.  The frosting was a nice complement.  I decorated some with chocolate shavings and some with a few pinches of cinnamon.  They were tasty.  My family enjoyed them too.  

To see the successes of my fellow Tuesdays with Dorie bakers, see the Tuesdays with Dorie LYL posts for links.  To try this recipe, check out Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Eclairs

I've been looking forward to making this recipe, for sure.  My mother made cream puffs often (but only very, very rarely filled them).  As kids, we were convinced that the plain, unfilled shells were the best snack. We also thought that uncooked pasta straight from the box was really good too.

I don't think I've ever made choux pastries.   When I see them made on Great British Bake Off, the batter always seems more liquid than the dense ball that my mother would make (and I think Dorie was describing in the recipe).  I love the fact that all of the ingredients are simple pantry staples.  I made a full recipe of pastry cream and eclair shells.   Since it was a fairly small amount of batter for the eclairs, I decided to incorporate the eggs by hand.  I thought it looked as Dorie described but my eclairs didn't expand as much as I expected.  Cutting one open, the interior looked good--not dense and with the expected air pockets.  Possibly my piping opening was too small or just my expectations were wrong.  The baked shells were about the size of larger hot dogs.  I'll need to retry soon (using the standup mixer) and see if I get larger shells.

Despite any expectations on size, the glaze, shells and pastry cream were all delicious.  My husband said they were something he'd hope to get in an upscale restaurant and my son the chocoholic enjoyed them too.  I didn't have time to pipe the pastry cream but the tasters didn't mind.  Please forgive the late night photo.  

To see the successes of my fellow Tuesdays with Dorie bakers, see the Tuesdays with Dorie LYL posts for links.  To try this great classic recipe, check out Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple.