The Best Banana Bread

I've tried a LOT of banana bread recipes. I've found many that we like, some that we really like and then this one. The kids LOVE this recipe and prefer it over all others I've used. There are suggestions from reviewers about changes they've made to this recipe but I haven't used them so far since we like the recipe just as it is right now. I haven't really paid attention to the suggestions before since I like to try recipes "as is" before I make changes to it. I AM going to finally try them with the suggested changes, though. I'm just waiting for my current supply of bananas to get more ripe. That's if Boy 2 lets that happen. He's currently on a banana kick, usually eating two at a time!

The Best Banana Bread
by Libby at Allrecipes.com

1/2 cup margarine, softened (I usually prefer to use butter but margarine's still good)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (Use 325 if you use a glass pan.) Grease and flour (I never flour it) a 9x5-inch pan.

Cream margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, then bananas. Add flour and soda, stirring just until combined. (Don't overmix.)

Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. (Start watching after 45 minutes so it doesn't get too well baked and therefore dry.)

Remove from pan and let cool, store in refrigerator or freeze.

(Careful removing it from the pan. I often have some of the bottom stick to the pan, which would probably be fixed if I floured the pan but I'm too lazy to do it.)

The suggested changes:
Use 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Add a pinch salt (or about 1/4 teaspoon salt if you don't have a "pinch" on hand)
Add vanilla - suggestions ranged from 1/2 tsp to one tablespoon, so I guess this is preference

As is, the recipe comes out pretty flat on top. It would probably be a good idea to add the salt so that it works with the baking soda to help it rise more. When I make it again with the changes I'll put an addendum on this post to let you know how it turns out.

Buttercream Dream Icing

This buttercream icing recipe isn't too different from the Wilton recipe but it tastes so much better! I highly recommend using this recipe instead of Wilton's for decorating. The almond extract (although I can't stand the smell) adds so much to the recipe!

Buttercream Dream
Agentcakebaker (with a couple of minor alterations with flavoring)

15 minutes – 5 minutes prep
Yields: 4 cups

I got this recipe from a cake site and can't stop making it. It is the best buttercream recipe that I have found. I modified my recipe to include Almond Extract, but you can use just about any extract. I've done clear vanilla and raspberry with rave reviews. I use this recipe for all my cakes and cupcakes. It colors nicely. If you want a stiffer buttercream for roses and such, omit or add very little milk. If you want a thinner buttercream, add more than 6 tbs of milk.

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup butter, salted
1 cup Crisco shortening
2 lbs powdered sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract, clear
2 teaspoons vanilla, clear
5 Tablespoons milk
(If you have it and want a stiffer icing, use about 1 Tbsp of meringue powder and mix in with the powdered sugar)

Bring butter to room temperature.

In a mixing bowl, whip butter and Crisco together.

Add the extract and whip.

Slowly add the powdered sugar (and meringue powder) and one tablespoon of milk and mix well.
Continue adding one tablespoon of milk at a time until you get your desired stiffness.

Whip for 5-10 minutes, until fluffy.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

This is just the icing recipe from Wilton, but as chocolate it's really good!

Chocolate Buttercream Icing
Wilton - Makes about 3 cups of icing

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup cocoa or three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
3-4 Tablespoons milk

Stiff Consistency: In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add cocoa and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For Thin (Spreading) Consistency Icing: Add 3-4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

Darker Chocolate Icing: Add an additional 1/4 cup cocoa (or one additional 1 oz. square unsweetened chocolate, melted) and 1 additional tablespoon milk to Chocolate Buttercream Icing. (This would absolutely kill me off, the regular chocolate icing is more than enough for me!)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling with Ganache

This little lovely was found at a friend's food blog called A Table for 7. I've made two chocolate cakes so far with this yummy filling and I think they turned out very well. I just use box chocolate cake mixes, pipe a ring around the top edge of the bottom layer and fill it in with this frosting before adding the top layer of cake. I suppose you could do three layers, but this is a LOT of chocolate already in my opinion! It's really good, though, along with the chocolate buttercream icing I frost the cake with in the end. Yummy!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling with Ganache
Table for 7

1 brick of softened cream cheese
½ cup of ganache frosting (recipe below)
¾ cup powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and ganache together and use as a filling between chocolate cake layers.
(I doubled this recipe for the 10-inch double layer cake I made last time)


Ganache
2 parts chocolate to 1 part cream

Example:
2 cups of Hershey's chocolate chips (milk chocolate)
and
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Stir with a whisk on medium heat until chocolate starts to get shiny. Remove from heat and set aside.

Strawberry Muffins

This is a recipe for strawberry muffins that everyone except the youngest girl in the family likes. She has an aversion to chunks of fruit in her food, which she declares completely ruins the food. Anyway, I've tried various alterations to this recipe including: adding a 1/2 cup of wheat flour which was okay but I didn't ever do it again, I added a few raspberries once since I didn't have quite enough strawberries and I had raspberries that needed to be used and this turned out pretty well, I've varied the strength of the vanilla because I like vanilla in my food, and I've also added a little bit of sugar and cinnamon to the tops before baking. It's a fairly versatile recipe.

Strawberry Muffins

¼ cup canola oil (or vegetable oil or applesauce)
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla (up to 1 teaspoon if desired)
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and grease muffin tins, or use paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine oil, milk, and egg. Beat lightly.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.

Fill muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.