Nicole’s Recipes

This recipe borrowed from Allrecipes.com. It’s baked and cooled a little unconventionally, but turns out sooo moist. So, follow the weird instructions. The only thing I do different is I make less cream cheese frosting and add lemon juice to it. This is a nice alternative to banana bread to use up those old bananas……

Cake:
3/4 cup butter
2 1/8 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(optional: lemon juice)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist. (It sounds weird I know, but it works! The freezer seems to lock in the moisture.)

4. FROSTING: In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake. (Personally, I think this is a lot of frosting. I use way less and add lemon juice, but do what you like!)

I love Milton’s Multigrain bread. I’ve been working on a copy of it. Here is what I have so far:

2 c. fresh ground white winter wheat
1 c. Hudson cream all purpose unbleached flour
4 T. fresh finely ground cornmeal
2 T. brown rice and 2 T. oats measured, then ground together
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. wheat germ
1 tsp. salt

Put above ingredients in a bowl, mix.

1 1/2 T. yeast
2 T. honey ( I stir into the water)
1 T. butter, very soft or melted
1 egg, whisked
1 cup warm water

Sprinkle yeast on top, then add the other ingredients. Mix with dough hook, then rest 10 mins, then knead by hand for 5 more minutes. Then oil bowl, put dough in, flip, cover with plastic and let rise.

Make out your loaf, rise again.

Bake 375 till done.