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Baked Red Bean Nian Gao (Mochi Cake)

Baked Red Bean Nian Gao (Mochi Cake)

I’ve had this recipe in my burgeoning to-do file for some time. The original recipe is from The New York Times and the reviews are pretty strong.  A reader named  Isabel, for example, wrote that this cake may be one of the best things she’s…

Gotta Love Fritters: Spanakopita Fritters

Gotta Love Fritters: Spanakopita Fritters

Just about every food culture has a fritter–a fried and battered morsel of vegetables, fruits or meats. There are Indian bhajias, Japanese tempura, American apple fritters, and on and on.  The love of a fried morsel is all but universal.  This fritter has a Greek…

Light Those Candles!  It’s Birthday Banana Cake

Light Those Candles! It’s Birthday Banana Cake

So, where did the idea of celebrating birthdays with cakes come from? 

It was the Greeks!!!, as my Greek friend Michelle would be quick to say. (Michelle proudly maintains that most good things originated with the Greeks. )

Michelle may have a point. According to historians, the Greeks celebrated the birthdays of their deities with a cake. The goddess Artemis, for example, was celebrated by her followers with a honey and flour cake on the sixth day of each month. Interestingly, her tribute cakes were topped with candles signifying the moonlight. Love that touch. I think I will try to think of candles as moonlight from now on. 

In that spirit of celebration, here is a great Banana Birthday Cake With Buttercream Vanilla Frosting. In this case, it was to celebrate an important birthday this week for my neighbor and friend, Sarah. (Happy Birthday, Sarah!)

This recipe is adapted from one that appears on the King Arthur Baking site. You can find the original recipe for Rich and Tender Banana Cake here. 

I particularly enjoyed this cake because it combines a delicate texture with a delightful banana fragrance.

The original King Arthur Baking cake called for a sour cream glaze but this is a birthday cake and we needed a decadent buttercream. I used the buttercream recipe posted here recently for a Tahini Cake, modifying it to omit the tahini and increasing the powdered sugar. You will find that recipe here.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. 

Banana Birthday Cake

May 22, 2025
Ingredients
  • 6 T. unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 1 C. white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 t. vanilla extract
  • 3/4 C. mashed bananas
  • 1 1/2 C. cake flour
  • 1/2 t. baking powder
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/4 t. baking soda
  • 1/4 C. Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
  • 1 recipe of vanilla frosting
  • Pecans (for garnish)
  • Cake sprinkles (for garnish)
Directions
  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch cake pan. (I greased my pan and used a Silpat round on the bottom of my cake pan.)
  • Step 2 Using your stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together. You want it to be light yellow and fluffy.
  • Step 3 Add egg and vanilla to the butter mixture and mix until combines. Add mashed bananas. Mix. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. Note: Your mixture will probably curdle a bit when the bananas are mixed in. That’s OK.
  • Step 4 In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together. Add about half of this mixture to the butter mixture. Add Greek yogurt to the batter and mix to combine. Mix in the remaining flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to be sure all ingredients are mixed into your batter. Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
  • Step 5 Bake cake for 35 minutes or until the cake is firm when pressed with your fingers and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the baked cake.
  • Step 6 While the cake cools, prepare frosting. You can find the frosting recipe here. Frost and decorate the cake.
It’s a Ten on the WOW Scale: Tahini Cake

It’s a Ten on the WOW Scale: Tahini Cake

Just WOW! This is such a good cake and a relatively unique cake flavor to place on your table to entertain your guests. I have to confess, though, that I’m not having a party and this cake is quickly disappearing off my counter! This is…

Oldies But Goodies:  Tomato Galette

Oldies But Goodies: Tomato Galette

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for a beautiful Tomato Galette. You can find the recipe here. Want to dive deeper into our recipe…

Cairo Breakfast Memories: Arabic Baked Beans

Cairo Breakfast Memories: Arabic Baked Beans

I can remember sitting in a hotel restaurant in Cairo back in the 1980s furiously looking for something Egyptian on the breakfast menu. There were all the usual western breakfast items–eggs, pastries, oatmeal. It was pretty much  the breakfast menu you would find in any American restaurant. Meanwhile, the Egyptian gentleman sitting at the next table was enjoying a decidedly-unwestern looking bowl of beans. I asked my waiter if I could have what he was having and it turned out to be a savory Middle Eastern fava bean dish called ful medames. Lucky me. It was delicious. 

I’m reminded of that long-ago experience because this recipe for Arabic Baked Beans is an inventive riff on ful. 

This recipe is from Noor Murad’s new book LUGMA: Abundant Dishes and Stories From My Middle East . (The cookbook is available through your local bookstore.)

You may recognize Murad’s name, she previously worked with Yotam Ottolenghi and co-authored the cookbook Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things.

In an interview with The Splendid Table site, Murad says that this recipe fuses the cheese smothered baked beans on toast of her childhood with the breakfast  bean dishes commonly seen on Middle Eastern breakfast tables. 

Don’t expect a sweet bean casserole like American maple syrup or molasses-sweetened baked beans, though. This baked bean dish is redolent in garlic and ginger and liberally topped with gooey cheeses.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. 

Arabic Baked Beans

April 30, 2025
Ingredients
  • For the Beans
  • 3 plum tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes
  • 3 T. olive oil
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 4 garlic cloves (grated)
  • 1 oz. fresh grated ginger (this is about a 3 inch piece of fresh ginger-grated)
  • 1 jalapeno chile (finely chopped)
  • 2 t. cumin seeds (crushed)
  • 2 t. coriander powder
  • 1 t. paprika
  • 3 T. tomato puree
  • 1 t. sugar
  • 16 oz. water
  • Two 14-oz. cans cannellini beans or equivalent amount of cooked beans (rinsed and drained)
  • 1/2 C. fresh cilantro (chopped)
  • 4 1/2 oz. labneh or cream cheese
  • 4 1/2 oz. cheddar (grated)
  • Salt and pepper
  • For the Topping:
  • 3 T. olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 oz.(this is about a 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger-grated)
  • 3 green onions (green parts only--chopped fine)
Directions
  • Step 1 I used canned San Marzano tomatoes in this recipe. I cut the tomatoes into quarters. Set aside.
  • Step 2 Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. or its highest setting.
  • Step 3 In a large Dutch oven, saute the onion and a generous pinch of salt in hot oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want the onion to be softened and lightly colored. Add garlic, ginger, green chili, spices and tomato puree to the onions. Continue to cook for several more minutes, stirring often.
  • Step 4 Add 16 oz. of water and the sugar to the pot. Add the beans, tomatoes, 3/4 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper and stir. Simmer the bean mixture for about 15 minutes, stirring often until the mixture begins to thicken.
  • Step 5 Remove from the heat and add the chopped cilantro. Top the mixture with the labneh (or cream cheese) and sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese evenly across the top of the beans. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. You want the beans to be browned on top and bubbling. (Bake for a little extra time if you need to get the beans to this stage. I had to do this.)
  • Step 6 While the beans are baking, prepare the topping. Add all the topping ingredients together and saute in a small frying pan over medium heat for about 12 minutes. Stir this mixture as it cooks. The topping is finished when it is softened and fragrant but not browned.
  • Step 7 To serve the beans, spoon the topping over the bubbling beans. Garnish with a bit of chopped cilantro. Serve with pita bread. (Cook’s Note: This dish is best served on the second day when the flavors have had time to mature.)
Leek and Pear Soup

Leek and Pear Soup

Shirley Temple, remember her? In 1935 she made the song Animal Crackers In My Soup insanely popular, performing the song in her movie Curly Top. Here are the lyrics if you want to sing along: Curly Top/Animal Crackers in my Soup. Curly Top takes you on…

Almendrados: Spanish Almond-Lemon Macaroons

Almendrados: Spanish Almond-Lemon Macaroons

Wishing you a happy spring.  Here in Southern California, the birds are singing and gardens are waking up. How good is that? Here is a recipe for a wonderful cookie to celebrate spring, the Spanish Almendrado, sometimes described as an almond-lemon macaroon. It is a…

Oldies But Goodies: Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn

Oldies But Goodies: Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is for Sweet and Sour Tofu With Corn. You can find the recipe here.


Want to dive deeper into our recipe archive? Just click one of the categories at the top of this page or use the category search drop down menu on the right side of this page.

And…here is a link to Blue Cayenne’s main page: Blue Cayenne.If you are in the mood to cook (or eat!), we hope you will take a moment to look at the many excellent recipes we have featured.

 

They’re Huge: Garlicky Alfredo Beans

They’re Huge: Garlicky Alfredo Beans

For anyone out there who loves a good Alfredo sauce (you know who you are), this use of the classic sauce with beans is a revelation.   That’s right. Beans. Who woulda thought?   I made my dish with the giant Royal Corona beans made…


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Cairo Breakfast Memories: Arabic Baked Beans

Cairo Breakfast Memories: Arabic Baked Beans

I can remember sitting in a hotel restaurant in Cairo back in the 1980s furiously looking for something Egyptian on the breakfast menu. There were all the usual western breakfast items–eggs, pastries, oatmeal. It was pretty much  the breakfast menu you would find in any…

They’re Huge: Garlicky Alfredo Beans

They’re Huge: Garlicky Alfredo Beans

For anyone out there who loves a good Alfredo sauce (you know who you are), this use of the classic sauce with beans is a revelation.   That’s right. Beans. Who woulda thought?   I made my dish with the giant Royal Corona beans made…

White Bean and Spinach Soup

White Bean and Spinach Soup

Are you world weary? World Weary. That was an iconic Noel Coward song if you don’t recognize the reference. You can play it by clicking the link that follows. Sit back and enjoy a moment in a gentler time. (World Weary.) Not too hard to…

Green Beans For Thanksgiving?

Green Beans For Thanksgiving?

Are green beans on your menu for Thanksgiving? Try this delicious take on the holiday tradition. Here is the link to this great Green Bean With Dried Cherry Vinaigrette dish from Blue Cayenne’s archive of more than 400 recipes: Green Beans With Dried Cherry Vinaigrette.

Oldies But Goodies: Turkish White Beans

Oldies But Goodies: Turkish White Beans

Every month Blue Cayenne features recipes from our archive of more than four hundred recipes. These recipes are our “Oldies But Goodies.” Today’s Oldie But Goodie recipe is forTurkish White Beans. You’ll find the recipe here. Want to dive deeper into our recipe archive? Just click…