Food, Photography and Bon Mots
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
