Blue Cayenne

I was reminded of Paul Simon’s iconic hit as I was making banana bread the other day. I’m quickly finding that there are at least fifty ways to make the sweet treat. (If you want to relive a bit of Paul Simon’s performance of Fifty Ways in the Central Park Concert while you make your banana bread, here is a link: Paul Simon. Watch out, though.You’ll be singing it for the rest of the day.)

I know that I recently posted a banana bread recipe.

Bear with me.

There is a new development on the banana bread front that you will definitely want to look at if you are a banana bread diva (or divo).

Believe it or not, King Arthur Flour’s site has posted a template that allows you to fill in the ingredients you want to put into your banana bread and the site then calculates the proper amount you’ll need of each ingredient. You can find the link here. Is that cool or what?

Also, I’ve found a new banana bread recipe I want to share. Actually, it is banana banana bread. (No. That’s not a typo.) It really IS banana banana bread. (This recipe is adapted from one you’ll find on the Genius Kitchen site here .)

I confess that the recipe did pique my interest because of the repetitive title. Grammarians have a term for this type of repetitive use of words. It’s contrastive focus reduplication. (You know grammarians. They have to make things sound hard!) Using this construction, the double mention of banana gives emphasis to the strength of the banana ingredient in the bread. It’s not just banana bread. It’s banana banana bread!  If you want to throw this bit of grammatical trivia around at your next dinner party, be my guest. Really cool cool grammarians us the term CR, by the way.

You don’t need to be coy about making this banana bread recipe.  It’s really good.

Banana Banana Bread

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Ingredients

For the Bread
• 1/4 pound cool butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 C. dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs (at room temperature)
• 2 1/2 C. very ripe bananas (about 5)
• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
For The Topping
• 3 T. chopped walnuts
• 1 T. granulated or coarse sugar
• 1/8 t.cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan. You can line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment to ensure that it will come out of the pan easily after baking.
2. Cream the butter in the mixer bowl of your stand mixer until the butter is light-colored and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue beating for about 2 more minutes. Add room-temperature eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after the addition of each egg. Mash the bananas and mix in the bananas. You only want small lumps of banana to remain in your batter after it is mixed.
3. Whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) together. Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until all the ingredients are just combined. Pour batter into your prepared pan. Prepare topping and sprinkle it over the batter.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 65 minutes. The bread is done when you can insert a toothpick into the center of the bread and the toothpick comes out clean. If you have a digital baking thermometer, the internal temperature of the bread should read between 190-200 degrees F. when the bread is done.
5. When the banana bread is finished, remove the pan from the oven and let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. After ten minutes, run a knife around the edges of the bread to make it easier to remove the bread from the pan and turn the bread out onto a wire rack. Allow the bread to cool completely.

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https://bluecayenne.com/banana-bread-nononono-its-banana-banana-bread

I was lying in bed the other night when my iWatch tapped me on the wrist. (The watch has a haptic function that allows it to tap you lightly on the wrist with a vibration to deliver reminders, alert you to the end of a timer you’ve set or indicate when you should make turns while driving. Kinda cool.)

This particular message told me that I could meet my daily exercise goal if I would only take a brisk 29 minute walk. It was 11 p.m.

Hmmm. What to do?

I could venture into the dark and forbidding reaches of my cold garage and walk on the treadmill for 29 minutes or I could get up and burn some calories cooking until I felt sleepy again. Life, at least my life, is full of tough decisions.

This pastry recipe for almond puff loaf had been on the top of my ever-growing stack of must-try recipes for a couple of weeks, so I decided to give it a late night nod. The recipe had piqued my curiosity because it combines a shortcrust pastry with a pate a choux pastry all in one recipe. I’ve never done that before. Fun. Somehow, when you layer the two doughs one on top of the other, magic happens in the oven and the two doughs fuse into one delicious whole, giving you a crisp bottom (like a cookie) and an airy top (like an eclair). The end result is a beautiful pastry worthy of a fancy bakery shop–a light and flaky pastry you thought you never-ever-never would be able to bake at home.

This recipe is currently the star recipe on King Arthur Flour’s April “bakealong.” Each month the baking site selects one great recipe to feature and encourages home cooks to bake it and share their experiences. This recipe has received glowing feedback and some of the posters have pointed to a decades-old Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe for kringle as its long-ago inspiration.

Kringle is a recipe that was brought to Racine, Wisconsin, by Danish immigrants in the late 1800s and is now the state’s official pastry. (I just looked it up. California doesn’t even have a state pastry. What in the heck is wrong with us? Write your legislator!)

An authentic kringle is a labor-intensive hand-rolled pastry that has many flaky layers and can have a sweet or savory filling. This Betty Crocker/KAF recipe uses the two-dough shortcut to save you a lot of time and yields a delicious result.

Here is a short video about Racine’s kringles. The video gives you a peek at the kringle obsession that grips Wisconsinites every November and December: Racine, Wisconsin and Kringles .

Now that I’ve seen the packages of Wisconsin kringles in the videos, I realize that I’ve seen similar packages in Trader Joe’s during the winter holidays. (Trader Joe’s never ceases to amaze me. From bags of frozen Hatch chiles to sugared jalapeno slices to cans of authentic San Marzano tomatoes to kringles, the chain is unerring in its ability to identify food trends. Now, if they would just bring back those colorful boxes of roobios and honey bush tea that I’ve become addicted to!)

Since I’m a party of one, it has been a big task to eat all the pastry from this recipe but, trust me, I’ve given it my best.  Now I really do need that brisk 29 minute walk!

Almond Puff Loaf

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Ingredients

Bottom Layer
• 4 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 4 ounces cold unsalted butter (cut into pats or 1/2 inch cubes)
• 2 ounces ice water
Top Layer
• 8 ounces water
• 1/2 t. salt
• 4 ounces unsalted butter
• 4 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 1 t. almond extract
Topping
• 7 ounces jam or preserves
• 2 1/2 ounces sliced almonds (toasted in a 350 degree F. oven for 7-10 minutes or until light golden brown)
Icing
• 2 ounces powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 t. vanilla extract or 1/4 t. almond extract
• 1 to 2 t. milk or water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the pan.
2. For the bottom layer, use a medium-sized mixing bowl. Combine the flour and salt and then work the cold butter into the flour until you have a crumbly mixture. I used my fingers but you could use a pastry blender or a mixer. Stir in the water and mix until your dough comes together. Your dough will hold together but it will not be smooth.
3. Divide your dough in half and put the dough halves on your baking sheet with 4-6 inches of space between them and about 2 inches on each side. Wet your hands and shape each piece of the dough into a log. Then, pat the logs into 10 inch by 3 inch rectangles. Be patient.
4. To make the top layer (the choux pastry), boil water, salt and butter in a medium saucepan until the butter is completely melted. Add the flour to the water/butter mixture all at once and stir the mixture until it thickens and begins to steam. Continue stirring until the mixture pulls away from the side of the pan. This will happen very quickly, so watch your pan carefully. Stir a few times past this point and then remove the dough from the stovetop and put your dough into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at medium speed for about 30 seconds to one minute to cool it down a bit. Then add the three room-temperature eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Continue to beat until the eggs are fully incorporated. Mix in the almond extract.
5. Divide the batter in half and spread batter on top of the two rectangles of dough you have already positioned on your baking sheet. You can use a spatula or your wet fingers to do this. You will need to be careful that this top layer is spread so that it completely covers the top and sides of the dough rectangles. Do this carefully and smooth the top of the batter when you are through.
6. Bake your pastries for 50-65 minutes. They should be a golden brown when they are finished.
7. While the pastries are baking, prepare the jam topping. Put your jam into the microwave to warm it and make it more spreadable. I used apricot. The original recipe suggested that the best choices were apricot and raspberry but allowed that any number of jams or preserves could be used.
8. When the pastries are fully baked, remove them from the oven and set them on a rack to cool. While they are cooling, spread the warm jam on the top of the pastries and then sprinkle with toasted almonds.
9. Allow the pastries to cool completely before drizzling with the icing . To prepare the icing, mix sugar, extract and enough milk or water to make a thick but pourable icing. Add the liquid a bit at a time until your icing is the right consistency. If you get your icing too thin, you can add more powdered sugar. Use a spoon and drizzle this icing in thin lines across the top of your pastry.
10. Cut into squares or strips to serve.
11. I found that this pastry was exceptional but did not store well, so serve it on the day it is prepared.

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https://bluecayenne.com/hmmm-exercise-or-bake-pastry-almond-puff-loaf

Here is the link to the original recipe from King Arthur’s Flour: Almond Puff Loaf.

First, pomegranate molasses is readily available. You can do this.

Second, this butter cake is absolutely delicious. I don’t have the words…

I discovered pomegranate molasses some time ago. I shop at a local Jons International Marketplace and they have not one but several brands of pomegranate molasses available. If you don’t live near a Jons, you also can buy the molasses online from Amazon or at just about any Middle Eastern market. Or, you can make your own simply by boiling raw pomegranate juice into a syrupy reduction.

Pomegranate molasses is an ingredient commonly used in Middle Eastern recipes in marinades, salads, sauces and mezzes. The molasses has an intense tangy/tart/sorta sweet flavor.  Here in the West, it is sometimes drizzled on oatmeal, stirred into coffee or tea or used to glaze foods. Its uses are almost endless. Certainly, you could use pomegranate molasses interchangeably with balsamic vinegar.

Curious about the origins of the use of the pomegranate in the diet?

Pomegranates are believed to be native to Iran and the Himalayas in Northern India where they have been grown for more than 4000 years. Desert caravans (and, later, sea voyages) introduced pomegranate cultivation to other areas– the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa and beyond. Those areas quickly embraced the pomegranate not only into their diets but also into their arts and culture.

In Egypt, for example,  the fruit was buried with the dead to ensure a smooth passage to the afterlife and pomegranates were depicted in the artwork on the walls of Egyptian tombs.The Egyptians also enjoyed pomegranate wine.

In Islam it is believed that the gardens of paradise include pomegranate trees and Muhammad urged his followers to consume the fruit. Some believe that each pomegranate has one aril descended directly from heaven.

The pomegranate also is praised in The Old Testament. Here is Boticelli’s The Virgin and Child with a Pomegranate. In Christianity, the pomegranate has long been used as a traditional symbol of the Passion.

While Europe was slow to warm to the pomegranate, the fruit eventually caught on.  Shakespeare used the pomegranate as a symbol of true love in Romeo and Juliet. You can’t get a better promo that that!

“Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day:
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierc’d the fearful hollow of thine ear;
Nightly she sings on yond pomegranate tree:
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.”

Nearer to home, pomegranate trees were brought to the Americas by Spanish conquistadores and the fruit was introduced to California by Spanish missionaries in the 1760s. There is a pomegranate-themed fresco at Mission San Miguel Arcangel. Today, over ninety percent of the pomegranates grown in the  United States production are grown in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

This recipe is adapted from one by John Willoughby that appeared in the food section of the New York Times. Willoughby was executive editor of Gourmet Magazine, a senior editor for Cook’s Illustrated and writes for magazines like Saveur and Metropolitan Home. Here is the link to the original recipe from which this recipe was adapted: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013092-pomegranate-molasses-butter-cake .

Pomegranate Molasses Butter Cake

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Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 C. flour (plus more for dusting pan)
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 C. milk
• 3 T. pomegranate molasses plus 1 t.
• 3/4 C. granulated sugar plus 4 t.
• 3 large eggs
• 1 C. powdered sugar
• 6 T. light cream
• 3/4 C. roughly-chopped pecans (or walnuts)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 9-inch square baking pan by buttering it and dusting it with flour.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
3. Mix milk and 2 T. pomegranate molasses in another bowl. Set aside.
4. In the large bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter and 3/4 granulated sugar together until the butter is a light yellow color and the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, adding the eggs one at a time and mixing after the addition of each egg.
5. Mix the flour and milk mixture into the egg/butter mixture by adding one-third of the flour then half the milk. Continue mixing ingredients ending with the flour. Mix the ingredients until they are just combined. Don't over mix.
6. Pour the prepared batter into your pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about ten minutes and then run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake. Turn the cake out onto a rack and then turn the cake right side up again.
7. To prepare the glaze, whisk powdered sugar, cream and 1 T. pomegranate molasses together. If your glaze is too thick, add a bit of milk to thin it. Brush the glaze over your cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides.
8. Prepare the glazed nuts to top your cake by combining them in a small nonstick skillet (over medium high heat) with 1 t. pomegranate molasses and 4 t. sugar. Stir the nut mixture constantly, watching carefully to be sure the mixture doesn't burn. You want the sugar to melt and coat the nuts. This will take about 1-2 minutes. Let the nuts cool. Break the nuts apart and arrange the nuts over the top of the cake.

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https://bluecayenne.com/pomegranate-molasses-butter-cake

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