Familial Bonds

My brothers and I have an understanding. For gift-giving holidays, they bequeath to me those items of a food-making nature, and rather than expressing my thanks with a Thank You card, I respond with something of a more practical nature (food, I make them food with my new food-making appliances). For my birthday this year I received from them knives of the utmost sharpness; a sleek, black crock pot for lazy - I mean busy - chefs; and (this post brought to you by) a bundt pan which bears a strong resemblance to that opera house in Sydney, Australia (you know the one). The bundt pan surrendured a peanut butter-banana cake with the sharpest corners I've ever been able to eat:

I used this recipe but instead of the accompanying chocolate frosting, I smothered my cake in a simple ganache.

Peanut Butter Banana Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a splash of vinegar)
3 medium bananas, mashed
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk to the batter, then stir in bananas (and walnuts, if using).

Pour batter into a greased bundt pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.



Chocolate Ganache

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

Heat chocolate chips and heavy cream in a double boiler, whisking constantly, until chocolate is completely melted. Let cool to room temperature or slightly warmer, then pour over the top of the cake.

Yum.

And yummm.

And have I mentioned, yum?

Up next: When Russians invade!