{Valentine's Day Special} Banana Blueberry Butterscotch Pudding Cake - a Step by Step Recipe

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I have this habit of listening to radio while I work. With music on, my mind is more attentive, works faster and tend NOT to fall asleep. ;-) Being Valentine's day, am having an overdose of sweet, lovey-dovey songs and love stories/poems from radio listeners since morning. Pardon me, am in no mood to talk about it anymore. (I already wrote much in my last post). We all know the importance, so let me just jump right into today's recipe as that's what I am most excited about! :-)

Those heavily freckled, overripe bananas that usually take a permanent space on our cooking counters taste yum in baked goodies. Don't throw them away. Make a pudding cake for a change and treat your friends with this scrumptious dessert. Also note the ingredients list is very similar to what you would want to make pancakes. How about you switch the plans and make this pudding cake for breakfast instead? :-)

Enjoy!

...Love is in the air..

..all decked up..

Adapted from here.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup blueberries (I used dried. fresh or frozen ones can be used too)
a pinch of salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 overripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

For topping - 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/8 cup maple or golden syrup and 1/2 cup boiling water

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Grease the bottom of casserole dish + few ramekins or a big 2.5L baking dish. Keep aside.

In a bowl, add the mashed banana, milk, melted butter, beaten egg and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well combined. Keep aside.

Sift together - flour, salt, powdered sugar and baking powder.

Add sifted dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix gently.

Toss blueberries as well. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish.

For the topping, place the brown sugar, maple syrup and water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce it to simmer and let it thicken a bit.

Pour few tablespoons of boiling mixture on top of the pudding and bake it for 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a toothpick.

Serve. I liked the cake plain and simple. You can also try with some vanilla ice cream.

..in the oven..

I couldn't wait for long to dig and eat it all! Yum! Oooh,  I simply love overripe banana in baked goodies.

I later also tried Banana Butterscotch Pudding Cake without blueberries or the brownsugar topping.
It tasted equally  delicious! :D

Before I say goodbye for today, let me share the one and ONLY gift TH gave me in all these years we have been together. :-)

This is Recipe 12 added to my 2013 Recipe Archive. Check out the rest of the recipes too!

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Dried Blueberry and Banana Muffins- Step by Step Recipe

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What's with this rain, I say? Not one evening went by since past one week where we had a clear sky after 6pm. and the weather forecast says the situation will not change for next 24 hours. It's not like I detest rain. Don't get me wrong. But, an overdose of anything will get on your nerves by some point.

...and I am at that point!!.

To pep myself up, I wanted something that can be made quickly, grab a coffee and eat in peace. What else other than "muffins" that perfectly fit the bill. :-) Just combine few ingredients that are commonly found in pantry, mix, pour and bake. In less than half hour, you have a fresh batch of muffins ready to be devoured. These are THE most enticing food when its raining or when I am craving to have something quick.

So, next time when it rains, make these Dried Blueberry and Banana Muffins - soft & cake-y from inside and light golden brown crumb with a subtle banana flavor and succulent blueberries to bite into. Enjoy!

Recipe: Dried Blueberry and Banana Muffins

Adapted from Star Tribune

Makes around 9 normal sized muffins

Ingredients:

4 tbsp (1/2 stick butter), at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 ripe banana, mashed (~ 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup dried blueberries (fresh or frozen works too)


Preparation:

Step 1: In a medium bowl cream butter and sugar (with an electric mixer or hand). Add egg. Mix in bananas and milk.

Step 2: Sift together - flour, baking powder and ground cinnamon. Carefully fold in blueberries. If you are using frozen blueberries, fold them while they are still frozen or they will turn the batter purple. Dried blueberries do not need to be reconstituted before they are added.

Step 3: Fold (flour + blueberry mixture) into banana mixture carefully, only until the batter is moist.

Note: Do not overmix.

Step 4: Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C. I used silicone muffin cups with a paper cup inside. If you are using a muffin pan, grease lightly with butter. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling cups until 3/4ths. Top with one or two blueberries or chocolate sprinkles. Bake for 10-15 minutes until muffins are light golden brown. When a tooth pick inserted in the middle, it should come out clean.

Let them cool for 5 minutes in the muffin cups, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve for breakfast, brunch or just as a snack. You really don't need a reason and specific time to enjoy a fresh home-made muffin. Isn't it.

Storage: Tightly wrap each muffin in a plastic wrap and store in an air tight container. Since it has banana, its recommended to consume these within few days.

until next time,

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Blueberry Yogurt Kanten

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There is a very famous saying by Ernestine Ulmer - "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first". But sadly that will definitely not be the case for me. I would rather choose any other savory dish as my last meal ;-).

Let me give you an example. 26 of Bangalore food bloggers met up for a meet last Saturday. It felt so wonderful to meet and interact with so many of us under one roof. Food was the common point for almost all of our discussions. After a trio of appetizers and main course, here is what was served as our dessert - White and dark chocolate lasagna and Lemon meringue with strawberry coulis. Trust me it tastes as wicked as it sounds. I saw so many happy faces around, digging in and some literally licking their spoons. Well, it was me who just couldn't eat more than a spoonful. The lady beside gave me a stern look which said - "You got to be kidding me!".  She is one huge chocoholic herself!. What to do? Sugar and me just don't go together. That's  the reason, my last dessert recipe was posted way back in August which was a Prune-Almond Phirni.

White and dark chocolate lasagna (front) Lemon meringue with strawberry coulis (back)

When Anu announced the theme for FSB for October, she asked all of us to cook with foods that we don't really like much or ignore and I could think of only one thing - Dessert. I am great fan of sweets small enough to satisfy one's cravings , like today's recipe - 'Blueberry Yogurt Kanten', a dessert which doesn't call for any fat. Hence no extra calories to be worried about. If something sweet is on your mind for any parties or potlucks, this recipe is a perfect match. Make it the previous day, cover and allow it set in the refrigerator overnight. I am sure you and your guests will love this super-tasty dessert.

What is Agar-agar?  - a nutrient-rich, high-fiber, no-calorie sea vegetable used to gel desserts. It comes in the form of bar, powdered or as flakes. It is normally recommended to opt for agar-agar flakes as they are easiest to use and dissolve.  

Blueberry Yogurt Kanten

Kanten, the gelatin-like Japanese dish made with agar agar, is just as refreshing for any time of the year - fall, winter or summer. The addition of yogurt make it substantial and gives it a melt-in-mouth feel. Many other flavor combinations can be made into a kanten - cranberry-pear, green tea-kiwi, cherry-apricot, peach-berry etc. the basic recipe remains the same. This is a very forgiving recipe. Feel free to decrease or increase the amount of sugar, juice or agar-agar mentioned. Play around with the amounts until you get the right consistency. A word of caution is that, agar-agar works differently for each brand. It is recommended to closely follow the instructions on the package. Also, the consistency of the pudding is dependent on the texture of the ingredients used. Nonetheless, the tastes beats them all. I am certain you will fall in love with agar-agar once get a hang of how to use it. Read the notes below.

Adapted from Big Vegan: More than 350 Recipes, No Meat/No Dairy All Delicious

Note: I have used normal yogurt for my recipe, hence it is no longer vegan. Original recipe suggests 'Vanilla Soy Yogurt'.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup blueberry crush mixed with 1/2 cup water (or 1.5 cups unsweetened blueberry juice + 1/4 cup sugar)
1.5 tbsp crushed agar-agar flakes
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup yogurt/curd

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, combine blueberry crush, water and agar-agar flakes. Let them soak for 30 minutes.

2. Stir in almond extract and bring the mixture to a simmer on a low heat. Whisk until the agar-agar is completely dissolved. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Note: Donot boil the agar-agar mixture or you will reduce its thickening power. Bring it to a simmer slowly over a low heat & whisk often.

Blueberry Crush

3. Take off the heat and cool to room temperature. In a blender, mix in yogurt and blueberry mixture and puree until smooth.

4. Pour the mixture in shot glasses or small ramekins and refrigerate until set. (atleast few hours). Cover and keep in the refrigerator until serving.

Notes:

1. If any lemon, orange or lime juices is an ingredient, you may need to increase the amount of agar-agar used as citric acid sometimes retards the agar-agar's ability to congeal.

2. It is always safest to test the kanten before removing it from the stove. Put a spoonful of kanten in the refrigerator for about 15 mins. If the kanten excessively hard, liquid can be added. If it is too soft, dissolve a small amout of agar-agar in juice, cook it and add to the rest of the ingredients.

 
Sending this easy dessert recipe to Healing Foods: Vegetarian Thanksgiving event, this month guest hosted by  Sreelu of Sreelu's Tasty Travels. Send in your entries as well and win a chance to own one of two amazing cookbooks as giveaways. Perfect for Thanksgiving. Isn't it. :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead.

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Eggless Blueberry Coffee Cake

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Some *recipes* are just P.E.R.F.E.C.T, in every sense - simple, everyday ingredients, no fancy equipment needed, just mix them all together as if you are making a pot of coffee and Whoopee, there you have a perfectly baked cake. My best pal DK of ChefInYou made one such cake and I was eagerly waiting for a perfect occassion to make it, myself.

Yesterday we had a potluck for Halloween cum Diwali party at work and I made Aloo-Bell pepper Korma (recipe coming soon) and a fruity cake. As it was an auspicious festival of Diwal, one of my colleague insisted the cake must be egg-less. Sure enough, I had the perfectly recipe to make - the Eggless Blueberry Coffee Cake. Everybody enjoyed it thoroughly and it was all gone, as expected.

DK used normal sugar in her recipe and I replaced that with some light brown sugar as it gives a lovely brown color and adds an extra hint of moisture to the cake.

Below is the recipe, if you wish to bake it yourself. Trust me, it is child's play, if I can do it, you can too. :)

Eggless Blueberry Coffee Cake

Adapted from my best friend's recipe

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients -

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Others -
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce (no sugar added to it)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup low fat sour cream
1 cup frozen blueberries, don't thaw

For Topping

1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp light brown sugar

Preparation

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F. (at least for 10-15 minutes)

Step 2: In a bowl, mix all the 'Dry ingredients' listed.

Step 3: Cream the sugar and butter, together until smooth. then add applesauce and vanilla extract. Blend for couple of more minutes.

Step 4: Now, slowly alternate between the dry ingredients and sour cream, add little by little & Blend every thing together. Fold in the blueberries & gently mix with a spatula. (without crushing the berries).

Step 5: Grease a fluted cake tin with butter and evenly spread the batter. Finally sprinkle (cinnamon + sugar) mixture on the top.

Step 6: Bake for 40-45 mins, until a toothpick, when inserted comes out clean (or with very little specks of cake attached).

This is how it looks, fresh out of the oven -

..flip it over , and you get this.....

Step 7: Cool for 10-15 min in the cake tin and then transfer on to a plate. Serve & Enjoy!

Hope you all had a fun Diwali yesterday and have your tummies full with yummy treats.

[UPDATE]: Sending this to T&T: ChefInYou event guest hosting this month is Priya and organizer is Lakshmi.

until next time,
Siri