Banana Recipe Round up

Did you get any pregnancy cravings while you were pregnant?    I don't remember too many with my first.   I did enjoy a few more things that I would have normally ate, like a few more poutines and nachos but otherwise I still ate quite healthy.

For baby #2 it is pretty much the same, I am having a few indulgences but still aiming to stay on track.    My craving this time around though is banana baked goods.  I could literally eat banana bread every day.  Oddly,  I am not actually craving real bananas, just banana baked goods.  I have never been a pure banana lover.  Even now I really only eat the excess of what my little one doesn't it to give baby #2 some potassium.
There is a cafeteria in a building across the street from my work and I swear they make the best banana bread I have EVER had!  I can guarantee it is not healthy and potentially soaked in melted butter after it is baked but honestly BEST EVER! It is dangerous really.   I tend to treat myself maybe once a week with it and for the rest of my cravings I go to recipes that are a bit more figure friendly like my Gluten Free Almond Banana Bread.

Since I need to mix up my banana baking and try some new recipes I have asked some blogging friends and scoured the web for some delicious banana baked goods and created this round up for you.  Some healthy, some not, but all 30 Banana recipes will satisfy any banana craving.

Enjoy!

Banana Nut Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting	Chocolate Malt Banana Cakes	Brown Sugar Banana Bread
Banana Fluffernutter Muffins	Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache	kinny Nutella Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Banana Spice Oatmeal-Walnut Streusel Muffins	Gluten Free Almond Banana Bread	Brown Butter Banana Peanut Butter Cookies
Honey Banana Poppy Seed Bread	Banana Bread Waffles	Super Soft Banana Bread
Peanut Butter Banana Brownies	Banana Lentil Muffins	Banana Pancakes
Brownie Crumble Banana Bread	Chocolate Banana Cake Bars (Vegan + Gluten-free)	Blueberry Banana Almond Baked Oatmeal
Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting	Double Chocolate Muffins with Banana Cream	Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
Brown Butter Banana Donuts	Healthy Banana Bread	Purple Ribbon Banana Bread
Biscoff Banana Bread	Banana Split Cheesecake	Easiest Banana Bread Ever
Strawberry Banana Bread	Healthy Banana Bread Recipe *Egg Free	(Almost!) Fat-Free Pumpkin, Banana & Butterscotch Whole Wheat Bread

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Five Friday Pin Up and my first Blogging Conference - Blissdom Canada.

In my last post I mentioned the last week was very busy which is why I was late in it out.  Here is my run down of what happened Thursday-Sunday.

Thursday - Work in the day, met my friend downtown right after work for dinner, then crashed at her house for an early Friday morning

Friday - Went to the Marilyn Denis show, Thanks to Blissdom Canada.  The entire show was bloggers who were attending the conference.   Then in the afternoon I got a prenatal massage, (Amazing) and then made cupcakes for my baby shower on Sunday, then a family dinner in the evening. 

Saturday - Went to the Blissdom Canada Conference from about 7am-6pm,  then went out for dinner and since I am now almost 36 weeks pregnant I crashed and went to bed quite early.   Not that I slept well but I was in bed. 

Sunday - Went for a pre-baby shower manicure/pedicure, then baby shower and then had some friends hang out afterwards for some games.   

So clearly very little time for writing and posting. This Monday started conference #2 with Online BlogCon. At least with this one I don't have to read everything right away and I can come back to those posts.   I can barely keep up with the facebook posts let alone the BlogCon posts. 

Here are my thoughts on Blissdom starting with the Marilyn Denis show.  It was very cool to see how the show operates.   The timing, moving things around, getting people ready, it was all very quick.  The hour flew by,  started and then it was done, just like that.    It was exciting to get some gift cards and a book as some giveaways as well.   It was pretty fun,  although it wasn't to then see myself on TV later on when I watched it.

The conference started Friday night with a small event I didn't attend.  When I first booked the tickets to go to Blissdom Canada,  I did not know I would be 36 weeks pregnant at the same time so I had to pick and choose what I felt I could attend.   My focus was obviously the main conference day.   It started with a newcomers meet and greet, which was quick but great to meet a few new comers as well.   After that there was breakfast, which was a little disappointing as it only consisted of granola, fruit and yogurt and then a presentation by Dove which was simply their commercial on TV done in person. After the opening remarks, the morning consisted of mircosessions, which sounded promising as the topics were very relevant and interesting.  Unfortunately with only a half an hour each there wasn't really enough time it seemed to get into any great detail,  I would have loved some more in depth content. We also only had time to attend three mircosessions out of about 25 that all had the potential for great information.  The afternoon consisted of 5 speakers with Jian Gomeshi being the first and best.   Not that he talked a lot about blogging, he is just a great speaker and was very funny.   I am very interested to get his book now.
  

I did meet a lot of really great people at the conference which is obviously one of the key reasons to go.  Blissdom is full of really fun, passionate people and that was probably the best part for me as I still left thriving for some more content when I left.  The other bonus was leaving with a great amount of free products and swag from the sponsors, that is always a nice perk.

Sunday was my baby shower so I did skip out on the Blissdom excursions day.  I am not upset however as my baby shower was fantastic.  My family did an amazing job at putting it all together.  Pink and green turtles were everywhere,  with tons of games, crafts and lots of delicious food.  I got to see lots of friends and family, got some great advice and the baby got spoiled.  Hubby and I are now pretty much set for baby's upcoming arrival, now we anxiously wait for the next 4 weeks.  It was really an overwhelming day full of a lot of love.

A few of my favorite things... Sea turtle cupcakes decorated by my sister and a create your own onesie craft that my sister in law planned.

With Blissdom last weekend and Online Blogcon earlier this week I have met so many new bloggers and been exposed to tons and tons of great new blogs.   For this reason I need to get back into my Five Friday Pin Up.   Here are some great things I pinned over the last little while.

1) Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup by We pass the time of day to forget how time passes : http://pinterest.com/pin/149744756331466585/     I have been addicted to tomato soup lately. I have to make this.

2) Grandma's Lasagna by Wishes N Dishes : http://pinterest.com/pin/149744756331553426/
Seriously, just look at this.

3) Broccoli and Cheese Muffins by It all tastes Greek to Me : http://pinterest.com/pin/149744756331623841/     I want these for breakfast tomorrow.

4) Pumpkin Caramel Kiss Cookies by Something Swanky : http://pinterest.com/pin/149744756331551969/     Oh pumpkin you do us right in so many ways.

5) Peanut Butter Glazed Chocolate Chip Donuts by A Kitchen Addiction : http://pinterest.com/pin/149744756331624341/   


I am still behind on the Online Blogcon posts and catching up with all the attendees blogs/pages/twitter/pinterest so my debrief on that will be in the next couple days.

Have a SWEET weekend!

Red Velvet White Chocolate Cupcakes, Lynn Crawford and a Giveaway

Two weeks ago my mom and sister and I braved a Canadian snow storm to go see Lynn Crawford speak at George Brown College.   If you happen to not know who Lynn Crawford is here is the run down....

• Worked at the Four Seasons Hotels for over 20 years
• One of Canada's Top Chefs
• Appeared on Restaurant Makeover
• Now appears on Pitchin' In on the Food Network
• Has her own Cookbook called Pitchin' In
• Co-owner of the restaurant Ruby Watchco in Toronto
• Co-owner of Ruby Eats - Gourmet Food Store  - which I need to check out ASAP.   The downside of living in the suburbs.  :-(

She is very cool and down to earth.  Very inspiring and and listening to her makes me want to cook more, cook local and appreciate the food we have available to us.   I actually recorded 90% of her talk before my playbook ran out of entire memory.   It will be a great reference when I need a little kick in the pants.   I will try and edit some clips and post on her for you ( once I figure it out )

Me and Chef Lynn

The other bonus of going to she her speak is you get her cookbook - Pitchin In (signed and personalized).  The cookbook is full of over 100 fantastic recipes.  She has one or two recipes focusing on key ingredients, similar to how the show is set up.  There is a lot of seafood and shellfish (which I don't eat) but the rest of the book makes up for it,  Especially the desserts - WOW!  I literally can't wait to bake them all, especially the bacon caramel sauce.

The first recipe I decided to try was her Red Velvet Cupcakes but with a Sweet Twist spin, of course.  We had a dinner to go to last weekend and I offered to bring dessert, thinking cupcakes are always a good choice.  Is it me or has Red Velvet desserts exploded lately?   Maybe it is just Valentines day but they are everywhere and spun in every fashion.  Cookies, crepes, ice cream, brownies, there are a lot of pretty cool ideas out there. 2012 is the year of Red Velvet.   Who can blame us, Red Velvet desserts are tangy and sweet with nice sublte chocolate undertones.  
Here is my easy spin.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Cupcakes

(Adapted from Lynn Crawford - Pitchin In)

Makes 9 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup sifted cake and pastry flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp red food paste
• 9 white chocolate Lindt balls, unwrapped and frozen

Icing

• 1 - 8 oz package light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 - 3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 3 oz white chocolate, melted

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a muffin tin with 9 liners ( recipe called for 12, but I guess I made them bigger).
2) In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt.

3) In a measuring cup combine buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and food paste and whisk together.

4) In a large bowl or with your mixer, beat together butter and sugar until creamed.  Add egg and beat to combine.

5) Alternate adding the dry ingredients (3 additions)  and buttermilk (2 additions)

6) Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Add one Lindt ball to the center of each cupcake, pressing down, then use a spatula or spoon to just cover the Lindt ball with the mixture.

7) Bake 20 minutes, turning the pan half way through.   Obviously you can not stick a tooth pick in because of the Lindt ball, the top will look set when done.   Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack
8) Make the icing - In a large bowl or mixer bowl beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy and smooth.  Add icing sugar and vanilla starting on low, gently moving to high as icing sugar is incorporated.
Add cooled melted white chocolate and beat to combine.
9) Place into a large piping bag with a star tip and swirl on cupcakes.  If the icing is to soft place in fridge to cool for 10-15 minutes,

I also made a peanut butter chocolate filled Lindt using these chocolate cupcakes and this peanut butter icing

Red velvet white chocolate is a great combination.   I am not sure what it is but cupcakes with a creamy chocolate center are oh soooo good.

MEG's RATING : D-EEEEE-LICIOUS!

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COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!!

Lucky for my readers when I was at the event I picked up an extra signed Pitchin' In cookbook from Lynn.  Leave me a comment with one of your favorite ingredients to cook or bake with.

For 4 more additional entries do the following and come back and let me know

1) Follow me on Facebook
2) Follow me on Twitter
3) Tweet - I want the @CHEF_LYNN Pitchin' In cookbook for more than 100 great recipes, Thanks to @Sweettwist_Meg
4) Follow the blog off to the right -->
5) Pin it

Giveaway open to residents of Canada and the U.S.  Contest open until noon on Feb 18th.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Chocolate Filling and Icing

The other weekend I went to the U.S to go shopping with two girlfriends.  Among several great deals, including my new Kate Spade wallet and Joe's Jeans I picked up some Lindt chocolate balls at their outlet store.  I didn't pick up just any Lindt balls, I picked up white chocolate, coffee and most important of all,  peanut butter.  Oh, these are delicious.  I know it is difficult for a peanut butter chocolate treat to compete with Reese's peanut butter cups but these are pretty darn close.
I baked some cupcakes a few weeks back for my friend Vanessa and her family for a birthday gathering and I put some dark chocolate Lindt balls into the cupcakes.  It was a hidden chocolate surprise.   I wanted to repeat this delicious idea with the peanut butter balls. At the same time this idea popped into my head I also happen to be craving banana cupcakes. What's a girl to do other than put it all together?   Can I even tell you how much as I was looking forward to making these?  Not in words...read on, then bake on. These will make you happy.

Banana Cupcakes with a Peanut Butter center and a Chocolate Peanut Butter icing.
(Cupcakes adapted from Baking Explorations)

INGREDIENTS:

Cupcake

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp, unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup (about 2-3 bananas) mashed very ripe banana
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 12 peanut butter Lindt balls

Icing

• 1/2 unsalted butter softened
• 6 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 lb confectioners sugar
• 1-/4 - 1/2 cup cocoa powder - Start with 1/4 cup and add if you want it stronger.
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12 cupcake pan with liners. 

2) In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

3) In a large bowl/mixer bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy.  Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until combined and fluffy.    Add the eggs and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

4) Add the bananas and beat until just combined. 

5) Add the flour and buttermilk - alternating three flours-two buttermilk.  Scrape down the bowl to ensure all incorporated.

6) Using a 1/4 cup scoop fill the liners about 2-3 full.   Add a Lindt ball to the center of each cupcake, pressing it into the cupcake.  Using a small spoon or spatula, spread some cupcake batter over the chocolate. 

7) Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans half way through.  A toothpick will come out clean when done.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes in pan and remove to cool on wire rack.

8) Make the icing : In a large bowl/mixer bowl beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Add peanut butter beating until just combined.   Add vanilla, confectioners sugar and cocoa powder in 2 parts, beating until combined.  Icing will be fluffy and smooth. 

9) Add icing to piping bag and swirl on to cupcakes. 

There was a reason I was so excited to make these.  They were AWESOME!  The combination of banana, chocolate and peanut butter is classic and fantastic.   The cupcake is fluffy and moist, with a sweet peanut butter cream cheese icing and a secret creamy peanut butter center.  Love it all. 

MEG's RATING: D-EEEEE-LICIOUS!