5 Minute Prep: Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread

Banana Bread is such a wonderful thing. Is it dessert? Is it breakfast? Who knows! And thus, you can eat it allllll day.

In one of my many hours spent scouring Pinterest, I happened along a photo not unlike this (PS – my bananas were thawing from the freezer, that’s why they look kinda wet and gross. haaa):

My interest was piqued. And on a click it said something along the lines of: The closest thing to my Grandmother’s Banana Bread in Two easy steps. Um…Wha?

And so I went on to get the recipe.

Mash 3-4 Over-Ripe Bananas in a mixer… Blend in the Yellow Cake Mix and the Two eggs. Add 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips or nuts, or whatever you like, and bake for 50 minutes.

WHAT?!

No. Way.

I decided to give it a shot.

You guys, this turned out SO well! I made a few alterations (I always do), and added a streusel type topping for a little more pizzazz. Even after that – it took me five minutes TOPS to prepare… And I had emails and texts flying in from all over about how good it was. Here is my VERY slightly modified, full recipe:

Ingredients
1 Box of Yellow Cake Mix
3-4 Over-Ripe Bananas
2 Large Cage-Free Eggs (Initiative.)
1/4 Cup of Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup of Chopped Hazelnuts
1/4 Cup of Cinnamon Chips (So totally optional, but they made a big difference to me. If you don’t have these, just add a tbsp of cinnamon to your batter)

Preheat Oven to 350.
1. Mash the Bananas in your Mixer.

2. Blend in the Cake Mix, Eggs (one at a time), and all other dry ingredients into the Mashed Bananas.

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes. (I did longer, for the Bundt Pan).

Yum!

It smelled so good, I had to take a peak.

It didn’t last long.

Cranberry – Apple Coffee Cake

One of my favorite things in the world is coffee cake. I love it in the mornings with my coffee (um, duh), in the afternoon as a snack, as a dessert… Whenever. The combination of sweet and spice and the crumbly moist cake gets me every time.

So it’s probably no surprise that I’ve always been terrified of making a coffee cake. WHAT IF I MESS IT UP? Such fear has kept me awake many nights.

Not really, but you get what I mean.

Anyway! So I’ve seen lots of recipes for coffee cakes out there with mixed reviews, so I decided to take the most basic of recipes and make it my own. This was my first venture into complete recipe creation and I have to say it was a SMASHING (!) success.

I am so proud of this cake. It was so good and it was gone in minutes at work. I got emails and IMs from everyone, raving about how perfect it was. I can’t wait to make it again. MMMmmm.

The repeat offender to all of the coffee cake recipes I found was that the reviewers found them all dry. So I decided to mix in a common ingredient: chopped apples. I was worried it would be a little bland, though… so I threw in some candied cranberries. It really worked well and the combination of flavors was perfect.

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum! Want some yet? Well, here is how I made it.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Just over 1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp of Milk
1 cup chopped, peeled tart apples
3/4 cup chopped, lightly candied cranberries

TOPPING:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 teaspoon of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold butter or margarine
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

TO CANDY CRANBERRIES:

Soak overnight in maple syrup (just enough to coat), sugar, and cinnamon.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar.
2. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.
4. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream and milk.
5. Stir in apples and cranberries.
6. Transfer to a greased spring-form pan.
7. For topping, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts; sprinkle over batter.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. There will be a bit of moisture on the knife due to the fruit in the cake. Don’t overcook, or you will dry it out!

 Bon appetit!