Moist Banana Bread Recipe

Those bananas are on their last leg. You’ve watched them sit on your kitchen counter… changing colors from a sunny yellow to a dingy brown. There’s even that little squishy part on the bottom. We’ve all lived this nightmare.

Would you believe me if I said you could do something with those mushy brown bananas? No… not garden fertilizer. Some of the best (and moist) banana bread I’ve ever made was from the brownest banana in the bundle! It may sound strange… gross… or even unsafe to eat those rotting bananas, but they are safe (and tasty in bread).

My mom and I have been baking banana bread using this recipe for as long as I can remember. It makes a great holiday gift because you can buy those disposable foil loaf pans. They’re inexpensive and you can easily wrap up your loaves in some festive cellophane wrap (tied with a ribbon) for an extra touch.

It’s a cheap way to say happy holidays… or if it’s not a holiday season, it’s just a good way to remind someone that you’re thinking of them. My neighbors, especially, love these loaves!

Yield: 16 servings (note: the mini foil loaves will only have 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
• ½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

1) Preheat over to 350 degrees .Combine flour, baking soda and salt and blend with a whisk. Set aside.

2) Place sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about one minute).

3) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt and vanilla and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed just until moist.

4) Spoon batter into an 8 ½ x 4 ½ -inch loaf pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

5) Cool 10 minutes in pan or on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!

I especially love this bread right out of the oven and a glass of milk! For fun variations to this delicious recipe try adding a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or a cup of your favorite nut (I like pecans in this recipe.)

You can make the bread plain as well. To distinguish the loaves, sprinkle a little bit of your “special ingredient” on top of the loaves, like the chocolate chips or the pecans. Yum! I think you too will find that this moist banana bread recipe is completely worth the wait for the brown bananas!

Simple Cheesecake Recipe

A simple cheesecake recipe can sometimes be hard to find. You want a cheesecake recipe which is delicious yet, simple…easy, but flavorful. It’s a tough balance; at least it was until I found this simple cheesecake recipe. It’s so easy!

While the flavor is simply plain, it gives you so many options as to what to use for topping. Want a cherry cheesecake? Try this recipe with a can of cherry topping (better yet, some fresh cherries!)

Maybe chocolate cheesecake is more “your speed”. This recipe with a hot fudge glaze or sauce is a great addition. Experiment with it. Have fun, bake limitlessly, and love every inch of this simple, simple cheesecake recipe!

Yield: 8 slices

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust

Topping Ideas

• 1/2 cup sour cream (mixed with 2 tbsp sugar)
• 1 cup cherry pie filling
• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• prepared Jello gelatin
• a thin chocolate sauce

Directions

1) Mix cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and eggs.

2) Pour into premade pie crust.

3) Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until a 3 inch circle in center jiggles when you “give it a shake”.

4) Cool 3 hours or overnight.

5) Serve with desired topping…enjoy!

My personal favorite topping is a drizzle of chocolate sauce with some freshly sliced strawberries atop this delicious cheesecake. This recipe is perfect for any occasion where a cheesecake is needed in a short amount of time or when ingredients are running low… but cheesecake cravings are running high.

Any time, any day, any reason, any occasion, any slice, any way—it’s a yes to this simple cheesecake recipe. Give it a try for yourself.

Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe

So we all know that yellow cake is delicious. In fact, so is chocolate cake, white cake, red velvet cake, or any other cake, but what about strawberry cake?

Growing up, I used to eat strawberries by the handful. My mom could hardly even wash them off as fast as I would gobble them down.

She and I were both excited, when we stumbled across a recipe for easy strawberry cake.

I’ve always liked this recipe because I think that a strawberry cake should always have real strawberries in or on it. Obviously, this strawberry cake recipe does just that and for this reason and many others… it is delicious.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 pkg. strawberry gelatin
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 cup nuts, chopped
• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 4 eggs

Topping:

• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1 box confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 stick butter, softened

Directions:

For Cake:

1) Mix gelatin with flour and cake mix. Add water, oil, and strawberries. Add the eggs, mixing well after each egg.

2) Transfer batter to a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan.

3) Bake at 325F for about 35 minutes.

For Topping:

1) Mix sugar and softened butter well. Add strawberries and pecans and blend until smooth enough for spreading.

Delicious! Many other strawberry cake recipes stick solely to the gelatin. For me, the gelatin is good, but nothing is as good as having your cake and it’s topped with real, rich strawberries. I small scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and I’m a happy girl! One slice of this strawberry cake and you sure would be happy too.

Sesame Street Cupcakes (starring Big Bird)

He’s an oversized bird that talks and sports a fashionable bright yellow coat. He really is one of a kind!

He’s got buggy eyes and striped legs, yet despite all of this, we all love him. Big bird was the initial star of the popular children’s show, Sesame Street, and now he’s just had his second big break…on cupcakes!

These Sesame Street cupcakes, or Big Bird cupcakes, look so cute; they’re practically a self-portrait of our giant feathered friend.

In addition to the uncanny similarities, these cupcakes are incredibly easy to make! Here let me show you how to create your own Sesame Street Cupcakes with Big Bird!

Ingredients:

• Premade Cupcakes
• Yellow Royal Icing
• White Royal Icing
• Chocolate Chips
• Blue Sprinkles

Directions:

1) Fill a pastry bag, with the Grass Tip on the end, with yellow icing. Make short choppy motions to create short fur for Big Bird.

2) For the eves, pipe small circles towards the center of the cupcake and put them close together.

3) Add the pupils by pressing chocolate chips upside down into the eyes, until level with the frosting. Add a couple sprinkles for eye lashes and you’re good to go!

4) Lastly, for the classic Big Bird nose, pipe out some yellow icing with a regular round tip. You can do this by starting with a triangle in the middle of the cupcake. Fill in the initial triangle with a lighter layer of icing along the interior of the triangle. Finally… tada, you’re done!

Of course everyone loves Sesame Street; the whole gang, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Burt, Ernie, Oscar. Despite all this communal love, the love for Big Bird is always the most for he is the face of Sesame Street. With these Sesame Street cupcakes you can express that Big Bird love in a big, big way!

Banana Split Cheesecake Recipe

Wow… this banana split cheesecake recipe is insane. The day I ran across this recipe was also the day I baked it; it just sounded so delicious! Who would have thought that you could take two completely different desserts and make one super supreme snack.

The trick is that this recipe is basically a banana cheesecake. The banana split part comes in the topping. What an overflow of toppings…but how tasty!

I’m sure you’re just dying to try this recipe out, just as I was, so why wait any longer. Go ahead… get started now.

Yield: 16 servings

Ingredients:

Crust:

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 cup packaged chocolate cookie crumbs (such as Oreo)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted

Filling:

• 4 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups banana; mashed and ripe
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs

Toppings:

• 1/3 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, drained
• 1/3 cup strawberry sundae syrup
• 1/3 cup chocolate syrup
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 16 maraschino cherries, drained

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325°.

2) To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Press into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.

3) To prepare filling, beat cheeses and sour cream at high speed of a mixer until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar, banana, flour, and vanilla; beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time; beat well after each addition.

4) Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan; bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until almost set. Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge.

5) Cool cheesecake to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon pineapple, 1 teaspoon strawberry syrup, 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup, 3/4 teaspoon pecans, and 1 cherry.

Yum! This delicious (yet unique) cheesecake recipe showcases all the delicious flavors a classic banana split in a new and exciting way. Your friends will be so shocked to see the cheesecake you made them and everyone will be just dying to know the recipe! It can be our little secret!

Popcorn Cupcake Recipe

Movie nights, for me, are the perfect way to spend any evening, but where would a movie be with no popcorn? Well, it would just be wrong. That’s what makes these cupcakes so much fun. I found them at familyfun.com and I just love the idea. This recipe allows you to create creative little popcorn cupcakes and gives off the image of a bucket of popcorn.

I’ve found that these cupcakes are great for parties, gatherings, or a fun girl’s night in! Who would have ever thought that marshmallows could be popcorn! So go ahead, pop in a movie, pop down on the couch, and don’t worry about popping that popcorn. These popcorn cupcakes already have it all taken care of!

Ingredients:

• Premade cupcakes
• White icing
• Mini marshmallows (white or pastel yellow and white)
• Yellow food coloring (optional)
• Clean paintbrush
• Scissors
• White construction paper
• Blue and red markers

Directions:

1) Frost the cupcake with white icing. To create each piece of “popcorn,” cut one mini marshmallow in half and squish the two pieces back together into a whole mini marshmallow, pinching firmly.

2) Pile the finished popcorn onto the frosted cupcake. For a buttery look, either dilute a drop of yellow food coloring in water and brush it on with a clean paintbrush or mix pastel yellow marshmallows in with the white.

3) To make the band, cut a strip of construction paper about 1 1/4 inches by 8 inches, or to fit your cupcake, and decorate as shown. If you’re creating many cupcakes, design just one band and color photocopy it. Wrap the band around the cupcake and secure with tape.

Well, that’s it. With these simple instructions and a little creativity, you too can enjoy a popcorn cupcake to accompany any movie night! This popcorn cupcake recipe is a fun twist on a traditionally salty snack!

Gardening Cupcake Design Recipe

I love gardening. It’s a fun outlet and making things from nothing (plants from seeds, cakes from flour and eggs, etc) has always been a passion for me.

I stumbled across these cupcakes yesterday and found them to be so adorable! Although they do take more work than my usual recipes the end product just looks so creative and professional!

As much as I love gardening, these cupcakes would make a fantastic addition to any farmer’s market or bake sale. Don’t let the directions or the ingredient list scare you.

These gardening cupcakes really do take the cake! It takes a while to make them, but what farmer ever planted and harvested at the same time? Give these cupcakes the patience they need and you’ll be happy you did.

Check these out in Woman’s Day magazine or on their site! (Click the blue link to be automatically directed.)

What a fun idea! For this garden scene, you’ll make….

-Radishes
-Peas
-Carrots
-Lettuce
-Signs
-Shovels

This gardening cupcake recipe will surely be a hit at the next party. Even those of you who don’t really care for gardening can benefit from these cupcakes! We all like sweets and cupcakes so what are you waiting for? Grab a shovel and dig in!

4th of July Cupcake Design

Uncle Sam wants you… but you may have to tell him to wait! These July 4th cupcakes are so good, you won’t want to miss them. These cupcakes are great for parties, Fourth of July firework shows, or just for you to enjoy! The little cakes may be red, white, and blue, but let’s face red, white, and blue are always in season!

The fun part about this holiday cupcake recipe is that it’s so versatile. For fun variations, you could try using vanilla cupcakes. Add some red or blue food coloring for additional color.

Ingredients:

• 24 pre-made chocolate cupcakes
• 1/2 cup marshmallow crème
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 cups fresh strawberries, halved
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

1) Refrigerate pre-made cupcakes.

2) Place marshmallow crème in small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 10 – 20 seconds, until softened. Beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add slightly cooled marshmallow crème; continue beating until stiff peaks form.

3) Frost cooled cupcakes with whipped cream mixture up to two hours before serving. Arrange 2 strawberry halves on top of each frosted cupcake. Place 3 - 5 blueberries around the strawberry halves. Keep refrigerated until served.

You could also substitute the fruit for more variations. Strawberries could be switched out for raspberries. If you don’t like blueberries, try putting a small dollop of blue icing next to the strawberries. This ties in the red, white, and blue all together in a festive little cupcake.

Apple Spice Cake Recipe

When fall rolls around, one of my favorite recipes to bake is apple spice cake. This cake is delicious and the taste of the apples really comes out in the cake. I especially like this cake when it’s served warm with a glass of cold milk. It really gets me in the mood for the season and the leaves changing.

The first time I made this cake it was for a fall festival in my community. It was such a hit that I ran out far earlier than anticipated! I had even made extras, just in case, but it wasn’t enough. Now I know (as do my neighbors) that when its apple season and its time to bake apple spice cake, I better bake a couple cakes because they sure do go fast!

Yield: serves 10

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
• Carmel topping (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with a non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

2) Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.

4) Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.

5) Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

6) Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.

7) Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.

8) Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack, and serve drizzled with caramel topping; if desired.

I love this recipe, and I really hope that you do to. I like it best with the caramel topping, however if you’re not a fan, it is good plain too! So go ahead… serve up a slice and dig in! This tasty apple spice cake will surely have you going back for seconds!

Chocolate Molten Cake Recipe

It’s a chocolate molten cake, but they’re made famous by the name of “choco-hoto-pots” and I can give a big thanks to Ms. Oprah for shedding the light on these decedent treats.

This recipe was on The Oprah Winfrey Show many years ago, but I have stuck with it ever since it was created. This recipe is like a brownie, with a warm molten center. The white chocolate chips are a great touch as well!

The first time I made these cakes, my best friend and I were having a “Girl’s Night In”. We wanted to pop in a movie, but needed a snack to go with the movie. We were fresh out of popcorn so I thought quick and ripped out my recipe for these lovely chocolate molten cakes.

They turned out wonderfully and it wasn’t long before the rest of my family came into the kitchen wondering what delicious chocolate dessert was being concocted! Now-a-days, my best friend and I still love making these tasty treats and it’s our staple recipe!

Yield: 4 servings (4 small ramekins)

Ingredients:

• Butter (for ramekins)
• ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter; unsalted
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cups sugar (superfine works best)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Place baking sheet in an oven preheated to 400°. Butter four 2/3-cup ramekins and set aside.

2) Using a microwave oven or double boiler, melt together the semisweet chocolate and the butter. Set aside to cool.

3) In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar and flour. Add cooled chocolate mixture, and mix until blended. Fold in white chocolate chips.

4) Divide mixture evenly among ramekins and place on baking sheet. Bake until tops are shiny and cracked and chocolate beneath is hot and gooey, about 20 minutes.

5) Place each ramekin on a small plate with a teaspoon and serve, reminding children that ramekins and chocolate are hot.

I hope your chocolate molten cakes turn out as amazing as mine do. People say that chocolate can actually make you feel more relaxed and at ease. Hey, after one bite of these choco-hot-pots, I would absolutely have to agree!

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