Banana Cream Pie

I must be going bananas as this is my second recipe of the week featuring them.  I couldn't let summer slip on by without making a pie and while I do love myself a peach pie or a strawberry pie, I really wanted a cold slice of banana cream pie.

The crust and the pastry cream were directly out of Martha's Pies and Tarts.  This is one of my favorite go to books for pies.  The crust aslo known as pate brisee was simply amazing; it's practically fail proof.  One thing that disappointed was the pastry cream.  I thought it would set up a bit more but it never did.  So, it ended up more like pudding.  The two other times I made a banana cream pie, one with pastry cream and one with  pudding, I didn't have this problem at all.  Regardless, it tasted spot on.

Banana Nut Bread (Paleo)

Since participating in a 30-day Paleo challenge, I have been trying to keep up with living a Paleo lifestyle.  One of the things I wanted to change was the sugar-laden quick muffins and breads I was grabbing for breakfast; enter discovering Elana's Pantry.  It was difficult to pick just one of  her recipes; everything looked so good.  It was hard to believe it was all gluten and grain free.  Because I had some overripe bananas, I went with the Banana Nut Bread.  This ranks high up there for my tried and true Paleo swap outs; even my none Paleo believing friend didn't know it was Paleo.

Banana Nut Bread (Paleo)
adapted from Elana's Pantry
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a 3 x 9 loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together, the almond meal, baking soda, and salt.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Stir in the bananas, vanilla extra, honey, coconut oil, and walnuts.

Pour batter into the pre-greased pan.  Bake for 55-65 minutes or until top appears dry and a toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pan and then serve as desired.  Keeps well wrapped up at room temperature for 3-5 days.

Blueberry Crisp (Paleo)

I decided to mix things up this weekend by bringing a paleo dessert to a friend's house instead of my usual baked goods.  It was the perfect treat after a nice barbecue dinner.  To make it completely paleo, I suggest a nice scoop of almond ice cream or coconut milk ice cream on top.  We went 50% paleo and enjoyed it with some sugar free vanilla ice cream.

Blueberry Crisp (Paleo)
Adapted from Paleo Desserts: 125 Delicious
6-8 servings

Ingredients:
11 oz container of fresh or frozen blueberries
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup of almond meal
1/2 cup of finely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/8 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of vanilla
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of coconut oil, melted

Directions:
Step 1: Grease a 8x8 baking dish with coconut oil.  Toss blueberries with the lemon zest.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, stir together the  dry ingredients - almond meal, nuts, shredded coconut, cinnamon and salt.

Step 3: Stir in the vanilla extract, honey, and melted coconut oil.  Add more or less coconut oil based on how dry or wet the mixture looks.

Step 4: Sprinkle the wet mixture on top of the blueberries.  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Serve warm or cold.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Summer Fruit Desserts

With the summer season at it's peak (it's was over 100 degrees out here in California), summer fruits are abundant.  Below are a few of my favorite desserts showcasing summer fruits:

Peach Tart (Paleo)

Toasted Almond and Candied Cherries Ice Cream

Strawberry Pound Cake

Strawberry Turnovers

Strawberry Cheesecake Cake

Strawberries and Cream Tart

Cherry Pie

Peach and Raspberry Crumb Tart

Peach and Blueberry Crumb Tart

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I can't wait for it to cool down to get back into the kitchen as I really want to bake up another summer fruit dessert.  What is your favorite summer fruit dessert?

White Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting

I was headed to a friend's birthday party and I knew I had to bring these cupcakes.  I have been eyeing the cookie dough frosting since I saw them on Sally's Baking Addiction.  I am guilty of sampling cake batter and cookie dough while baking and this frosting is exactly like the real thing but minus the raw eggs.

I used an apple corer on the cupcakes in order to give them just a bit more frosting after realizing that the cupcake itself wouldn't hold up to a pile of heavy frosting.  I wish I went with a more sturdy and dense cupcake, ie. yellow cake.   The white cake was too fluffy for such a rich and heavy frosting.  But, it sure balanced out the sweetness perfectly.

Cookie Dough Frosting
from Sally's Baking Addiction
enough to lightly frost 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup + 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons milk
1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Beat butter and brown sugar in a mixer until light and creamy.  Add vanilla extract.  Add the flour and salt, continuing to beat until no white streaks are visible.  Stop and scrap down the frosting as necessary   Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until a creamy consistency is reached.  Stir in by hand the mini chocolate chips.  Frost as desired.

Frosting keeps at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.