As much as last week's CEiMB was proof positive that I am not a "real" food blogger, this week's TWD is proof that I am a baker. If I had to choose, I'm pretty happy with the one that I am. My co-workers are too, based on how quick the Banana Bundt (Cup) Cake went.
For the baking classes I took in culinary school, the teacher (a very experienced, very dreamy looking very well known pastry chef here in San Diego) would give us minimalist recipes on the board. His theory - a sound one - was once you learned the techniques you don't have to write out the directions. If he wrote "2 sticks butter" and below it "2 cups sugar" on the board, connected them with a line, and then wrote "cream" next to it, then we knew that we would put both ingredients into a stand mixer and let them go at medium speed for approximately 5 minutes or until they got to that beautiful, light fluffy stage that we all know and love.
Since my kitchen is small, and because time was short, I translated Dorie's recipe into Chef McDreamy haiku. I must say I got this cake done in a short period of time, and felt very confident along the way. It's a nice feeling, one that I've felt slowly increasing over the last year of participating. Practice really does make perfect.
Since I don't have a bundt pan (sorry Mary!!) I went the cup cake route. I had a bit of batter left over, so I filled up half of a mini-muffin pan and tossed that into the oven as well. Those were done first, and the cupcakes took about 30+ minutes to finish baking.
Waiting for the trip to workThe mini-muffins ended up being a great way to please all parties at work. Those who just wanted a bite got one. Those who wanted a snack took the full sized muffins. Everyone was happy, and they all disappeared in a hurry.
I didn't try the glaze, mostly because of time. I would think that it would add a "wow" factor to an already tasty cake. The mini-muffins were a little dry, the regular sized muffins weren't bad, but not as moist as some said in the P&Q. Perhaps because I used non-fat plain yogurt? Or perhaps I didn't add enough banana? Whatever the reason, these were still good, and I add this to the list of "sure, I'd make that again"-s.
Thanks to Mary from The Food Librarian for picking out something that was truly tasty, but without TWD I never would have tried!
7 comments:
I'm sorry that yours were a tad dry....these seemed to bake REALLY fast in my oven...I only had them in there for 25 minutes.
These were delicious and I'm glad that you'll give them another try.:)
I LOVE those cupcake liners...they are so cute!
Well, I think it's neat that you took 2 different sizes to work to share with your friends. Cute paper liners, too! That teacher sounds like he was easy on the eyes, for sure!
I love the liners on your cupcakes - so cute! Sorry they turned out a bit dry. I hope you have better luck next time! They look wonderful!
Hmmm, the bundt was so moist, maybe in a smaller version it just doesn't retain the moisture in the oven. in any case, they look great.
The paper liners are really cute! And thanks for sharing the tip you learned from Chef McFluffy.. or Dreamy!
My bundt cake came out dry along the edges but nice and moist in the middle.
Your cupcake/mini-muffin (I couldn't tell which in the picture) sure does look moist! They look so cute with the pretty flower liners! And I'd love to take classes with a Chef McDreamy! =)
How cute! I subbed low-fat sour cream and mine was fine, but the bundt took FOREVER to bake. Smart move to make them as cupcakes & minis!
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