SUZIE SWEET TOOTH

Cakes, Treats, and Everything Sweet

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    • Banana Pudding and Homemade “Nilla” Wafers

      I’ve never been a big fan of banana pudding. Not that I don’t like it, it’s just not something I ever had a big taste for. That all changed a few years ago when I set foot in a BBQ place called Baby Blues in San Francisco. The first time we went there was on our wedding anniversary. I know, I know, not exactly romantic-but we went for the great food. We let it slip to the waitress that it was our anniversary and the next thing you know she was coming out with this banana pudding with a candle in it. I was pretty full from the amazing ribs we had shared, but I figured okay-it’s our anniversary and the pudding is FREE, so we have to eat it, right?

      I figured one ceremonious bite and I would call it good.  One spoonful of that luscious, sweet, intensely banana flavored pudding and I was hooked.

      The Husband took a bite.

      He looked at me and just stared for a second and didn’t say a word, and then he dove back into the bowl with the spoon.

      We went back and forth like this until that entire bowl was bare.  Without a word.  You know when something is supremely good because it gets REALLY quiet.

      I swear, had I been home alone with that pudding I would have licked the bowl. It was THAT good. Ever since that day I vowed to come up with a banana pudding to do it justice. This is it. Note: you can certainly use store bought Nilla wafers in place of homemade. Enjoy.

      Banana Pudding

      Banana Pudding 2

      Nilla wafers

      Banana Pudding

      2  1/2 Cups whole milk

      2 very ripe bananas

      1/2 Cup sugar

      pinch of salt

      3 Tbsp. cornstarch

      2 egg yolks

      1  1/2 tsp. vanilla

      1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

      For Assembling:

      Homemade vanilla wafers *(recipe below)

      3 ripe (but not overripe) bananas

      1/2 lemon

      1 Cup heavy whipping cream

      2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar

      garnishes* (optional): salted chopped peanuts, chocolate shavings, vanilla wafers

      Pudding:

      1. Place the milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the two “very ripe” bananas and let stand to steep for 1.5 hours.

      2. In a blender place the steeped milk, yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt and blend to combine about 30 seconds until smooth.

      3. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, pour the contents of the blender and whisk continuously until pudding becomes thick. Once pudding starts to thicken- whisk vigorously and continue to cook for about another 30 seconds. Total cook time will be about 5-7 minutes. Pull off the heat and whisk in the vanilla and the butter until all of butter is melted. Pour into a heat proof bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly onto the pudding. Chill pudding in fridge until cold.

      Homemade “Nilla” Vanilla Wafers

      1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened

      1/2 Cup granulated sugar

      1  1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

      1 Tbsp. milk

      1  1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or seeds of one vanilla bean)

      1  1/3 Cup all-purpose flour

      1/2 tsp. salt

      1/2 tsp. baking powder

      1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugars. Add the milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the bowl and stir until combined. Scoop out measured 1 tsp. of dough. Roll the dough into balls. Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper. Flatten the balls of dough into 3/16 inch (1/4 cm) thickness. Bake for about 7-8 minutes until the cookies appear golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack. The cookies will be about the size of a quarter.

      Assembling Puddings:

      1. Whip 1 Cup heavy cream and the 2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar until medium stiff peaks form (be cautious not to overwhip the cream). Set aside and keep cold for assembly.

      2. Cut bananas into slices and toss with 2-3 teaspoons of lemon juice in a small bowl; just enough to coat the bananas so they don’t turn dark.

      3. Use small dessert glasses, crumble 2-3 cookies in bottom of each glass. Top with a layer of banana pudding, then sliced bananas, then whipped cream. Repeat layering until desired (depending on size of glasses). Top with a swirl of whip cream and top with salted peanuts, salted caramel drizzle or shaved chocolate if desired. Serve cold. Note: you can layer this as one big dessert in a bowl if you like instead of individual parfaits.

    • Peanut Butter Sesame Seed Sandwich Creme Cookies

      Peanut butter and sesame seeds have an affinity for each other; they are kind of like kindred spirits or best friends. I wanted to come up with a peanut butter cookie but something slightly different. Enter the sesame seed. These cookies are great on their own without the filling, so don’t feel compelled to sandwich them if you don’t want. If you want to try other variations you can leave out the sesame seeds and sesame oil and mix in some mini chocolate chips, or (leave out the sesame flavors) and just roll the logs in raw sugar before baking. Feel free to play with the recipe and make it your own! Enjoy~

      Peanut Butter Sesame Cookies 1

       

      Peanut Butter Sesame Cookies 2

       

      Peanut Butter Sesame Cookies

       

      DSC_2877

       

      Peanut Butter Sesame Seed Sandwich Cremes

      Peanut Butter Sesame Seed Cookies

      1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened

      1 Cup smooth peanut butter

      3/4 Cup granulated sugar

      1/2 Cup light brown sugar

      2 eggs

      3/4 tsp. vanilla

      3/4  tsp. sesame oil

      2 Tbsp. sesame seeds + more for rolling

      2 Cups all-purpose flour

      1/2 tsp. salt

      1/4 tsp. baking soda

      Cookies:

      1. Cream the butter and peanut butter together until combined. Add sugars and cream until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, sesame oil and beat. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl then add all at once to rest of dough and stir to combine. Divide dough into two equal portions and place each dough portion onto plastic wrap and shape into a square log that is about 10.5 inches long by 1.5 inch wide. Roll in sesame seeds. Chill dough logs in fridge until firm.

      2. Preheat oven to 325° F. Let dough logs sit out for about 10 minutes before slicing (they crumble less that way).Cut off 1/4 inch thick slices (they crumble slightly when slicing-so just push back together if needed with your fingers) and place on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake (one sheet at a time) for 8-9 minutes until no longer wet looking. Note: some of the seeds that fall off while slicing I use to place on top before baking. Cool cookies completely on wire rack. Sandwich with about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter cream filling.

      Peanut Butter Cream Filling:

      1/3 Cup creamy peanut butter

      3 Tbsp. brown sugar

      2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, sifted

      4-5 tsp. heavy cream

      (Stir together filling ingredients vigorously in small bowl until combined. Use to sandwich cookies together).

    • Coconut Panna Cotta

      Coconut panna cotta is what you are looking for when it’s hot and sticky and you want something cold and creamy but not necessarily ice cream. This is the perfect treat. Super creamy, smooth and cold it is a nice treat on an afternoon after running errands. At least that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it. This is also a great dessert for a summer dinner party since you can make it up ahead of time. Enjoy the summer.

      Coconut Panna Cotta 1

      Coconut Panna Cotta 2

      Coconut Panna Cotta

      recipe: Donna Hay

      yield: 4 servings

      2 tsp. warm water

      1 tsp. powdered gelatin

      2 Cups coconut cream

      1/4 Cup castor sugar

      2 tsp. lime juice

      1/2 tsp. vanilla

      1. In a small bowl place warm water and sprinkle gelatin mixture over the water evenly. Set aside for 5 minutes to bloom. Brush 4 cups or containers lightly with vegetable oil.

      2. In a small saucepan place coconut cream, sugar, lime juice and vanilla. Bring just to a boil. Add the bloomed gelatin and stir and heat gently over medium low heat until gelatin mixture is incorporated. Pour mixture into containers and place in the fridge to chill and become set.

      3. When panna cotta is set, take them out from the fridge and using your index finger pull gently away from the side of the containers to release the air seal. Choose a plate you want to serve the panna cotta on and place over the container, then turn over to release the panna cotta onto the plate.

      4. Serve panna cotta cold with tropical fruit such as mango or pineapple.

    • Lychee and Banana Fritters

      I’m very intrigued by lychees. They are what I call “ugly pretty”. Pretty but in an ugly sort of way. Rough and a bit prickly on the outside, but glossy translucent dreamy white on the inside. Truth be told if you buy them in the can they really are ugly, so try to find them in Asian markets if you are lucky enough to live near an Asian market so you can appreciate their true beauty. The smell is something that you can’t really begin to describe. You have to smell one once in your life to appreciate the fragrance. They smell very floral. When you peel back the leathery prickly skin they are so incredibly juicy that it is hard to peel one without getting juice all over you. This batter works well with very ripe bananas also, so if you can’t find lychees try the banana chunks. Either way they are delicious.

      Lychee Fritters 2

      Lychee Fritter 1

      lychee unpeeled

      lychee peeled

      Lychees on plate

      Lychee and Banana Fritters

      1 Cup flour

      1/2 Cup sugar + more for rolling

      1  1/2 tsp. baking powder

      1/2 tsp. salt

      1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

      1/8 tsp. cinnamon

      2 Tbsp. vegetable oil + more for frying

      5 Tbsp. milk

      1 tsp. lemon zest

      1 tsp. lemon juice

      1 Lg. egg

      1-2 very ripe bananas, cut into 1 inch chunks

      10 lychees, peeled, pitted, and cut in half (fresh or canned)

      1. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. In a liquid measuring cup whisk the wet ingredients; vegetable oil through the egg. Make a well and pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a fork to combine. Blot the lychees dry with paper towels. Drop both of the fruit pieces into the batter and stir to coat the fruit. Prepare a separate small bowl with granulated sugar to roll the fritters in once out of the fryer.

      2. Heat 2 inches of oil in a deep saucepan to 340 degrees F. Using a tablespoon scoop batter covered fruit and carefully spoon into the oil (using another spoon to scrape off into oil works best). Note the batter will be very wet and it may seem like a lot of the batter drips off–that is fine–just do the best you can. You will have irregular shaped fritters. Fry the fritters for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the oil and immediately roll in granulated sugar and let cool on paper towel lined plate.

    • Mocha Brownies with Coffee Drizzle Icing

      Is there such a word as Jamocha? Or is it like “ja-mon” ala the Michael Jackson song lyric. These are the things that keep my up at night. Life’s serious questions ;-) When I was in college I used to frequent Arby’s and buy their jamocha shakes. Those shakes got me through college. When I had a particularly hard day I would do drive through and buy one to treat myself. That period in my life started my love affair with anything mocha, or perhaps jamocha. Whatever.

      Can you ever have too many recipes for brownies? Okay, just checking with you– as this recipe is different from my other recipe I have posted previously. These brownies are very dense and super fudgy, and packed with a lot of flavor. The coffee both in the batter and in the icing adds just enough punch to take them over into indulgent territory. You might consider them PMS brownies. Sorry guys. My ladies will totally get this statement. That is not to say my man peeps will not thoroughly enjoy them. Plan ahead and make sure to have some nice cold milk in the fridge to go along with them. Cut them small as they are super rich.

      Jamon, Jamon.

      Mocha Brownies

      Mocha Brownie Squares

      Temple near Jinlong Lake

      scenic view of Beifeng Temple near Jinlong Lake, Xizhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan

      Mocha Brownies with Coffee Drizzle Icing

      2/3 Cup unsalted butter

      1  1/4 Cup granulated fine (castor) sugar

      2 tsp. instant coffee granules

      1/4 tsp. salt

      3/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Hershey’s)

      3 Lg. eggs

      1 tsp. vanilla

      1/2 Cup all-purpose flour

      1. Preheat the oven to 325° degrees F (160° C). Line an 8 inch square pan with either parchment paper or tinfoil (dull side of foil facing up). Brush lightly with oil or butter.

      2. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium low heat; add the sugar, coffee granules, and salt and stir until sugar melts. Whisk in the cocoa and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes, then slowly whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Whisk the flour over the mixture then stir to combine. Pour the batter into the pan and tap the pan aggressively on the counter 3-4 times to remove any air bubbles.

      3. Bake in a preheated oven for about 27-30 minutes until brownies just set, and a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs.

      4. Let the pan cool over a wire rack. When completely cool, using a small spoon drizzle with the coffee icing.

      Coffee Icing

      2/3 Cup confectioners sugar, sifted

      2 Tbsp. heavy cream

      1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules

      1/2 tsp. hot water

      In a small bowl stir the instant coffee granules and hot water until dissolved. Stir in the sugar and heavy cream until smooth.

    • Churnless Banana-Mango Frozen Yogurt

      First of all, I want to thank all my readers for coming back each week to read my blog. Second, I want to inform my wonderful blog family that I   (We- The Husband, Son and thee) have moved. MOVED as in FAR AWAY from California. We moved to the “beautiful island” of  Formosa known as Taiwan.

      Taiwan is my husband’s birthplace-just so you know I’m not totally crazy  baked moving to a foreign country (only half crazy baked).  I will continue to post my treats and you might notice a slight tropical or Asian flare sometimes with the choices I bring to my recipes, but American style treats will continue to be a large presence on my blog.

      By request from my friends and family-I am also going to try to post more pictures (other than just food porn), so you can enjoy my discovery of Taipei/Taiwan along with me. I am having such a blast discovering all the amazing food and especially the fruit here in Taiwan. I cannot get enough of the fruit. To kick off my most recent fascination of mangos, I chose this recipe from Donna Hay.

      Last week I bought some ripe mangos at the out-door market here in my neighborhood and they were so amazingly sweet I had to go back for more this week. Did I mention I love the fruit here?!  I keep telling my friends back in the States that the fruit here in Taiwan is so freaking amazing, and I have to admit I never had a mango that tasted so good until I moved here. The mangos here have a flesh that is soft and silky and not fibrous at all. The bananas in this recipe are there more for the creamy texture that they bring to the party rather than the taste, so restrain yourself from using bananas that are overripe as that is not what is required in this recipe.

      banana mango frozen yogurt

      cut mango

      UbikesBiking around Taipei is easy and convenient thanks to the Ubike system. Notice how clean the streets and sidewalks are. No grafitti.

      Bullish in the parkIsn’t he cute? spotted him in the park while walking back to the Taipei City Hall metro stop.

      Banana-Mango Frozen Yogurt

      recipe: Donna Hay

      yield: 4-6 servings

      1 Cup thick plain yogurt, cold

      2 ripe (not overipe) bananas

      3 ripe mangos

      1. Cut the bananas and mangos and place in ziplock bags. Freeze until firm-about 3 hours.

      2. Place the yogurt first in a Vitamix or blender. Top with the frozen fruit and process until smooth. You may serve at that point which will give you a more soft serve texture. To continue until firm, place the finished frozen yogurt in an air-tight freezer safe container and freeze until firm.