Tuesday, July 20, 2010

TWD: another two-fer!

I was on vacation last week and was unable to make the Brrr-ownies chosen by Karen of Welcome to Our Crazy Blessed Life, but I wanted to try them b/c I knew that super-picky hubs loves brownies and York peppermint patties, so may love these as well.  I had planned to just bake that recipe for this week, but when I saw that Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities chose the Lot's of Ways Banana Cake for this week I decided to make them both--I'm always looking for a reason to use up those bananas in my freezer!
After a week with my parents and sister (and without hubs) and then a kinda weird day at the office where I am only helping to train instead of doing "my job" (and i don't have a desk or computer anymore!) I was ready to get some baking therapy.


The Brrr-ownies came first so I could let the ingredients for the banana cake come to room temp.  I had read lots about peppermint patty craters in the tops and brownies sticking to the foil, so to remedy those issues, I popped the peppermint patties in the freezer for about 15 minutes before chopping and adding them to the mix so they wouldn't become overly melty, and I was extra careful to super-grease my foil.  I really think these came out perfectly!  Super fudgy and rich but with a lovely cool sensation.  joy in my heart!  Hubs isn't home yet, but I think he will love these :)

Then came the banana cake.  I had some toasted coconut in the freezer as well as some dried cherries, so I used those, and I was out of light brown sugar (gasp!) so I subbed white sugar and substituted 1/4 cup of it with dark brown sugar.  Other than that, I made the recipe as is--from the first ingredients listed.
first picture--once again full of fog!  stupid southern humidity


I really think that banana cake/bread is one of the best smells you can have in your home!  I decided to make it easy and bake it as a bundt, which would also make it easier to transport to my mom's house (I'm gonna share it w/her and my sister--I think they will be happy (:  )  I pulled it out of the oven, let it cool for a bit, and then scraped some of the bits that had stuck to the pan to try a taste.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Seriously, my eyes rolled back in my head.  This is heavenly!  I am so glad that I made it and I think my family will love it!  I'm gonna take them at least half the cake (sliced up on a platter) and will wrap & freeze some pieces for myself for those days when only banana cake can make the world right again ; ).



I hope you all enjoyed these recipes as much as I did!  Thanks so much to Karen & Kimberly for these wonderful picks, and visit their respective blogs for the recipes, as well as the TWD leave-you-link post to see who else baked along this week.

16 comments:

  1. i love your page banner and new layout! the bakes look yummy too :) Tia

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  2. They both look fabulous! I didn't make the brownies, but the cake rocks my world :) This was my farewell post with TWD after almost two years of baking along. Hope you'll stop by and say goodbye!

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  3. I am normally a chocolate person and the brownies sound pretty good, but my oh my does that banana bread look and sound delicious. I think I can even small it from here....

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  4. Both of these look delicious. I bought the mints to make these brownies after seeing everyone's recipes last week.

    Hard to not really have your own space at work. When I started the job I have now, they hadn't really set up a desk for me, I felt very out of place. Worked out fine in the end but hard in the beginning.

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  5. This is a rocking post! Love the brownies and the BUNDT (of course!!!) Brilliant idea to use the awesome bundt pan for the cake. Must do that next time! :) - mary

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  6. I am glad you liked both of these! :) I saw that you linked from facebook and see that we both know Cristin Kingsolver! Small world!

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  7. Brownies AND banana cake. I wanna live at your house....

    They do both look great.

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  8. They both look wonderful! I have got to go back and make the minty brownies, as I used peanut butter cups. They were fab too, if you like PB.

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  9. Two great desserts. Both winners for me!

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  10. wow, both look amazing! I think I would have to lock myself out of the kitchen if I had both of those treats in there waiting for me!

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  11. Both your brownies and Banana cake look supremely delicious!! Nice!

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  12. Double yumminess, both look great! I like your idea to have a stash of banana cake in the freezer.

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  13. Your brownies look perfect, and that banana cake looks delicious and moist! Wasn't the cake wonderful?
    I loved your comment about your Dad's Sunday School class. We Kentuckians have a whole different vocabulary, don't we?! :)

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  14. Both goodies look lovely. I'm so excited that you made the banana cake in the bundt pan. I'll have to try that.

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