Sometimes Simple, Sometimes Grand, Always Declicious
These past few days were busy ones for the oldest child in our family. On Friday Nicholas partook in his first ever holy communion and today, he celebrates the milestone of turning eight years old. It never ceases to amaze me how fast time can pass you by. One minute you’re holding this beautiful little bundle of joy in your arms and the next, he’s half way through elementary school and showing signs of independence you never knew he had.
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Round two of culinary boot camp at the local cooking school began this past weekend. The first five weeks focused on learning proper technique in the kitchen and now the subsequent four will be putting said techniques to good use. We intend to do just that whilst eating our way across the country in true Johnson and Wales fashion. This past Saturday focused on the foods of New England. Think seafood, seafood and more seafood. We steamed up a clam bake, boiled a live lobster and created the ultimate crock of baked beans. We pressure cooked a fabulous boiled dinner of corned beef with cabbage and, of course, we made chowder. Four kinds of chowder. There was the classic New England, the Manhattan tomato based “chowda”, Maine chowder which incorporates a splash or two of half and half and Hatteras (not New England but done for comparison none the less) which is simply broth based – no cream or tomatoes….
The boys and I went strawberry picking this past weekend. It’s one of the main springtime events that Alex, my middle child, looks forward to. I’ll be honest, I look forward to it as well. There is nothing more tantalizing then a freshly picked strawberry hitting your mouth for the first time each spring. Last year the berries were gargantuan and plenty. This year it seems the secret is out. The crowds were en mass on Saturday and the fields were a bit picked over. Despite the conditions, we won’t be deterred. There is still plenty of picking to be had and Alex is demanding a second go at the task. He and I plan to return in the upcoming weeks once the subsequent round of berries have had a chance to ripen.
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Holy spumoni do I have a gem of a dessert to share with you today. I can’t wait to chat your ear off about this amazing Swiss roll cake, but before we do I have a small bit of blog business to take care of.
I’m excited to announce that Mommie Cooks is entering into a new partnership with Cooking Light Magazine and Cookinglight.com. Twice a month I will be sharing content and recipes that are relevant to you and your family. We’ll look into everything from the latest food trends to healthy menu items to individual ingredient features such as what to do with the pile of spring asparagus that’s taking up residence in your fridge’s crisper drawer. Hopefully we can all come away a bit more informed and whole lot more inspired to head back into our kitchens and get cooking!
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If you have any number of young boys living along side you in your home, then you’ll understand the nightmare that is the bathroom. I swear, I would hire a housekeeper for that task alone if I could. No price would be too big. She would be my hero. You think I’m joking. Allow me to share the most recent experience with you.
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Raise your hand if you’ve heard of hummingbird cake.
Chances are, if you’re from the south, you’re frantically waving you’re arms in the air right about now saying, “Uh, yea. Of course I’ve heard of it. Now could you pass a slice this way please?” And that’s because hummingbird cake is a truly southern affair.
No one’s quite sure where the confection actually originated or what the meaning of the hummingbird name is although there are several theories regarding both. I’ve read that it was originally created in Jamaica, but it is most famously known from it’s original submission to Southern Living magazine back in 1978. The hummingbird is the national bird of Jamaica; another point for it’s potential tropical beginnings. Since it’s debut, the cake has gone on to win several awards throughout the South and was elected Southern Living’s favorite recipe ever in 1990. Now that’s a dessert I can seriously stand behind.
Hummingbird cake combines the warm weather flavors of bananas, pineapple, coconut and pecans and as a result is a perfect springtime finish to any southern meal. Seeing as we’re finally starting to warm up here in North Carolina, I decided this would be a fitting end of the week addition to the blog. I wanted to put my own spin on the original flavors so I shook it up a bit and created a hummingbird upside down cake. This version sports a moist and delicious banana cake base topped with pineapple, coconut and pecans. Served alongside a healthy dollop of cream cheese whipped cream, you’re certain to get in touch with your Southern side after a bite or two this treat.
So what do you say? Who’s ready to feed their sweet tooth?
You’ll start out by mixing together a little melted butter and brown sugar. Pour it into a cake pan and top with coconut, pineapple and pecans.
It’s looking pretty darn tasty already. Am I right or am I right?
Move over to your mixer and whip up a quick banana cake batter. The riper the fruit the better when it comes to banana desserts.
Next up, grab a cake pan and pour your finished product over the top of the pecans and pineapple. There’s no greasing necessary because that nummy ummy brown sugar butter mixture will coat the sides of your pan as it cooks, caramelizing and “unsticking” all in one fell swoop. Pretty friggin’ awesome if you ask me.
Check out my cooked up cake.
The good stuff’s on the bottom (soon to be the top), so let’s flip this thing, shall we? Simply run a knife around the outer edge of the pan and let ‘er drop out.
Much, much better. Just look at that caramelized crust. Please pardon me while I head to the kitchen and grab another slice.
“But wait, there’s more!” (as proclaimed in my best infomercial voice)
Hummingbird cake wouldn’t be complete without the cream cheese frosting. I didn’t want to cover up that beautiful caramelized coconut topping, so I decided to make a flavorful whipped cream accompaniment instead. I’m sure you’ll concur that it was a dessert pleasing decision.
Grab up a couple ounces of cream cheese and whip it around with a mixer until smooth. Add in a pour of cream, a splash of vanilla, a little sugar and a couple spoonfuls of pineapple juice reserved from the fruit you used on the cake. Spin on high speed until whipped cream forms.
Perfection.
Serve up a slice with a dollop of cream and enjoy a truly southern springtime treat.
Yield: 12 Cake Slices
Total Time: 1 hour 30 min
For the Cake:
6 Tbsp Melted Butter
11/4 Cup Brown sugar
3/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 20 Oz. Can Pineapple Chunks
Two Handfuls Pecans (about20-25 pecans)
8 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (1/2 Cup or 1 Stick)
3/4 Cup White Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Almond Extract
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
1 3/4 Cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
3-4 Ripe Bananas
For the Whipped Cream:
2 Oz. Room Temperature Cream Cheese
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
3 Tbsp Reserved Pineapple Juice
Mix together the melted butter and 3/4 cups of the brown sugar. Spread it into a 9" round cake pan.
Sprinkle the coconut across the top of the butter mixture.
Drain the can of pineapple, reserving 3 tablespoons of the juice.
Place the pineapple and the pecans across the bottom of the pan and set to the side.
In a mixer, cream together the butter, white sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
Add in the eggs and the two extracts.
Mix in the buttermilk.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Add the dry mixture to the wet in batches, stirring after each addition.
Add in the bananas and mix until combined.
Pour the cake batter over the top of the pecans and place in a 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle.
Allow about 5 minutes to cool and then run a knife around the edge and flip over onto a serving dish.
For the whipped cream, begin by whipping the cream cheese in a mixer until smooth.
Add in the cream, brown sugar, vanilla and pineapple juice.
Whip on medium/high speed until whipped cream forms.
Serve a hearty dollop of the whipped cream along side the cake.