There’s been considerable interest in the recipes I wrote about yesterday, so in the spirit of the holidays (and so you don’t have to look them up on Google and wonder which one) I’ll write them out. It’s not like they’re family secrets. Sorry there’s no photos – we tend to eat them (the goodies not the photos) too fast to remember to take pictures.
Mayonnaise Cake
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use the mayo made with olive oil, and no, salad dressing won’t work)
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cocoa
3 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
I mix the water and mayo together first and then just dump things in and whir them around. I have one of those big stand mixers so it’s easy to set it going and go get other ingredients. It’s a pretty forgiving cake. The salt and baking soda I add with the flour. After it’s thoroughly mixed (and tasted, nothing like chocolate cake batter) pour it into two 9″ greased and floured round pans if you want a layer cake or one 13 x 9 inch (greased and floured) which is what I always use.
Bake at 350 degrees for roughly 30-35 minutes. I always stick a toothpick in the middle to test for done-ness and if it comes out gooey, leave it in a few more minutes but not too long as you’ll want the cake to remain moist.
I’ve made various icings for it from chocolate to mocha, but our favorite is a creamy lemon made with whipped cream cheese and confectioners sugar and squirts of fresh lemon juice until it tastes like you want it to. Just make sure to completely cool the cake before you ice it.
Banana Bread (2 loaves)
2 c. sugar
1 cup butter (you can see why I only make this once a year)
4 eggs
4 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
6 to 7 fairly ripe bananas (depending on size)
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, add bananas one at a time, add flour and salt, soda, baking powder, mix well, add nuts and or chocolate chips. I always cheat a little on the chocolate chips because they are soooooo good with the banana flavor but don’t cheat a lot or they will end up heavy and gooey on the bottom rather than mixed in the batter. Sometimes, I toss the chocolate chips lightly in flour to help them stay where they belong.
Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. I use a knife blade to test done-ness in these. If gooey, I let them bake another few minutes but again, you don’t want the loaves to dry out and they’ll continue baking a bit from interior heat after you remove them from the oven.
Okay. Go have fun. Eat lots over the holidays. We’re celebrating, right?
And cheers to all of you. Thank you for being the gift of a loyal reader. You’re the reason I keep doing this because I know you’ll like it and comment (well, I do it for me, too, because sometimes I just need to write something that’s off the cuff and fun and I don’t have to revise and revise and revise and think about…).
Janet
janetsunderland.com 