Browned Butter Caramel Banana Bread

I'm always on the search for finding ways to use up overripe bananas in a more creative way than plain ol' banana bread. Banana and chocolate? Done it. Banana and peanut butter? Always a winning combination. This weekend I brainstormed and came up with a new combination to try: banana and caramel.

I had so many leftover bananas that I knew I'd have to make a loaf of banana bread based on my favorite recipe from a friend. The recipe uses an overabundance of bananas to create a super moist and flavorful loaf. The secret trick is to leave some of the banana chunks intact for surprise bites of banana goodness. Starting with that as my base I brainstormed ways to incorporate caramel flavor. My first plan was to make some caramel syrup and swirl it into the batter, but that alone didn't seem indulgent enough. Raiding the cupboard I found some Heath milk chocolate toffee bits to mix into the batter. OK, that's a step in the right direction but what's next? Then I remembered how the browned butter chocolate chip cookies I made a few months back had a distinct caramelized flavor thanks to that browned butter so I decided to brown the butter called for in this recipe. A genius idea, if I may say so myself.

The banana bread is definitely a step up from the usual. The caramel flavor is subtle, which makes it all the more fun when you hit a toffee bit or a bit of the caramel swirl and get a real burst of flavor. I'm very happy with what I came up with and even happier that I finally got rid of those nasty-looking bananas on my counter.

Caramel Filling
Recipe adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons heavy cream, at room temperature

1) Melt the sugar over medium heat in a large pot. With a wooden spoon, stir the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color.

2) Add the butter and salt and stir it in until melted.

3) Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool while you make the banana bread.

Banana Bread

1 cup of sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs whisked
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
4-7 whole bananas (overly ripe and mashed up with a few un-mashed chunks left in)
3/4 to 1 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or spray and lightly flour.

2) Heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.

3) Combine sugar and melted butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add vanilla extract and stir.

4) Mix in eggs and stir until thoroughly combined.

5) Add the flour in three additions and the mashed banana in two additions, beginning and ending with flour. Stir until just combined. Fold in optional toffee bits.

6) Pour batter into prepared pan. Drizzle caramel on top and swirl into batter with the tip of a knife. Bake 50-70 minutes. The more bananas you use the longer it will take. Test bread by inserting a butter knife into the center to see if batter sticks. Continue to bake until no batter sticks to knife.

7) Cool completely in pan on rack. Once cool, invert onto rack and serve.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding Cupcakes

Finally! I have two worthy contenders for Sweetest Kitchen's white chocolate Mystery Box Cupcake Challenge. While it was a toss up between these and the banana Nutella ones, I've decided to go with the others just to spite my husband who gave these his top vote. Ok, not really, but judging from people's reactions to the amazing and unexpected combination of banana, Nutella, and white chocolate I'm going to ignore his vote because he suffers from a sad affliction that has clearly affected his judgment on this and every other issue in life. You see, he doesn't like Nutella. I know, I know. There can be no help for someone so warped and, well, wrong, but at least he still manages to find a reason to live despite this lack of appreciation for one of the greatest foods known to mankind.

These cupcakes, however, are perfect for him as white chocolate happens to be his favorite. He's enjoyed the past month as I've experimented with white chocolate in my cupcake creations. He's so sweet and devoted to the cause that he even went with me for a late night road trip to the nearest Whole Foods, which is not actually near, just so I could stock up on more good quality white chocolate for my experiments. This is one such experiment that turned out wonderfully! I am eschewing tradition with the substitution of bread pudding for the standard cake one has come to expect when handed a cupcake. While some may argue that I'm testing the boundaries of the definition of a "cupcake" here, I'd say these fall squarely into the category. They are self-contained nuggets of delicious goodness topped with the ever-important frosting. My deadened taste buds are beginning to perk back to life and these were a wonderful treat to welcome them back.

Imagine the taste of cream-laden bread pudding made with sweet white chocolate offset by tart cranberries and the slightly bitter crunch of homemade toffee in a single serving size. It's all topped with an airy whipped white chocolate topping. I was initially concerned that the bread pudding wouldn't bake together into a cohesive cupcake-like unit, but when baked in paper cup liners they slid right out in the perfect cupcake shape. No fork required for this bread pudding!

If you make these for yourself, be sure to read through the recipe as there's a lot of cooling, setting, and waiting involved. You'll need to allot time for all of that. They are well worth the effort, though. Even the stress of getting your homemade toffee just right and not burnt is worth it, trust me.

You can check out my other white chocolate cupcake experiments here on my blog:

• Peanut butter cupcakes frosted w/white chocolate buttercream


• Peach cupcakes w/a white chocolate ricotta mint filling topped w/whipped white chocolate ganache


• White chocolate Cosmo cupcakes


• Banana cupcakes w/white chocolate cream cheese filling topped w/a swirled blend of white chocolate & Nutella buttercream

Toffee
Recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop

1/4 plus 1/8 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring everything to a boil. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. The mixture will start to boil with vigor. Do not stir. Let the mixture boil over medium-low heat until the mixture turns a deep nutty brown, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Pour on to a prepared baking sheet (either covered in a silpat or oiled parchment paper) and leave it to cool.
4. After the toffee has cooled, break it into small chunks. I found using a potato masher helped after I'd broken it into smaller chunks by hand.

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
Recipe adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 loaf of dense white bread, 1 or 2 days old
5 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
4 large egg yolks
1/4 plus 1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
toffee from recipe above, chopped

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the cream, milk, vanilla, and flour. Bring to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Chop bread into 1/2″ cubes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
3. Bring mixture back to boil and stir in chopped white chocolate. Take off the heat and continue to stir until chocolate is melted.
4. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl. Slowly add the warm chocolate mixture, whisking constantly until combined.
5. Pour the mixture carefully over the bread cubes. Add cranberries and stir until all cubes are covered with chocolate mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 14 cupcake wells with paper liners (paper cup liners work best).
7. Set aside about 1/8 cup of the toffee. Sprinkle the remaining into the bread cubes. Stir to combine.
8. Scoop soaked bread cubes into cupcake papers until bread cubes are level with the top of the rim.
9. Carefully pour the remaining liquid into each cupcake filling until nearly full.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for ~22-25 minutes until set.
11. Remove from oven and cool in pan 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.

White Chocolate Whipped Frosting
Recipe adapted from Inside BruCrew Life

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/8 cup plus 1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 plus 1/8 cup powdered sugar

1. Stir white chocolate and 1/8 cup heavy cream in a pan on low heat until melted and smooth. Cool.
2. Using mixer with the whisk attachment, beat 1/2 cup heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
3. Using mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy. Beat in cooled white chocolate mixture until smooth.
4. Fold in the whipped cream by hand until incorporated.
5. Pipe onto cupcakes (for an extra treat warm the cupcakes first) and sprinkle with remaining toffee pieces, if desired.



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How Much Butter Can One Person Use in a Weekend?

Off to a healthy start for the Fourth of July weekend already. As if I don't have enough baking scheduled for this long weekend what with the trial cupcake batches for the upcoming Iron Cupcake competition and the banana cupcakes I plan to make with the bananas rapidly ripening on my counter. I wasn't ready to take on either of those tasks yesterday but I did have a hankering for some tasty dessert. Delicious and decadent toffee bars to the rescue! How could I go wrong with a recipe that calls for over three sticks of butter?

Although have a fear of making my own candy since it seems too fussy, I always prefer to make as much as possible from scratch. I decided on this recipe for almond brickle because it seemed nice and simple. I omitted the chocolate since the toffee bars already include a thick layer of chocolate and I substituted peanuts and walnuts for the almonds because I prefer the taste and didn't feel like blanching the almonds in my cupboard. It turned out great and I had to stop my husband from eating it all straight from the pan. Sometimes laziness can lead to good things. I did have a little trouble with the butter separating from the mixture, most likely due to my changing the temperature while cooking (apparently a no-no when making toffee), but I managed to recover most of it and it didn't matter too much since I wound up crumbling it all into bits once cooled.

The toffee bar recipe from Positively Splendid was wonderfully easy to follow. Click the link for her handy step-by-step photos. I did, however, have a few issues with cooking times as the base only took 18 minutes to brown and the condensed milk took closer to seven minutes in the microwave to thicken. Also, a word of warning about that step. Make sure you use a deep bowl as the mixture will bubble up like crazy and might result in an ungodly, gooey mess to clean out of the microwave if yours boils over like mine. You live; you learn.

Peanut Brickle
Recipe from VeryBestBaking.com

1/2 cup peanuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Sprinkle nuts over bottom of well-greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Melt butter in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 7 minutes. Pour hot mixture over nuts; let cool for 5 minutes.

Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Break into small pieces.

Utterly Decadent Toffee Squares
Recipe from Positively Splendid

1 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup almond or peanut brickle pieces

Preheat oven to 375˚. Grease 9x13-inch pan and set aside.

Beat 1 cup butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until combined. Add egg yolk; beat well. Stir in flour and salt, mixing well to combine. Spread dough evenly in prepared pan. Bake for 18-25 minutes, or until light brown. Reduce oven temperature to 350˚.

In a deep microwave-safe bowl, combine condensed milk and 2 tablespoons butter. Microwave in 1-minute intervals until thickened and bubbly, stirring after each interval, about 4 minutes total (may take longer). Mixture will part well with a spatula when it is ready. Stir in vanilla. Spread milk mixture evenly over baked cookie layer. Place in oven and bake about 12 minutes, or until top layer is golden.

Sprinkle baked layers evenly with chocolate chips. Place in oven for 1-2 minutes, or until chocolate is glossy and melted. Spread chocolate evenly over baked layer, and then top with an even layer of brickle chips. Place pan on a wire rack and allow to cool a bit before covering and placing in the fridge to chill until the chocolate is set. Cut into squares and store, covered, in the refrigerator.