Satisfied Cravings: Bananas Foster

Cravings are a constant challenge when you have dietary restrictions. You know that saying, "You always want what you can't have"? What I usually want is dessert and for the first time, the dessert I craved was something that I've never actually ordered, made, or even have a special memory of. I just knew that I had to have it.

 

If you've read my blog for awhile, you know that I love puff pastry. While I was looking for new recipes on puffpastry.com, I ran across a recipe for bananas foster. Bananas Foster is bananas covered in buttery-cinnamon-rum-caramelly (yes, not a word but it should be) goodness. Traditionally bananas foster goes over vanilla ice cream and although ice cream sounds delicious during these recent hot summer days in San Diego, sugar-free ice cream is one of those few items that I don't think has been mastered just yet. I crave bananas a lot but like a lot of fruit, I have to limit my intake because of the natural sugars and in the case of bananas, the starch.  I looked over the recipe and decided to make a few adjustments to the ingredients and the portion size to see if I could make it a little more friendly.

 

 

Bananas Foster with Puff Pastry

heavily adapted from puffpastry.com

 

1 package of mini puff pastry shells

egg wash - beat 1 egg, 2 tablespoons water

3 ripe, but firm, bananas

1/2 cup sugar substitute*

2 tablespoons light maple syrup

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup of vanilla Greek yogurt

 

 

Preheat oven to 425F.

Place pastry shells on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the egg wash onto the puff pastry shells. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut bananas into rounds.

In a skillet, combine the sugar, syrup, butter, lemon juice, rum, and cinnamon over medium heat. Stir until the sauce thickens. Add the bananas and coat until caramelized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove the centers of the puff pastry shells. Spoon in the Greek yogurt and add the banana mixture to the top. Add another layer of yogurt to top if you would like.

 

Sueshine Note

*The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar. Instead, I used C&H Light which is a combination of real sugar and stevia and the 2 tablespoons of light maple syrup. This sugar substitute does not measure equal to real sugar (1/2 cup = 1/4 cup) so make sure you adjust to whatever substitute you are using.

*Worried about the alcohol? It burns off but if you are worried about the sugars in the rum, you can use imitation rum extract.

 

I decided to go with the smaller puff pastry shells because it lends itself to a smaller portion. I believe one of these is the perfect size dessert for after dinner and there is a little less guilt involved. Did I mention how easy this recipe was too? You can whip this up in a matter of 15 minutes and even less time if you are just making the bananas foster portion. I actually had some extra bananas so I might save it for that sugar free ice cream that needs improvement.

 

 

 

I forgot to show what the puff pastry shell looks like when it's baked as well as the hollowed section filled with yogurt but I just got too excited to pour on the bananas and sauce! Do I have you craving bananas foster now? :)

 

 

 

Please note as with all my attempts in making a recipe more friendly, I'm not an expert. Please make sure you take into account your personal diet. Only you can make the right decisions.

 

Happy Birthday, Julia - Cherry Clafoutis

Friday, July 13, 2012...in my little red kitchen I stared down at one of the saddest baking attempts I've done since I started my blog. It was the day before the next San Diego Food Blogger's meeting and it was declared that there would be extra points if you could make something in honor of Bastille Day. I'll be honest with you...I had to look it up Bastille Day. Hmm....I didn't know much about French food so dessert it is. Back to the internet and I finally decided on a cherry clafoutis (cla-foo-tee) because in the end, I wanted to have an excuse to buy a bag of pricey cherries. I gathered my ingredients and made my atttempt at making a random French ,dessert which I had never even tried before. It wasn't an epic fail (it actually tasted really delicious) but in looks, it was definitely a fail. I brought a creamy avocado dip and pita chips to the meeting...hehe.

So what is a clafoutis? The best way to describe it is a cross between a pancake and a flan. Juding by all the receipes I found, there are several versions but most were pretty basic and straighforward. Traditionally it's made with unpitted cherries to give it an almond-like flavor but I decided I better pit mine. Let's just say my hands were a little stained afterwards. As I said, I enjoyed the flavors of the failed clafoutis so I knew I would eventually revisit it again in the future.

I would try it a lot sooner than expected. A little birdie had emailed me and told me about a local restaurant that was holding a special dinner for Julia Child's 100th birthday. I honestly haven't thought much about Julia Child in recent years but I do have memories of sitting on my grandmother's couch and watching cooking shows like In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefson PBS *gasp* pre-Food Network. I can tell you I am no expert at French cuisine and I can only dream to master a few French pasteries. When she wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia introduced Americans to fine dining and that as long as you liked to cook or wanted to learn to cook, you could do it. Today is Julia Child's 100th birthday in in the spirit of wanting to learn how to cook/bake, I decided to try the clafoutis a second time.

Julia Child's Cherry Clafoutis

from Epicurious.com

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups cherries, pitted
• powdered sugar, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Using a blender, combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and blend.

Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish, and pour a 1/4-inch layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. Set remaining batter aside.

Place dish into the oven for about 7-10 minutes, until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don’t turn the oven off, yet).

Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the pan, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven 60 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

As I've stated in previous posts, I will always be honest with you when I try baking something new. I'm not a professionally trained baker or a master at pasteries...I'm just an everyday at home baker, learning as I go. I think a lot of you are in the same boat as I am. The cherry clafoutis didn't turn out super pretty (better than my original attempt though) but it was so good. Mine did not turn out puffy like a pancake but leaned more towards a firm custard which I believe I prefer. The tart cherries were a contrast to the sweet eggy batter and I had to stop myself from spooning more into my mouth. Who knows why my clafoutis turned out the way it did...maybe it was my sugar (I used C&H Light which is a sugar/stevia blend and not an exact measure to real sugar) or maybe it was my baking dish (glass) or it could even be my oven. Either way, I'm glad I tried again and I'm sure I will try it a third time later down the road. In Julia's words:

"Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed. Eh bien, tant pis. Usually one's cooking is better than one thinks it is. And if the food is truly vile, then the cook must simply grit her teeth and bear it with a smile, and learn from her mistakes."

Happy 100th birthday, Julia! All the chefs, bakers, and everyday cooks that you have inspired thank you. Bon Apetite!

"C" is for Cookies....for Cody

This was supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday post but I think you'll forgive me for this one. I'll always make time to bake especially if its for a great cause.

Cookies for Cody is an online bake sale and cookbook auction to help The Recipe Renovator's nephew, Cody, a brave 4 year old boy who is fighting neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. Follow the link to learn more about Cody and how you can contribute.

About the photo above: I struggled to take the right picture for my rum cake because it was late at night and no good light in sight. I submitted another picture for the auction but as I looked at almost 20 different pictures of my cake from all kinds of angles. I had cut into it to make sure my cake tasted right and maybe get a picture of the center.

I didnt realize until later that I had snapped a picture of a "C" .....for Cody.

If you would like to bid on my item, please click:

 Lil Ms Sueshine Rum Cake!

Thanks to everyone who is participating in the auction. Please spread the word!