Banana Cake

Banana Cake

Allen's birthday was over a week ago and we took a 3 day getaway to Caesars Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, so I did not have a chance to bake him a cake. While we were away I asked Allen what kind of cake he wanted and he said Banana Cake. I promised I would bake him one and then a few days later, I found a Banana Cake recipe and baked it yesterday. I would have baked the cake last weekend, but the bananas were green and had to ripen. Bananas can take up to a week to ripen but I put 4 bananas in a paper bag to speed up the process, and they were finally ready to use today. Good thing I was off work today for the July 4th holiday.

Allen's birthday desserts; Palace Court Buffet, Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino

Our beautiful ocean view room in Caesars Centurion Tower, 39th Floor; camera zoomed in

Here is Allen's belated birthday cake and it is so yummy! If you love bananas, you will devour this cake. It is that good! The cake is dense, has a perfect texture and is moist. The frosting is whipped cream cheese frosting and it is so creamy and delightful. I only frosted the top of the cake and added lots of pretty sprinkles, and then added some frosting in the center, and a little on the sides to create a naked cake look. We have a massive heat wave with high humidity this week with real feel temps up to 110 degrees, and sadly my bedroom and living room air conditioners in our apartment do not reach the kitchen. It was so hot I had to add the frosting to the cooled cake real quick, put it in a cake safe, and get it in the fridge or else it would start melting. I let the cake set for 5 hours before serving. The wait was well worth it. This recipe yields enough batter for a 9-inch 2 layer cake. See recipe and instructions below.

Banana Cake

Cake Ingredients
3 cups All Purpose Flour (King Arthur)

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Coarse/Kosher Salt

½ cup, 1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened (room temperature)

1 cup Granulated Sugar

½ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

4 Medium Ripe Bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil, divided

1 ½ cups Buttermilk

3 Large Eggs

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Naked cake look for the sides

Directions
I use Wilton Bake Easy Non-Stick Spray to grease 2 9-inch round cake pans. Spray and line with parchment paper and spray over it and along the sides of the pans. You can also coat the pans with butter and flour.

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Place the peeled ripe bananas in a large bowl, add lemon juice and mash with a masher or fork.

Cake topped with sprinkles I mixed together

With a stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, mix butter, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and sugars until creamy and fluffy; about 2-3 minutes.

Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add eggs one at a time, mixing well.

Add vanilla extract and mashed bananas and mix just until incorporated.

On low speed, add in some of the flour mixture and combine and then add some of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Do this three times ending with the flour mixture.

Scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.

Mix again for 10 to 20 seconds.

Banana Cake slice

Spread cake batter evenly between the 2 pans using a spatula to smooth tops.

Lightly tap the pans against the counter top 2 to 4 times to settle the batter.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on your oven so keep an eye on it. My cake baked in 42 minutes.

Cake is ready when you insert a toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake and it comes out clean.

Cool cake in pans for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake and then flip cakes onto wire racks lined with parchment paper to prevent cake from sticking on it.

Cool completely before frosting.

Before frosting the cake, cover it with plastic wrap and chill in fridge 1-2 hours or overnight.

Allen's birthday slice

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Heavy Cream

14 oz. Cream Cheese (Philadelphia), room temperature

1/3 cup Unsalted Butter, softened

1 3/4 cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Banana Cake

Directions
Using a stand or hand held mixer, mix heavy cream on high speed for several minutes until stiff peaks form; about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside.

With mixer on medium-high speed, add the cream cheese and butter, and mix until smooth and fluffy; about 2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix again for 10-20 seconds.

Pic of some of the ripened bananas

With mixer on medium speed, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated; about 2 minutes.

Turn off mixer and add half of the whipped cream mixture and fold in with spatula until incorporated.

Fold in the remaining half and if you wish, add food coloring at this time. I used Wilton Icing Color Concentrated Gel in Sky Blue.

Smashed bananas

Use by dipping toothpick in gel and then into frosting and stir gently with spatula. Each time, use a clean toothpick so frosting does not get into gel color. Repeat until you reach the color you desire.

Take the chilled cake out of the fridge, line edges of cake platter or cake circle (Wilton 10-inch) with strips of parchment paper to keep edges clean as you frost the cake.

If your cake has a dome use a serrated knife and slice off the tops to make an even layer. My cake baked with flat tops.

I first line the cake turntable with a grip liner so the cake does not move as you frost it.

Cakes cooling on wire racks lined with parchment paper

Add a dab of frosting over the grip liner and place the cake circle over it and press gently to adhere.

Place one of the cakes top side down onto the cake circle and then onto the cake turntable.

If you do not have a cake circle take cardboard and cut a 10 inch circle and cover it with aluminum foil.

Sprinkles mix I added blue sanding sugar and blue sugar pearls after I took the pic

If you do not own a cake turntable use a large cake platter.

Place the whipped cream cheese frosting over the first layer and then frost as desired.

I decorated the top of the cake with Wilton Blue Sugar Pearls, Wilton Blue Sanding Sugar, Wilton Confetti, and White Stars I mixed together.

Cake turntable lined with grip liner with a dab of frosting over it and topped with cake circle

Place cake in cake safe and let it set in the fridge for at least 2 hours (I let it set for 5 hours), and bring to room temperature for 1/2 hour before serving.

You can make the cake a day ahead and refrigerated overnight as well, and bring to room temperature for 1/2 hour before serving.

For the Banana Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting visit:
https://www.cookingclassy.com/banana-cake-with-whipped-cream-cheese-frosting/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Fourth of July Cookies

Fourth of July Wafer Paper Cookies

Happy July 4th everyone. I love the designs I ordered from Fancy Flours for these Fourth of July Wafer Paper Cookies. I love to bake on the holidays and I always love getting a day of from work to do it. Hee, hee... I hope you all have a happy and safe July 4th.

Fourth of July Wafer Paper Cookies

To use wafer paper for this recipe you will need:
Rectangle shape cookie cutter

12 cookies

1 sheet, 12 Wafer Paper, Fourth of July Design

Craft Knife

Craft Brush

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup (to adhere wafer paper to royal icing or marbled icing)

Pretty wafer paper designs

Vintage July 4th design

Directions
To use the wafer paper, cut out the designs carefully. Wafer paper is very thin and will tear easily.

Use any sugar cookie recipe you like (suggestions below) and cut out 12 rectangle shape cookies.

Lovely vintage July 4th design

Patriotic July 4th designs

After the cookies have cooled, cover them in royal icing. I used Marbled Icing or this design and let the icing dry for 4-5 hours before adhering the wafer paper.

Add light corn syrup to a small bowl.

Vintage designs

Beautiful wafer paper designs

Dip the brush into the syrup and gently cover the undecorated side of the wafer paper design, and gently pressed onto each cookie. Repeat this step until you have used all your wafer paper designs.

Let the cookies set overnight so they do not stick together and so the wafer paper does not tear.

Marbled Icing setting

To order wafer paper designs and other fine baking products, visit Fancy Flours:
https://www.fancyflours.com/

Sugar Cookie Recipes:
Rainbow Funfetti Cookies
Pistachio Sugar Cookies 
Dark Chocolate Cookies
Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies  
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Lime Sugar Cookies
Red Velvet Sugar Cookies
Coconut Sugar Cookies

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Stillwater Sweet BBQ Sauce

Stillwater Sweet BBQ Sauce
By Headwaters BBQ

This is the first in a series of reviews on products made by Headwaters BBQ of Bozeman, Montana. This is also the first BBQ sauce reviewed on Two Frys from Montana. Headwaters BBQ offer a six pack of products containing 3 BBQ Sauces and 3 Rubs/Seasoning. The first product I used is Stillwater Sweet BBQ Sauce. I baked chicken wings with this sauce after I gave the sauce a taste test.

Wings are ready to bake

Stillwater Sweet BBQ Sauce gave the chicken wings a great taste and texture, both sticky and sweet from the molasses and brown sugar. The spices in the sauce are not too hot and have just the right amount of heat. Stillwater also has a welcome balanced smoky and garlicky flavor profile. The smoky element comes from the natural Hickory flavoring and does not overpower the other ingredients. The ingredients include tomato puree, unsulphured molasses, white vinegar, brown sugar, garlic powder, natural Hickory flavoring and spices.

Stillwater Sweet Sauce so yummy on wings

This is a perfect sauce to share with your family and friends and with July 4th coming up, Stillwater will reign over your BBQ so fire up your grill. Stillwater is versatile, tastes great and will be a star compliment to your foods. I recommend using Stillwater on chicken wings, chicken thighs, steak, pork chops, ribs, burgers, and more...

To order Headwaters BBQ products and for further information, visit:
http://www.headwatersbbq.com

-Allen/TwoFrys

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

I love potato salad and with July 4th coming up it is the perfect accompaniment for your BBQ. When I make potato salad Allen and I have leftovers for several days since I buy a large bag of russet potatoes. This is a good thing since we usually have leftover spicy chicken wings for days. You need to chill the potato salad for several hours or overnight to let the flavors develop. This potato salad is rich, eggy, tangy, and creamy, and the ingredients combined make this a potato salad your family and guests will love. Recipe and directions below.

Ingredients
1 5 pound bag of Russet Potatoes

2 cups Mayonnaise (adjust according to your preference)

5 Eggs

1/2 1 medium Shallot, finely chopped

1/2 cup Relish

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard

2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

2 tablespoons Coarse Salt, divided

Ingredients for this yummy potato salad

Directions
Wash the potatoes in warm water.

Place potatoes in a large pot with water on medium heat and season with 1 tablespoon of coarse salt.

Cover and cook until potatoes are tender but not too soft; about 20-30 minutes.

After 20 minutes, test some of the potatoes with a fork and adjust extra time as needed.

Place eggs in a saucepan filled with water. Boil eggs for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and let them sit in the water for 10 minutes.

Eggs

Remove from heat and place in a bowl with cold water for 5 minutes.

Peel the eggs and slice each one into 4 quarters and with a fork or potato masher break them up; set aside.

When the potatoes have cooked drain them into a colander, and cool to room temp for about 15 minutes.

Peel each potato and dice into pieces and place in a large bowl.

Using a sptaula or wooden spoon fold in the eggs, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, chopped shallot, relish, and the apple cider vinegar.

Add the remaining salt and combine all the ingredients together until incorporated.

Taste and adjust salt if necessary.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for several hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Crunchy Creamy Coleslaw

Crunchy Creamy Coleslaw

This is the quickest and easiest Crunchy Creamy Coleslaw with just 2 ingredients that tastes great. The longest part is waiting for the coleslaw to set in the fridge and develop its flavors. After trying several dressings over the years, I finally found my favorite coleslaw dressing and it tastes just like you made it from scratch. Seriously, your family/guests will never know the dressing is store bought.

Just 2 ingredients

I purchased a bag of Classic Coleslaw (green cabbage and shredded carrots), placed it in a large bowl and added 1/2 of a jar of Marzetti Original Slaw Dressing.

Adding the dressing

I combined the ingredients together with a spatula, covered the coleslaw with plastic wrap, and let it set and chill in the fridge for about 3 hours. If you have more time even better. So good!

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Dominican Cake

Dominican Cake

Yesterday we celebrated my Mom's 88th birthday and I baked her a Dominican Cake. My Mom is from Dominican Republic and this is her favorite cake. I learned this recipe from a popular Dominican cookbook my Mom owns called Mujer 2000 Recetas de Cocina by Silvia H. de Pou and have been baking this cake since 2011. Dominican Cake is rich tasting and one of my favorite cakes to make. When I was young this was the cake my Mom always baked, and I have fond memories of watching and helping my Mom bake this cake.

Dominican Cake

Dominican cake in texture is a smooth and spongy cake that is moist and very rich in flavor. The classic frosting is Suspiro (Merengue). Be sure to give yourself enough time to do it in case you need to make the caramel syrup more than once (actually twice for me) to get it right. This recipe yields enough batter for a 9-inch 2 layer cake. For this cake, I used orange juice and orange zest, but you can substitute with lemon juice and lemon zest or lime juice and lime zest. Typical fillings for this cake are pineapple, guava and dulce de leche, but strawberry or raspberry are also great options. See recipe and instructions below.

Pretty Flowers

Cake Ingredients
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened (room temperature)

2 cups Granulated Sugar

4 Large Eggs (room temperature)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (CariDom)

3 cups All Purpose Flour (King Arthur)

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 cup Whole Milk

1 tablespoon Orange Juice, freshly squeezed

1 tablespoon Orange Zest

½ teaspoon Coarse/Kosher Salt

Mom's 88th birthday celebration

Directions
I use Wilton Bake Easy Non-Stick Spray to grease 2 9-inch round cake pans. Spray bottom of cake pans, then line with parchment paper and spray over it and along the sides of the pans. You can also coat the pans with butter and flour.

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Mom blowing out the candles

With a stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed, mix butter until it is creamy; about 4 minutes.

Add sugar little by little, and continue mixing until it is light and creamy; about 3 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well.

On low speed, add in some of the flour mixture and some of the milk. Do this a few times ending with the flour mixture.

Scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all ingredients are incorporated. Mix again for 10 to 20 seconds.

Mom with her cake slice 

With mixer on low speed, add vanilla extract, orange juice, orange zest, and combine; about 20 to 30 seconds.

Spread cake batter evenly between the 2 pans using a spatula to smooth tops.

Lightly tap the pans against the counter top 2 to 4 times to settle the batter.

Bake for 30-45 minutes. Oven temperatures vary so start checking the cake at the 30 minute mark and adjust time accordingly. My cake baked in 35 minutes.

Cake is ready when you insert a toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake and it comes out clean.

Cool cake in pans for 15 minutes.

Run a knife around the edges of the cake and then flip cakes onto wire racks.

Peel off parchment paper, flip cakes right side up, and cool completely before frosting, about 1-2 hours.

Mom's Dominican Cake

Suspiro (Merengue) Frosting
Ingredients
3 Egg Whites (use cold Eggs)

1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar

½ cup Water

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (Cari Dom)

Yummy slice of Dominican Cake

Directions
Using a stand or hand held mixer, mix the egg whites on high speed for several minutes until stiff peaks form; about 3 minutes.

In a small pan, stir sugar, water and lemon juice and boil until sugar dissolves and caramel forms a syrup-like texture. Keep an eye on it so it does not burn.

Use a candy thermometer and when it reaches 235 degrees, it is ready.

Dominican Cake

To be sure, you can test the texture by taking a little of the syrup with a small spoon, and add a drop of the syrup to a paper towel. If it forms a little ball, it is ready. This is a trick my Mom taught me.

Turn mixer on high speed and add the hot caramel mixture little by little to the egg white/whipping cream mixture and then the vanilla extract.

Keep mixing until it reaches a thick but soft consistency like whipped cream cheese; about 4 minutes.

Dominican Cake

If you wish, add food coloring at this time. I used Wilton Icing Color Concentrated Gel in Pink. Use by dipping toothpick in gel and then into frosting and stir gently with spatula. Each time, use a clean toothpick so frosting does not get into gel color. Repeat until you reach the color you desire.

Put aside, and let it cool completely before frosting the cake.

Goya Guava Jelly tastes great

Cake Filling
Guava Jelly (Goya)

Frost the Cake
Once cake and frosting have cooled completely, line edges of a cake platter or cake circle (Wilton 10 inch) with strips of parchment paper to keep edges clean as you frost the cake. I first line the cake turntable with a grip liner so the cake does not move as you are frosting it.

Making the caramel syrup

Place the cake on a cake circle and onto the cake turntable. If you do not have a cake circle take cardboard and cut a 10 inch circle and cover it with aluminum foil.

If you do not own a cake turntable use a large cake platter and put parchment paper along the edges.

Caramel boiling

Using a spatula spread the Guava Jelly over the first layer, place the top cake layer over it with the top side down, and then frost the cake as desired.

If needed, use a serrated knife to cut the cake tops to make even layers.

I decorated with Wilton Confetti and Sugar Flowers from Fancy Flours.

Place the cake in a cake carrier and let it set in the fridge for 2-3 hours, and just bring to room temperature for 1/2 hour before serving.

Caramel reached 235 degrees and it is ready

You can make the cake a day ahead and refrigerate overnight as well, and just bring to room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

Wilton Confetti and Sugar Flowers from Fancy Flours I used to decorate

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce

Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade 

Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade is a hotter version of their highly popular Original Wing Sauce. The Original is a rich and buttery smooth tasting wing sauce that truly compliments your wings. This same profile is used for Fire in the Hole yet it is kicked up a few notches with the addition of more hot peppers in the ingredients. Fire in the Hole is fairly hot and spicy, but will not knock ya down. The heat lingers on your tongue for a bit in a most satisfying way. I agree with the website and the fact that the sauce creeps up on you. The Bonfatto's heat scale is 3 Dragon Heat Flames so it is hot and even my wife Sophia enjoyed our Fire in the Hole chicken wings, and she usually goes for more milder sauces.

Wings with Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade

Fire in the Hole is fantastic and it made our wings so flavorful and with each bite the heat was level was ever present and welcoming. If you cannot deal with spicy sauces like Fire in the Hole, then check out the Original instead. I am recommending Fire in the Hole for a more intense heat experience on your wings.

Some of the ingredients in Fire in the Hole are: pepper sauce, unsalted butter, honey, spices and garlic powder. This is my new favorite wing sauce and our family thinks this sauce is spicy and packs a punch that will have you craving more with each bite.

Our wings with Fire in the Hole; spicy and delish

Based in State College, PA Bonfatto's is a sauce company by Letterman Industries that we have loved and supported since first meeting David Letterman many years ago at the former Atlantic City Food Network Food and Wine Festivals. It was at the Grand Market where we first came across Bonfatto's products and we have been hooked since. Bonfatto's also own a restaurant in Pennsylvania. Not only do Bonfatto's make great wing sauces they also offer a wide variety of other BBQ sauces that are really great.

Wings are ready to bake

To make the chicken wings, I pat them dry with a paper towel, and season both sides with coarse salt. Add wings in a large resealable bag and 1 cup of Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade, sealing the bag and making sure the sauce coats all the wings. Adjust the amount of sauce depending on how many wings you are making. I let the sauce marinate in the fridge for a few hours, but if you can do so overnight. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the wings for one hour turning them at the half hour point.

Order some Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade today for both your indoor cooking and outdoor BBQing. With July 4 coming up, here's a perfect excuse to use Fire in the Hole on wings to share with your entire family.

To order Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade and their other fine products visit:
http://www.feeltheflavors.com

-Allen/Two Frys