Banana Upside-down Cake Recipes

This is a new take on pineapple upside-down cake . I made this cake using my Peach Upside Down Cake recipe. Instead of peaches I replaced it with banana and very slight changes to the ingredients. I just love the sticky brown caramel sugar dripping down the side of this moist banana cake. This cake will be great for entertaining or just have it for afternoon tea.

Ingredients for topping:

4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 bananas - peeled and sliced


Ingredients for the cake:

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup or 113 grms)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large egg
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas - mashed

1. Line and greased an 8” round pan or a square baking pan. Prepare the topping. Melt the butter and brown sugar. Pour it to the base of baking pan. Arrange the sliced bananas over the base. Set it aside.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F. Cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the egg one at a time until well combined.
3. Add in vanilla and sour cream. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Slow down the mixer and slowly add in the flour. Mix until combined and lastly fold in the mashed banans.
4. Spread the batter over the bananas and bake the cake for 45 - 50 minutes or until golden brown. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting it to a serving plate.

Summer wedding inspiration - Dairy Foods

This lovely inspiration shoot was designed by Shannon Merryman for her father's photography business, Kevin George Photography.  I love the soft, summery vibe.  If I could have a wedding all over again I would do an outdoor, summer brunch with the same type of bohemian feel as this shoot.

Photo credits to Kevin George Photography.










Thanks to Shannon for sending this gorgeous summer shoot my way! 

Zucchini and goat cheese tarts - Dairy Foods

I have been a bit obsessed with quiche and tarts lately. In just four days I have made a crab quiche, tomato, basil and mozzarella quiche and zucchini and goat cheese tarts. Savory tarts are my absolute favorite. And mini tarts are great because you can pick them up and eat them with your hands and they would make a wonderful appetizer for any party.



This zucchini and goat cheese tart was supposed to be made on Sunday as one of the items on the brunch buffet for my sister's Breakfast at Tiffany's bridal shower. But...I ran out of time and only served one quiche (the tomato, basil and mozzarella quiche) which was a hit so it was fine. The shower was a huge success; all the details looked quite lovely, the weather was sunny and warm and my sister (the bride-to-be) had a beautiful smile on her face the entire time. The shower may be featured on another blog soon so I am waiting until then to post it on Eat Drink Pretty.



Zucchini and goat cheese tarts (loosely adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds medium zucchini or a mixture of summer squashes
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped, about 1 cup
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 cups half-and-half
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
Freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces young goat cheese, such as Montrachet.
2 ounces grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese, about 1/2 cup
1 sheet refrigerated pie dough/crust (such as Pillsbury)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shred the squash on the large holes of a box grater, into a colander. Sprinkle with a heaping tablespoon salt and toss well. Place in the sink and drain for 15 minutes. Rinse and the squeeze firmly, by the handful, to remove excess water. Set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons oil, the onions and garlic and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cook over medium-high heat, until onions are start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in parsley and dill. Remove from heat, cool slightly.

Whisk half-and-half, eggs and yolks in large glass measuring cup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Press store-bought pie dough into tartlet molds (or a 9-10 inch tart pan or small mason jars) Layered the zucchini, goat cheese, swiss and top with the egg mixture (be sure to only add a small amount of egg mixture or it will overflow when baking).

The tartlets baked for about 30 minutes and the quiche in jars take about 45 minutes. Cool completely on a rack before serving.



The tartlets were my favorite. Yum. But the quiche in a jar is quite cute and would be perfect to pack for a picnic. You can just screw the lid on, or cover it with foil and pop it in your picnic basket.


Do you have a favorite quiche or savory tart recipe to share? Please email to eatdrinkpretty@gmail.com.

Fried Noodles with Seafood in XO Sauce Recipes

This is one quick noodle I cooked for lunch using homemade XO Sauce . This sauce is really versatile as I like using it in my noodles and also in stir-fried dishes. You can make this sauce at home but for convenience, it is available in most Asian Supermarkets. There are many varieties of Chinese Noodles but for this I used the fresh yellow noodles. If you can’t find this kind of noodles you can just use spaghetti.

Real party: vintage circus birthday party - Dairy Foods

Kristina of Modern Frills blog sent me this adorable party she threw for her daughter's fourth birthday. The party was a vintage circus theme; vintage with a touch of circus in pinks and yellows. Lots of bunting, cookies and handmade treats.

Enjoy the photos taken by Karen Wright Photography.






Thanks to Kristina for sending this lovely party.  Be sure to head over to her blog Modern Frills for more details and photos from the party.

Do you have a real party to share? Please sent to eatdrinkpretty@gmail.com

Falafel Recipes

Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas/garbanzo beans. The Egyptians variety uses fava beans while chickpeas are commonly used in other Middles Eastern countries. Falafel is usually served in a pita which acts as a pocket or wrapped in flat bread known as lafa. It is topped with salads, pickle vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzle with tahini based sauce. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as snacks. It has great source of protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber. It is hearty enough to replace hamburger patties and meatballs in vegetarian dishes. Besides frying you can also baked it but by doing so it will alter the texture and flavor of the falafel. We just eat this with some spicy chili sauce as I am too lazy to make some tahini dipping sauce.

Ingredients:

6 oz dried chickpeas
1 small onion, roughly chopped
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp dried hot pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
5-6 tbsp of flour

1. Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.
2. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough flour so that the dough will forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered for an hour.
4. Form the chickpea mixture into small. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees F in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little bit more flour.
5. Then fry the balls for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a bit of salt on the balls and serve warm or at room temperature with some chili sauce.

Note: You can serve the falafel with Pita bread. Just stuff half a pita with falafel balls, add some chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and pickled turnips. Drizzle with some tahini sauce.

Stone Fruit Tea Cake Recipes

When I saw this cake at Wendy’s blog it strikes my interest right away. I thought it look like a pie or a tart but was a cake. I think it was a cross between both of them. Since summer is here we are able to find all kinds of seasonal fruits like berries, peaches, nectarines, plump, apricots etc. I like using it in my dessert. For this cake I used cherries, fresh apricots and blueberries since I have it in my fridge.




Wendy sticks the dough into the freezer for half an hour but the lazy me decided not to do that. I just spread the sticky dough evenly onto the baking pan right away. After tossing the fruits in, I dropped the rest of the dough on top with a spoon. When the cake was in the oven I only realized that I forgot about the brown sugar. I think Wendy sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the cake.
The cake turns out really nice with moist cakey layer at the bottom, luscious tangy sweet taste of the fresh fruits and crunchy on the top. Carlos ate two slices of it while watching the football game between Argentina and Greece. Argentina won 2-0. Yeah!!!

Here is the recipe adapted from Wendy’s at Table for 2 . Thanks Wendy for sharing this great recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter (for greasing pan)
150gm all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100gm sugar
80gm butter
1 + 1/2 eggs (I used 2 eggs)
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 fresh apricots - removed the stones and cut small
1 cup blueberries
1 cup cherries - halve and removed stones







1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. With a mixer, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then stir in the orange zest and vanilla.
2. Add the flour in 2 or three shifts, mixing just until a smooth dough forms. It will be pretty soft still. Dollop it out onto two pieces of plastic wrap, making one mound of dough slightly larger than the other. Wrap the dough blobs in the plastic and form them into flat discs. Place on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer for 30 minutes. While waiting, prepare and cut your fruits.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Butter a shallow, 8-inch baking dish or tart pan. Take the slightly bigger parcel of dough and press it down onto the bottom of the pan. Scatter the fruit over the dough. Break the second disc of dough into tsp size balls and scatter them over the fruit.
4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly golden and firm. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.


Note: You can used any type of fresh fruits you like for this cake.

The sweetest wedding cake - Dairy Foods

{Photo credits: Joy the Baker}

This cake melts my heart.

I love baking, it has become one of my favorite hobbies over the past year. And it's no secret how much I adore weddings. So when Joy the Baker featured this amazing wedding cake that she baked for her good friends, I couldn't resist posting it. Joy of Joy the Baker blog is sweet, funny, talented, etc...I read her blog religiously and have a sort of girl-crush on her. Spend five minutes on her blog and you'll understand.


Back to the cake. I adore this cake because it was created with a lot of love and the attention to detail is unreal  It was inspired by the couples cute wedding invitation. 


For recipes, how-to and tons of details head over to Joy the Baker's blog.  So what do you think?  Do you agree this cake is the sweetest thing ever? 

Real wedding: Melissa and Kevin, June 2010 - Dairy Foods

When you have a gorgeous bride, cute groom, beautiful details and even a little doggie in the mix you get one picture perfect wedding.  Melissa and Kevin had rain for most of their day, but the sun came out after the ceremony just in time to capture some gorgeous outdoor photos. 

My favorite details of this wedding include the gorgeous, summery bouquets and the wedding cake, I can't get over the awesome grey ribbon details. 

Photo credits to Erin Johnson Photography.
 

Love the texture of this bouquet and the peonies...simply gorgeous.

Sometimes a simple calla lily bout is all you need.

Their dog (Charlie) is awesome.  I want to take him home!  I love that Melissa and Kevin incorporated him into their day.

Stunning.  They look like models. I love Melissa's soft curls.

Love this cake.

Vendors:
Reception location: International Market Square, Minneapolis, MN
Photographer: Erin Johnson Photography
Dress: Amy Kuschel from L’atelier in St. Paul, MN
Glowers: Serendipity Flowers, St. Paul, MN
Reception Décor (drapings and lanterns): Richfield Flowers and Events

Thanks to Paige and Erin of Erin Johnson Photography for sharing this beautiful wedding!

Do you have a real wedding to submit? Please send to eatdrinkpretty@gmail.com.