BLUEBERRY BANANA CAKE RECIPE

Blueberry and banana go surprisingly well together,  make a very moist and flavorful  Blueberry Banana Cake.

When you have a bunch of banana and blueberries so this is a right time to combine both and turn them into a scrumptious treat.  If you are a fan of banana, you can check other cake recipes below using banana as a star ingredient.

Eggless Marble Banana Cake
Banana Chocolate Bread Marbled
Marble Cake

This recipe is a straight forward one and ready in a matter of minutes.   You can use a mixer or just a whisk to make this Blueberry Banana  Cake.

Really delicious, I love this combo , this cake was complete hit with kids and visitors/  Blueberry adds a juicy fruitiness  and a subtle flavor, not overpowering  by banana.

STRAWBERRY CAKE NO JELLO RECIPE

A homemade Strawberry Cake  No Jello and box mixes that was moist and a cinch to make.

Have been looking for strawberry cake  without gelatin all over the net but  can't find what I like. In the end, I used my regular cake recipe with slight adjustments.

This Strawberry Cake  No Jello can be baked in 8 in cake pan or bundt instead of loaf pan that I used.

Used fresh strawberry and did not puree  them  instead chopped them fine.

Accidentally, added a bit more of the liquid food coloring, I suggest you add drop by drop to obtain lighter color tone.

Baked this Strawberry Cake No Jello for first 30 minutes @ 180 C then reduce the temperature to 160 C and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.  Apply frosting of your choice if desired.

Other cake recipes you should try:

Banana Upside Down Cake

Marble Cake

Eggless Chocolate Cake Diary Free

EASY BROWNIES FROM SCRATCH

These Easy Brownies From Scratch are made with cocoa powder, plain flour, butter and sugar. They come  together in minutes.

I found most brownies recipes  are made of almost the same ingredients  but  vary on the  quantity of butter, sugar, flour and cocoa powder used.  Previously baked  Banana Brownies Eggless  and Yeasted Chocolate Brownies Eggless  that uses more flour  and  turned out almost like a cake.

Recently  discovered that there is a brownies that use loads of  chocolate with least amount  of flour.  Am yet to try this.

Easy Brownies From Scratch does not require mixing the batter until fluffy, just combine until well blended and don't even use baking powder or baking soda.

These brownies come together in minutes.  For best result, do not over bake,  check them after 30 minutes.  You may want to add toasted nuts like walnut, pecan or cashew before baking.  Easy Brownies From Scratch  were chewy, chocolatey and simply wonderful.  By the next day, a pan of brownies was gone.

CLASSIC BREAD PUDDING

This Classic Bread Pudding is an easy dessert using a stale bread soaked in a milky egg mixture.

I used to make it using my white sandwich  bread, crust removed then cubed, but today I made this Classic Bread Pudding with multi grain bread, cut the slice into half length wise.

Also baked this pudding in my  9 x 11 in  baking pan instead of the heavy glass dish.  It does not matter what utensil you choose, it still turns out great.  The advantage of using a glass dish is that it can go from oven straight to dining table.

It can be customize to your liking by adding cinnamon, nutmeg or lemon zest.  If you are a chocolate lover, add a cup of  chopped bittersweet chocolate or add in fruits like banana (2),  blueberry, strawberry, raspberry (2 cup) or dried fruit (1 cup) just before baking.

This simple  Classic Bread Pudding came out beautiful and and  taste exactly the same  I enjoyed as a child.

Other recipes using bread:

Microwave Bread Pudding
Egg Free French Toast
Roti John (Asian French Toast)
Bread Paratha

FRESH STRAWBERRY CROSTATA

This  Fresh Strawberry Crostata is a free form tart recipe featuring fresh strawberries wrapped in buttery pie crust.

It has been  2 years since I  baked  Pumpkin Galette.  I have recently managed to purchase fresh strawberries and now it is a time to bake a crostata again. These strawberries are vibrant and absolutely gorgeous,  they stay firm when ripe.  If you need tips of making a perfect crust,  kindly check my Apple Crostata  post.

This Fresh Strawberry Crostata requires a buttery crust and a filling.   Prepare the crust first before proceeding to make the filling.

Wash the strawberries and drain well. the strawberry is like a sponge that absorbs water  so do not let it soak in water.  If the strawberries are big, slice into 3 or 4 lengthwise.

Made mine into 2 x 6.5 in circles instead of one  big one,   The size and shape are  entirely up to you, whether you choose a square, round or rectangle.

FLAT TOP BANANA BREAD RECIPE

This classic Flat Top Banana Bread is always a favorite, whenever I have over ripen banana,  this is the bread I used to make.

It uses one and half cup of mashed banana, yogurt and butter to produce a moist and divine banana bread.  It took 50 minutes to bake it at 180 C.

Easily turned this basic banana bread to the next level by adding chocolate chips, peanut butter, coconut or blueberry.  So, if you're craving for a sweet, warm and super easy treat,  this Flat Top Banana Bread is the best option.

As this bread was extremely moist, place the bread  in an airtight plastic container then store in a refrigerator after 24 hours

VEGAN HOMEMADE DOUGHNUTS

A vegan and yeast free doughnuts for our tea time treat this week.   Found this recipe on Facebook.  It looks easy and quick to make.

These Vegan Homemade Doughnuts use vegan margarine and soy milk without yeast.   If you're not a vegan, you can use butter and fresh milk.

Original recipe calls for deep frying but I opt for baking instead.  Also did not coat them with sugar as we wanted a savory version.

The dough of these  Vegan Homemade Doughnuts are really sticky,  I added a tablespoon of flour to make it easier to shape by forming the dough into a ball, flatten it and make a hole with your floured finger or else roll the dough and use a doughnut cutter.

The doughnuts turned out very tasty despite they don't rise much as compared with  deep fried ones.  I think we need to add another teaspoon of baking powder if it is baked (original uses 1 teaspoon).

VARIATIONS

Liquid can be replaced for fruit juice, you can even add chopped dried fruit.

For savory bread, add tomato juice instead of soy milk,  sun dried tomato may be added to the dough

Brush the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt  and oregano for foccacia flavor.

RED VELVET BANANA CAKE RECIPE

My Red Velvet Banana Cake was slightly different from the regular red velvet as I have added mashed banana  in the batter.    Am attracted to its color and curious to know how the combination  of chocolate  and red color turns out plus a little twist by adding banana.

This Red Velvet Banana Cake  uses yogurt and banana to moisten the cake  In case you're not keen to use banana, you may add 2 more eggs plus 1/4 cup of yogurt.

Sadly my cake did not turn out deep red in color but overall, it was amazing cake.  You're hooked after the first bite!   Used liquid red food coloring for this recipe.

The ideal pan to use is a 12 cup bundt pan as I don't have it,   bake them into  a small bundt and another 8 in cake pan.

Red Velvet Banana Cake turned out wonderful.   Extremely pleased with moist and tenderness of the cake.   Will bake again as my family enjoyed it.   Even my boy can't wait to devour it  after I removed it from the oven.

Other cake recipes you should try:

Banana Upside Down Cake

Marble Cake

Eggless Chocolate Cake Diary Free

MUTTON BIRYANI RECIPE

Eid-ul-Fitr  is a day of forgiveness and joyous occasion  by strengthen  ties with people around you.   This is not complete without visiting and feasting.

It is a must for every household to offer a feast to their visitors.  The feast offered can be anything either main dish, sweets, flat bread or  even noodles.   It does not need to be elaborate,  any simple meal is most encouraged.   Always think about others who had nothing and avoid wastage.

This year I try this Mutton Biryani for my close relatives.   It involves a lot of work but I managed to do it all by myself.

The step require you to marinade the mutton with spices, yogurt, cilantro and fried onion for at least 12 hours.  The longer the better to allow all the flavor absorbed by the meat.

I have chosen slightly different method by cooking the meat until tender before layering the rice.   The mutton sold here is really tough hence this method is the best option.

Since the meat is already cooked and the rice is  1/2   cooked, need not to cook it much longer.  So glad my visitors enjoyed this Mutton Biryani  and some even asked for the recipe. .

FANTASTIC APRICOT BREAD

Always love quick bread for breakfast or in between snack.   This week  tried my hand baking this Fantastic Apricot Bread.

This bread can be baked with yeast but am not in the mood to knead or spend time  waiting for it to rise.   So chosen this fruit laden quick bread.

Before you start, chopped dry apricot into small pieces but fairly visible.  Soak them in water for good 30 minutes. Squeeze out the water. keep aside.

This Fantastic Apricot Bread was really sweet so it doesn't need any glaze at all.  Have seen a few recipes with less sugar but uses  glaze after it has been baked.  Which one do you prefer, less sugar with glaze or without?

This bread received  high marks from my family, we are expecting some guest for  couple of days, have planned to bake it again.

EGG CURRY PUFFS FROM SCRATCH

It was a long time, I have make these curry puffs.  Presently, the store bought puffs are sky rocketing in price,  So it is time to make your own.

These Egg Curry Puffs from scratch are time consuming but worth to make.  They consist of two parts, the pastry and the filling.

Most popular filling was potato but I want to try something different that won't take much time to prepare.  I chose these Egg Curry Puffs, made with eggs, onion and spices,

Managed to shorten prep time for filling but important task are rolling, filing and frying them.  If you think this method was too much of hassle,  opt for a special mould that seal and crimp the edges well. But I still did it manually.

Be careful when adding ice water,   add little by little until it forms into a dough.  Find the pastry crispier than my earlier attempt where I did not add rice flour.

When frying these Egg Curry Puffs from scratch. make sure to use medium heat or else  they browned fast but inside still uncooked.  Do not crowd the pan, once it turns golden brown on both sides, remove and place on kitchen towel to drain.

AMAZING YOGURT CAKE

Thinking hard what to bake this week,  am torn between baking  a cake or bread.  At the moment, I only have few cups of natural yogurt in the refrigerator.

Decided to bake this Amazing Yogurt Cake that was ultra moist and a snap to make.   The yogurt not only cut down the fat used but also moisten the cake.

In case  you don't have a  plain yogurt,  a flavored ones work just fine.   This Amazing Yogurt Cake can be customized in many ways like adding a cup of diced blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or other fruits as well.

I use canola oil for this recipe.  You can use almond oil, peanut oil or any vegetable oil or even replace oil with melted butter.

Why it is called "amazing"?  Simply because it uses staple ingredients from the kitchen and  made without a mixer but using a whisk yet it  produces a moist, tender and scrumptious treat!