Chocolate, Zucchini & Banana Bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated white sugar
1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini (approximately 300 g or two medium zucchinis, patted dry)
3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (approximately 175 g or two medium bananas)
1 cup (175 g) chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 5×9 loaf pan with non-stick spray, set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together oil, vanilla and both sugars. Stir in eggs, bananas and shredded zucchini. Stir until well combined.

Fold in dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick.

Remove from oven and let cool completely. Slice and serve. Store covered at room temperature.

Banana Fritters

1 c. chopped, packed ripe bananas (approximately 2 medium)
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cornstarch or potato starch
1/4 c. sweetened shredded coconut (or up to 1/2 cup, if desired)
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup buttermilk, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients. 
Deep fry in peanut or corn oil.  Heat oil to 375°.  Fry for 2 minutes, turn in oil, fry another 1 minute.

These are good by themselves, or could be dusted with sugar and cinnamon.

Bret's Banana Cream Pie

Makes enough for one large 12-inch pie, or two 9-inch pies.

This recipe is  Work In Progress.  May need adjusting as it seems too sweet.  The two cans of condensed milk might be too much.
Shortbread Crust
2 1/2 c. flour
6 oz butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp sugar

Custard Filling:
2 cans condensed milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp butter

4 bananas, mashed

2 1/2 c. milk
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 c. flour
6 egg yolks

3-4 bananas for chopping & layering

Topping:
1 1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
2-3 tbsp powdered sugar to stiffen the peaks further

Crust Prep:
Use a pastry blender and mix the butter, sugar, egg, flour and salt together until somewhat crumbly.
Press this into the pie pan(s)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Chill in freezer for 20 minutes.

Custard Prep:
In a large pot on the stove, add the condensed milk, two cups of the plain milk (reserve half a cup), butter, salt, vanilla.  Begin heating on medium heat.  In a separate bowl, gradually blend 1/2 c. milk with the flour and cornstarch until its smooth & thick.  Add this to the pot on the stove. 

Separate the eggs.  Save the egg whites for something else (optionally make meringue instead of the whipped cream topping) Put the egg yolks into a separate, large mixing bowl and keep on hand near the pot that's heating up.  These are to be tempered with the hot mixture.

Around now the crust should be cool and firm.  Place in over at 375 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.

Mash the bananas, add them to the yolks.  This can be put through a blender if you want a smooth banana custard.

Once the condensed milk mixture is steaming hot, gradually add it to the egg-banana mixture and blend it.  Once combined, pour it all back into the large pot and cook over med-low heat until it's good and thick, stirring often.  This again can be blended if you want it very smooth.

Once the crust is done, remove it from the oven.  Change the oven temp to 325 degrees.  Add half of the filling (if making two 9-inchers, use a quarter, or put a half-inch layer down, roughly in each shell).  Then layer sliced banana on top of the custard.  Spread the remaining custard over the top.

If making a large pie, bake it for 40 minutes.  If making two 9-inchers, bake for 30.

Let the pie cool completely.  This will take about 3-4 hours.  Once cooled, put it in the fridge and chill it thoroughly.  This will likely take overnight.

Once completely chilled, make the whipped cream topping. 

Beat the whipping cream and vanilla on high until peaks begin to form.  Gradually add in the powdered sugar.  If necessary, use a bit more cornstarch to stiffen up the whipped cream.  Pile it onto the chilled pie, and top with bananas.

Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 3/4 c. flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ripe medium bananas, mashed
3/4 c. chocolate chips or mini choc chips
3/4 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350° degrees F.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and brown it until it smells slightly nutty.  Do not blacken.  Remove from heat and blend with the sugars.  Let it cool 10 minutes. 

While cooling, mix the flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, sour cream and butter-sugar mixture until combined. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Add in the mashed banana and mix until combined – mixture will not be smooth. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing with a large spoon until a dough forms.  This recipe may be too loose.  Add a bit of extra flow, 1/4 c. at a time to firm it up so that a spoonful of dough holds its shape on a cookie sheet.  Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.


Shape the dough into the size of a golfball (or size of your choice) and place on a nonstick baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until the edges are golden and the middles are puffy – do not overbake! Let cool completely then dig in. I suggest letting these cool completely before storing them in a sealed container or bag, and they will stay very soft because of the banana.

These need storage in the fridge as the banana will promote molding if left out and covered. 

Banana Bread Pudding

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Banana-Bread-Pudding

Ingredients
4 cups cubed day-old French or sourdough bread (1-in. pieces)
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced firm bananas (1/4-inch pieces)
SAUCE:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Place the bread cubes in a greased 2-qt. casserole; pour butter over and toss to coat. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs; add milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in bananas.
Pour over bread cubes and stir to coat. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan. Combine sugar and cornstarch; add to butter. Stir in milk and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in the vanilla. Serve warm sauce over warm pudding. Yield: 6 servings.