Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting

I AM BACK! I haven't posted much in a while and I am back and you will start seeing a lot more of me. :)
This recipe came from my friend Wendi. The frosting is the best and I could (and do) eat it with nothing but a spoon. I made this for our memorial day festivities and then left it home, so now I get to enjoy it all by myself. This is the only cake I know of that it is actually better to frost it when it is still a little warm... it just spreads better.

Banana Cake:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 cup shortning
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup buttermilk
walnuts

preheat oven to 350 degrees. sift together flour and soda and set aside. mix shortning and sugar together until fluffy. then add eggs. mix together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and add them to the mixture. Finally add the flour mixture and the walnuts if desired. Grease and flour a cookie sheet. place batter in the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes

Caramel Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 Cup dark brown sugar
1/3 Cup cream
1 T vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar

In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the dark brown sugar and cream until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Transfer to a mixer bowl and mix on low speed gradually adding the powdered sugar. You may need some extra cream to add to the frosting so it is the right consistency. Spread it on the cake when it is about halfway cool. Then try not to "accidentally" leave it home from the family picnic so you have to eat it all yourself.

Key lime Truffles

Oh so good....

12 ounces white chocolate

1/2 cup cream

1/4 cup butter

4 Tbsp key lime juice

12 ounces white dipping chocolate.

put white chocolate and key lime juice in a bowl. In a small saucepan heat the cream and butter to boiling. Pour cream over the white chocolate and mix until smooth. Put it in the fridge to let it cool (about 2 hours) stirring occasionally.

Once ganache is completely cooled use your hands to roll into about 1 inch balls. if the ganache is still a little soft you can add a little powdered sugar. Then put into the freezer. It is super soft so if you don't completely freeze it, it is super hard to dip.

Once the balls are completely frozen melt your white chocolate and dip them. Easy and really yummy.

Cheesecake

This is adapted from my awesome sister-in-law Jaimee's Cheesecake recipe. Super yummy....

First you need to wrap your 9 inch springform pan in a double layer of heavy foil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust

1 1/2 cups shortbread cookies. I like to use pecan sandies.

1/4 cup melted butter

Put shortbread cookies in the food processor and mix until fine. then add the melted butter and pulse to just combine. (before I had my wonderful food processor I smashed them in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin and stirred butter in with a fork)

then bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes

filling

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 pkg cream cheese

4 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

pinch of salt

The key to this recipe is to have all of the ingredients (eggs and cream cheese) for the filling at room temperature or it will never be smooth. While the crust is baking, whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy then slowly pour the sugar in a slow and steady stream. Once that is incorporated add eggs one at a time mixing throughly between eggs. Then add vanilla.

Remove the crust from oven, reduce the temperature to 325 and pour the filling into the foil wrapped springform. Bring water to a boil on the stovetop and set your roaster in the oven. Place the springform into the roaster and ladle the boiling water into the roaster around the springform to about halfway up the pan.

Bake at 325 for 60-65 minutes

Once it is baked turn off oven, open door and allow to sit for about an hour. Let stand in the firdge overnight. Or at least 6 hours.

The cheesecake is wonderful all by itself and you can top it with anything. I usually make a Dulce de Leche Sour cream layer and put it on top after a few hours.

For my dulce I take a can of sweetened condensed milk and put it in a pressure cooker covered with water and cook for about 25 minutes once it is up to pressure. That stuff is amazing and I can eat it with a spoon and be perfectly happy. But then I take 1 can of the dulce and mix it with about 12 ounces of sour cream. That, on top of the cheesecake is best enjoyed while you are locked away in a quiet room with a good book.

I am salivating now....... :)

Caramel Apple Pie

This pie turned out SO good. Well it tasted good. Baking always has scared me because you have to be so much more precise than when you cook. I am such a chop and drop cook. My last attempt at baking a pie was a horrible looking pecan pie. I haven't made a pie for about 3 years until now. I will be making more. I have finally moved past my bad pecan pie mess....

Pie Crust, use your favorite recipe, mine is store bought. Ok, so I am not completely over my bad pie experience....

Apple filling:

5 granny smith apples peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

stir cornstarch into sugar and then add cinnamon and nutmeg and coat the apples with mixture. Put into pie crust and put into oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

while pie is baking make crumb top

1 cup quick oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cube butter

melt butter and mix together well.

after the 30 minutes baking put on crumb top and bake for another 10-15 minutes

while the pie finishes baking melt together

15-20 unwrapped caramels

1-2 Tbsp evaporated milk

Pour caramel over the pie when it comes out of the oven. Let cool a little (if you can stand to wait) and then dig in. It is best with a big scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on top.