Banana Cake - A Classic

This is an oldie but goodie that my mom likes to say gets better each time I make it (thanks mom!). This banana cake (not "bread", says Anne Takemoto, the brilliant baker behind this recipe), is moist but with a great crispy edge. In my opinion, the secret ingredient is the crushed pineapple.

I hesitate a bit to share this recipe, since in my mind it will forever belong to dear Anne, our resident fellow from college. However, I often get requests, and those of us who lived in Okada probably reminisce about the warm-fuzzy-cozy dorm meetings that residents would show up to if for no other reason than to eat this cake at the end. This is edible love, and I hope I have Anne's blessing to spread the love!

Banana Cake (oven 325 - 350 degrees)

Mix dry ingredients together:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Mix wet ingredients together:
1½ cups oil (a little less works too)
1½ teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups chopped bananas (about 4 very ripe bananas)
1 8oz. can of crushed pineapple, with juice

Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring gently.
Add 1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Pour into greased Bundt pan (I strongly suggest using non-stick spray with flour).

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until done. Don't try to underbake to ensure moistness. If the cake is underbaked, it will likely tear when removing from the Bundt pan. Plus, you will want that surface to be crispy!


I have tried to make this in a cupcake version with a honey cinnamon frosting, which is also delicious. However, the cupcake form loses the crispy edge (even without frosting), which is such a great part of this cake.

Chocolate Krispie Treats

These were inspired by Eric Wolitzky's "Peanut Butter Krispy Bars", the winning dessert on Season 1, Episode 3 of Top Chef: Just Desserts. (You won't be surprised to hear that I love that show—Season 2 premiered tonight!) His recipe was posted with ingredients measured in grams, which is inconvenient if you lack a kitchen scale. I also prefer a higher (rice cereal:chocolate topping) ratio. Once I convert the recipe to more accessible measurements and make some tweaks, I will update this post with a suggested recipe.

There are two versions here:
(1) Regular rice krispie bar covered with a chocolate-hazelnut layer and then topped with a chocolate-peanut butter layer
(2) Cocoa krispie bar covered with the same chocolate-hazelnut layer and then topped with a white chocolate ganache layer

I discovered during this experiment that cocoa krispies weigh more per unit volume than regular rice krispies, so I ended up with about a 3:2 output for these two flavors!

These krispies are decorated with chocolate discs (dark chocolate base with white chocolate or peanut-butter-white chocolate design—not quite "faux bois" but something like that). If I had more time, I think I would have done a full reversal for the cocoa krispie bar (i.e. white chocolate base with hazelnut-chocolate design).

Milo | Turns 2!

Happy birthday Milo! Milo celebrated his second birthday (and his teenage years) with another granola cake this year. It is incredible how much he has grown, how quickly (yet sometimes slowly) the year passed by, and how few posts I made in the meantime (hopefully I can fix that in the upcoming year).

The puppy's cuteness is unwavering though. Here are a few photos!

"I spy a cake."



"Is it for me?"



"Are you sure?"



"I'll just give it a little taste test."



"Maybe a big lick."



"Okay, get thee in my mouth!"



"All mine, all mine!"

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes - Summer is Here!

My brother and his wife's garden overfloweth with fresh fruit, so we took a load of lemons off their hands. Most of them went toward fresh lemonade (with many packets of Truvia and Splenda), but of course a few had to be saved for cupcakes.

These lemon cupcakes are topped with fresh strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream to welcome summer! Last year, summer decided to not show up in San Diego, so I am celebrating the warm sunny days we are finally getting this year. The cupcakes are made especially lemony with the addition of limoncello and lemon oil. The straws are made with rolled fondant painted with gold dusting powder.

Note to self: Do not cover overnight or the straws will wilt . . .

Apricot-Chocolate Cupcakes

These apricot-dark chocolate pound cake cupcakes were inspired by a cakelove recipe, and I was happy to finally put almond extract to good use. The almond flavor in the cake is a nice complement to the bittersweet chocolate, and these were delicious straight out of the oven with the chocolate bits still melted, and the dried apricot bits still soft and moist.

Unfortunately upon cooling, I found that the dried apricot bits became harder than they were to start out with. I might have to try pre-soaking them next time!

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of pound cake texture as it is denser, and with my unreliable oven from the 80s, my pound cakes are prone to ending up a bit dry and overbaked. But, I have found that pound cakes seem to get the most enthusiastic feedback from the office, so I'll keep working on them!

Mexican Brownie Cupcakes - Happy Cinco de Mayo

I discovered spicy Mayan hot chocolate at Coupa Cafe in Palo Alto and have loved that spiced up chocolate flavor ever since. When we moved to San Diego, we found out that Chuao Chocolatier, which supplies their chocolate bonbons and hot chocolates to Coupa Cafe, is based here! I was over the moon—an endless supply of spicy chocolate (and other favorites like Firecracker and Panko). Of course, it's a pricey supply, so for Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make Mexican brownies from scratch.

I am sure there are a variety of spices that can be added, but here's a simple way to get the job done:

Take your standard chocolate brownie recipe (a box mix works too) and add about 3/4 tsp. of ground chipotle chili pepper and 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon. I baked these as mini cupcakes, which requires about 18-20 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees, and topped with cinnamon buttercream. Avoid overbaking, since that seems to bake off the spice flavors.

Milo | Curious (Suspicious) Puppy

When Milo wakes up in the morning, the first thing he needs to do is go outside for a little walk. After waiting for me to put on my contacts, he jumps off my bed and scurries along behind me. When I get downstairs though, he always stops at the top of the stairs and tilts his head at me. Why? Because sometimes I go to my work laptop and check email first. Milo doesn't like that. Here's what he's thinking:

Me: "Come Milo!"
Milo: *stares* *blinks* *tilts head* "I don't believe you. Are you really taking me out or what?"
Me: "Milo, come!"
Milo: *snort* "You tricked me into jumping off the warm cozy bed!"
Me: "Milo, we're going outside!"
Milo: *tilts head other way* "Prove it."
Me: *puts on shoes*
Milo: "Not good enough."
Me: *jingles keys*
Milo: "You really mean it! I'm coming I'm coming!" *bouncing down stairs*

He also stops at the top of the stairs when we call him during the day too, as if to ponder whether there is anything in it for him if he came all the way down the stairs. Sometimes he will plop down too.


He also likes to do a plop down when we're bustling in the kitchen or otherwise ignoring him and he's waiting for a little attention.