Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Banana Bread with Dulce de Leche Frosting

I often go to store with the hope of eating healthier so my first stop is always at fresh fruit and vegetable department to pick up a few items. One of the items I go for are banana's, I am not a big fan of the banana unless it is in my cereal or chopped into oatmeal. I usually don't get to eat all of them and tend to toss more than I have eaten in the long run. So I thought why not use them to make bread, with dulce de leche and a glass of milk. Or maybe ice cream who knows.

Banana Bread Recipe

INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 over ripe smashed bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), spray a non stick loaf pan with cooking spray. With a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in and mix until just mixed together. Add the flour last, and mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, remove from pan.

Dulce de Leche frosting

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks softened unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 can of Dulce De Leche
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
a pinch of kosher salt

In a mixer or with a hand blender cream 2 sticks of butter and slowly add 2 cups of the sifted powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and half of the cream/milk and mix until well incorporated, then add half the can of the Dulce De Leche mix till blended well. Mix the remaining milk/cream and add the remaining Dulce De Leche and blend well. Add the pinch kosher salt with the remaining 2 cups of sugar until you reach desired consistency. Depending on your desired consistency you might use a little more or less of the sugar.
Mix on medium for about 4-5 minutes making sure not to over mix. Once the cake is cool enough to handle remove it from the loaf pan place it on a large plate and drizzle with the still warm frosting across the top of the banana bread and serve.