Tag: brunch recipes

Double Chocolate Banana Bread with Maple Espresso Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Double Chocolate Banana Bread with Maple Espresso Icing

Tender, moist chocolate banana bread loaded with mini chocolate chips, topped with maple espresso icing by Brownie Mischief
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

  • 1 ¼ cups (160g) all purpose flour, sifted plus 1 teaspoon for the mini chocolate chips
  • ⅓ cup (30g) Dutch process unsweetened dark cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (115m) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup (78ml) buttermilk
  • ⅔ cup (160g) mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
  • ½ cup (85g) mini semisweet chocolate chips

Maple Espresso Icing

  • 1 ½ tablespoons (23ml) maple syrup
  • 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • ½ teaspoon pure maple extract
  • 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions
 

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8 x 4-inch or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the inside of the baking pan with a mixture of equal parts flour and cocoa powder.
  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together, by hand or with an electric mixer, the brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk until smooth and well blended. Stir in the mashed bananas. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. In a small bowl, toss the mini chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of flour, then stir them into the batter.
  • Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. If you hit melted chocolate chips, insert another toothpick in a different spot. You can also use an instant read thermometer to check for doneness. The internal temperature should be approximately 200ºF (95ºC). Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack.

Maple Espresso Icing

  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of cream, the espresso powder and maple extract, until the espresso powder is dissolved. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar and continue whisking until well combined. Add additional cream until the desired consistency is reached. whisk until smooth. Spread the icing over the top of the cooled loaf.

Notes

To find the loaf pan I used, click here.
Keyword banana, chocolate, loaf

Mini Banana Bread Puddings

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

These delightful Mini Banana Bread Puddings are a great way to use up leftover banana bread. At my house, we rarely have any leftover banana bread so I like to bake a special loaf of banana bread just for this recipe, a couple of days before I want to serve the bread puddings. If you need a banana bread recipe, try My Favorite Banana Bread, click here for the recipe. These personal bread puddings make an equally delicious brunch or dessert. You can top them with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream which makes them even more delicious.

 

Mini Banana Bread Puddings

by Mari Vasseur
Individual banana bread puddings with caramel sauce
Print Recipe
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 6 1-inch thick slices banana bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • ⅓ cup (66g) sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¾ cup (177ml) whole milk
  • ½ cup (118ml) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (57g) melted butter
  • ⅓ cup (37g) pecan halves
  • ¾ cup (240g) caramel sauce, purchase or homemade
  • Whipped cream optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 300ºF (150ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the banana bread cubes on the baking sheet. Bake until dry and slightly crisp, about 10-15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the sugar and cinnamon together until well blended.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt and the cinnamon-sugar mixture together until well creamy and well blended. Add the cooled banana bread cubes to the egg mixture and gently toss to coat. Let sit until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180º). Generously butter six 7 or 8-ounce ramekins or a 6-serving jumbo muffin pan. (You can also line the bottoms of the ramekins or the muffin pan with parchment paper rounds to make them easier to release. The parchment isn't necessary if you want to serve the bread puddings in ramekins.) Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.
  • Spoon the banana bread cubes into the ramekins or the muffin pan. Drizzle with melted butter. Top each one with a few pecans.
  • Bake until the bread puddings are golden brown and the center is set, about 25-33 minutes. Let the puddings cool for about 5 minutes, then turn them out if you're using a muffin pan. Drizzle the warm bread puddings with caramel sauce and top with whipped cream if desired.

Notes

To find 7-ounce ramekins, click here.
To find 8-ounce ramekins, click here.
To find a jumbo muffin pan, click here.
Keyword banana, bread pudding

Cherry Lemon Muffins

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Cherry Lemon Muffins

Blueberry and lemon are a classic muffin flavor combination, but have you tried cherry and lemon? They complement each other beautifully in lemonade, so why not muffins? Cherries are plentiful at the moment so I came up with these pretty and delicious Cherry Lemon Muffins that are perfect for summer breakfast, brunch or picnics. They have a lovely soft, moist crumb that’s the quintessential muffin texture. Although I’ve been baking muffins since childhood, I learned to refine my muffins in culinary school. Here are a few helpful tips:

~ Muffins with big hole or tunneling may have too much leavening or it wasn’t mixed in evenly. Whisk the leavening agent into the flour thoroughly. Tunnels can also be caused by mixing the batter too aggressively.

~ Dry muffins were likely over baked or have too much flour.

~ Rubbery muffins were likely over mixed.

~ Soggy or gummy muffins were either underbaked or too much wet fruit was added. Try macerating the fruit first to release excess juices. This helps to prevent soggy spots in your muffins.

~ If you want tall, domed muffins, keep in mind that, although they look nice, domed muffins tend to be chewier and less tender. To get domes, try letting the batter rest a few minutes before baking if the muffins contain baking powder. You can also try giving the muffins a boost of high heat by starting them out with a higher temperature 400ºF (200ºC) then drop the temperature to 350ºF (180ºC) after a few minutes.

~ To keep crumble topping from sinking, make sure to work the cold butter into the flour mixture thoroughly, until it looks like wet sand and no large pieces of butter remain. Press the mixture together to form chunks, then chill it in the refrigerator before topping the muffins.

~ To keep fruit from sinking, lightly coat it with flour. Thick, voluminous batter is best for adding fruit.

Cherry Lemon Muffins

Tender, moist lemon muffins studded with fresh cherries, topped with crumb topping and pink cherry-lemon icing
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients
  

Crumb Topping

  • ¾ cup (96g) all purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (57g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Cherry Lemon Muffins

  • 1 cup (200g) plus 1 tablespoons (13g) sugar, divided
  • 1 ½ cups (255g) pitted and chopped fresh cherries 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch pieces
  • 2 ¼ cups (288g) all purpose flour, sifted plus 2 teaspoons to coat the cherries
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • Zest of 2 medium lemons
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanila extract
  • 1 cup (227g) sour cream, room temperature
  • 12 cherries with stems for garnish optional

Icing

  • ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon reserved cherry juice
  • 1 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions
 

Crumb Topping

  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together. Work in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like the consistency of sand with no large pieces of butter. Press the mixture together to make chunks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Muffins

  • In a medium-size bowl, combine the cherries and 1 tablespoon (13g) of sugar. Let stand 30 minutes, then drain the cherries, reserving the juice.
  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a 12-serving muffin pan with tulip muffin liners.* (You can also use standard muffin liners. They hold less batter so you'll end up with a couple of extra muffins.)
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter, 1 cup (200g) of sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in the extracts. On low speed, mix in the flour mixture in two additions, followed by half of the sour cream after each addition. Beat just until combined. Do not over mix. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of the chopped cherries. Coat the remaining cherries with 2 teaspoons of flour, then gently fold them into the batter.
  • Divide the batter evenly into muffin liners. (If using standard muffin liners, fill 3/4 full.) Top with the reserved cherries and the crumb topping. Bake at 375ºF (190ºC) for 5 minutes. Turn the oven heat down to 350ºF (180ºC) and continue baking the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 12-17 more minutes. Do not over bake.
  • Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely. Drizzle with icing and top with cherries if desired.

Icing

  • In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, cherry juice, heavy cream, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice together until smooth. Add additional lemon juice, if needed, until your desired consistency is reached.

Notes

*To find  tulip muffin liners, click here. To find floral tulip muffin liners, click here.
Keyword cherry lemon, muffins

Blueberry Muffin Upside Down Cake

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Upside down cakes are so much fun and slightly exciting when you flip the pan over and cross your fingers. This blueberry version tastes like a soft, moist blueberry muffin in cake form. It’s heavenly served warm from the oven with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.

Blueberry Muffin Upside Down Cake

Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened and divided
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (75g) packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt plus extra for the topping
  • 2 cups (312g) blueberries
  • 1 ¼ cups (162g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly ground
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (125g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (118ml) whole milk, room temperature

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Spray an 8-inch round cake pan* with nonstick spray.
  • In a small saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons (85g) of the butter with the brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 1 minute, then transfer the mixture to the cake pan. Arrange the blueberries on top.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
  • In a medium bowl, beat the remaining 10 tablespoons (142g) of butter and the granulated sugar, with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and the egg yolk in 3 separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla extract until well combined. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in 2 separate additions, followed by half of the milk after each addition. Beat unit combined.
  • Gently spoon the batter into the cake pan over the top of the blueberries. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out nearly clean, about 45-50 minutes. You don't want to see raw batter on the knife, but a little moisture is okay. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter and invert the cake onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

To find my favorite  8-inch round cake pan, click here.
Keyword blueberry upside down, cake

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

A good scone has a way of making you feel elegant, especially if you pronounce it ‘skon’ instead of ‘skōne’. I went to a lovely tea recently where scones were served, along with an array of dainty tea sandwiches and desserts. The scones were round with pink sugar sprinkled on top. Pretty pink food is always so promising. Unfortunately, the scones were hard, dry and bland. No amount of clotted cream slathered on them could help. There’s nothing elegant about a dry, hard bite of a scone that you have to struggle to choke down. Scones should be dense and slightly dry and crumbly, but there’s no reason we can’t make them more delicious. It’s fun to add fruit, chocolate, herbs, nuts or whatever you like to make them more delightful. These Raspberry White Chocolate Scones are tender and buttery with bursts of flavor from the fresh raspberries and white chocolate. I added pink sparkling sugar for texture and, of course, to make them look pretty!

 

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

by Mari Vasseur
Tender scones with fresh raspberries and white chocolate, topped with crunchy sparkling sugar.
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 8 scones

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ cups (226g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 7 tablespoons (100g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (118 ml) cold heavy cream plus extra for the tops of the scones
  • ¼ cup (57g) cold sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (128g) white chocolate chips or chunks Not chopped white chocolate
  • ¾ cup (113g) fresh or frozen raspberries
  • Pink or white coarse sparkling sugar

Instructions
 

  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size pieces form.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Stir the cream mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough forms. Gently fold in the white chocolate chips and raspberries.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a 1-inch thick round, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.
  • Place scones 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Chill the scones in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  • Bake until the edges look golden brown, about 20-24 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.

Notes

*To find pink sparkling sugar, click here.  
This recipe was updated on 3/23/2023.
Keyword raspberry white chocolate, scones

Peaches & Cream Scones with Caramel Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Peaches & Cream Scones with Caramel Icing

Tender scones with fresh peaches, topped with a quick caramel icing
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

Scones

  • 1 ¾ cups (7 7/8 oz or 223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 7 tablespoons (3 1/2 oz or 100g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (4 oz or (118 ml) cold sour cream
  • ¼ cup (2 oz or 59ml) cold heavy cream Plus more for tops
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (about 7 oz or 200g) chopped fresh peaches, patted dry Peaches should be ripe but still firm, not over ripe.
  • egg wash (optional) 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water

Icing

  • ¼ cup (2 oz or 57g) salted butter
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) packed brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup (2 5/8 oz or 78 ml) heavy cream

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
  • Work the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or with your fingertips until pea size pieces form.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla.
  • Mix the sour cream mixture into the flour mixture until a shaggy dough forms. Fold in the peaches.
  • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press the dough together and fold it over onto itself a couple of times.
  • Pat or roll dough into a 7-inch round. Cut dough into 8 wedges. Transfer to the prepared baking pan. Brush the scones lightly with egg wash or heavy cream.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 18-22 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.

Caramel Icing

  • Melt the butter a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes.
  • Whisk in the heavy cream and heat until bubbly. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Drizzle or spoon the icing over the cooled scones.
Keyword peach, scones