Dessert Archives - Page 3 of 3 - The Dreaming Foodie

I love dessert. I always have.

And I’m not too picky, either. I will say though, that I’m partial to homemade. When someone makes something from scratch, I just know I will love it.

I got a desire to make dessert one day over my spring break while at Greg’s.

I wanted something hearty, but not loaded with butter and sugar. I wanted the dessert to use simple ingredients and be pretty simple to make.

I came up with this bread pudding.

I bought three raisin walnut rolls from a local bakery, combined them with a sliced fresh apple and let it all soak in a cinnamon vanilla custard.

This bread pudding uses all real ingredients. Not much added. There isn’t a ton of sugar. It’s simple. And it’s really delicious.

Topped with fresh apple butter, this simple dessert was just what I was looking for!

Method:

Start with:

2 c. cubed cinnamon raisin bread (I used three medium cinnamon raisin rolls)
1 medium apple, sliced thin

Grease a medium loaf pan with butter. Place a layer of cubed bread on the bottom, then a layer of sliced apples. Continue until ingredients are gone.

2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Vigorously whisk eggs and egg yolk in a bowl. Set aside.

1.5 c. whole milk
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. apple butter

Place milk and sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir, until sugar dissolves, and let come to a simmer. Once the mixture simmers, remove from heat. Add vanilla extract and stir.

Temper the whisked eggs with a small amount of the milk mixture — making sure to add only a small amount of milk, slowly, so that the eggs do not cook. Continue to slowly add and whisk the rest of the milk mixture into the eggs.

Pour the milk mixture over the layered bread and apples. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350*. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and spread 2 Tbsp. apple butter on top. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until firm and golden brown.

Enjoy!

I’ve got a little treat for your Friday.

And, I know these cupcakes have a long name.

They can’t just be banana cupcakes because roasting the bananas take these to a different place than non-roasted bananas would. And, they can’t just be roasted banana cupcakes because they kind of remind me of banana bread. A little. In a good, delicious way.

The maple buttercream is delicious. I want you to try it soo bad!

And I made mine mini. Because they are cute, and pop-able. And yes, eating three at once is okay. Because they are mini!

Now, if you desire a true cakey cupcake, these may not be for you. BUT they are so delicious and worth a try if you’re a little scared. They are moist and a little dense, packed with flavor — incredible. The combination of roasted bananas + maple buttercream = wow. So, so good.

Also, don’t be intimidated by the ingredient/step list. I have it broken down into sections, so it looks more complicated than it really is.

I think you are really going to enjoy these!

Method

Banana Cupcakes:

To begin:

Place 24 mini cupcake liners into two mini cupcake pans. Grease liners.

Start with:

2 bananas

Preheat oven to 400*. Cut bananas in half, lengthwise, and place on a baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until soft and skin is black. Set aside and let cool completely. Reduce oven heat to 350*.

1 c. cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Place all four ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well with a whisk.

Then:

1/3 c. milk (I used almond)
2 cooled, roasted bananas (from above)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix together in a bowl.

5 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1 egg, at room temperature, beaten

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add half the egg to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat until just combined. Add half of the banana mixture to the butter/sugar. Beat until just combined. Add remaining egg and banana mixture and mix until combined. Add to dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, mix until just combined.

Fill the muffin liners with batter, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake in 350* oven for 8-12 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Maple Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter, very soft
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1.5 tsp. pure maple syrup
Small dash of salt

Beat butter until soft, fluffy and completely smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat well. Add maple syrup and salt and mix until combined.

Pipe buttercream onto cupcakes.

*Notes
-This made 24 mini cupcakes for me.
– Decorate cupcakes with sprinkles, chopped pecans or even sliced bananas!

Enjoy!