Lesson #126: Mini Banana Cream Pies

One of my dad's favorite desserts is banana cream pie. He likes it so much that he asked if I could make it for Easter lunch. Instead of making a big pie, I decided to bake individual pies in mini mason jars. They were easy to grab and less messy than cutting into a pie to serve individual pieces. That's a big plus when you are hosting family events!

The custard recipe is my grandma's recipe. It's widely agreed upon in my family that this custard tastes the best. I've tried out other custard recipes and they don't measure up to this one! Plus, I have great memories of my grandma teaching me to make pies in her kitchen, so this recipe is extra special to me.

LESSON LEARNED: Bake the pie crust right in the mason jar - they will not break in the oven.

Recipe for Mini Banana Cream Pies

Lesson #87: Peanut & Banana Biscuits

These biscuits are ABSOLUTELY delicious with a hot, steaming cup of tea or coffee. The buttermilk biscuits are buttery, fluffy, and chock full of bananas & chopped honey-roasted peanuts. The topping is peanut butter mixed with powdered sugar, milk, and a touch of vanilla extract. My favorite part of the biscuits was the texture that the chopped peanuts added. It was a pleasant crunch in the otherwise soft & fluffy biscuit. I thought they were best served right from the oven, but my husband continued to snack on them throughout the day.

LESSON LEARNED: These biscuits make a perfect afternoon snack!

Recipe for Peanut & Banana Biscuits

Lesson #44: Chocolate Banana Muffins

How do you jazz up banana muffins? Add melted chocolate into the batter! Yes, this is as DELICIOUS as it sounds :) I think that both banana and chocolate can be aggressive flavors, but when they are paired together, the sweetness from the banana and the bitterness of the chocolate complement each other perfectly. I used a high quality dark chocolate (i.e. Valrhona 70% cocoa) in this recipe, but you could use a milk chocolate too.

I varied the baking times in this recipe to achieve the perfect amount of gooey-ness. I prefer slightly underbaked banana muffins (especially right out of the oven!) because I think it keeps the muffins from drying out for a few days. So, in this case, I baked the muffins for 18 minutes. If you want the muffins to be completely cooked, bake them for 20 minutes or until they puff up. Either way, you'll be glad you made these muffins!

LESSON LEARNED: Vary baking times to get your desired level of gooey-ness!

Recipe for Chocolate Banana Muffins

Lesson #22: Sticky Toffee Banana Cake

This cake sounded perfect to make the other day when it was cold and rainy. Now that it's sunny and warm for a few days, this cake still sounds good! You could easily substitute any flavor of cake and jazz it up with this quick toffee sauce.

This cake has TONS of banana flavor and reminds me of a lighter and fluffier version of banana bread. While the cake is baking, you make a quick toffee sauce (no candy thermometer needed) and pour some of the sauce on the cake during the last few minutes of baking. Then, when you are ready to serve the cake, it's topped off with even more toffee sauce. Enjoy!

LESSON LEARNED: A quick sauce can really transform a cake!

Recipe for Sticky Toffee Banana Cake

Lesson #14: Mini Bananas Foster Cheesecake

I saw this recipe in a dessert booked I checked out from the library and thought these mini cheesecakes were super cute. The cheesecake is full of bananas & rum on top of a nutty, cinnamon graham cracker crust. The mini cheesecakes are then covered with sliced banana and caramel sauce.

Usually, when I have a craving for cheesecake, I end up making a whole cheesecake which is really too much for the two people in our household to eat. Cheesecake isn't the easiest thing to share with people (especially because we don't know too many people in the town where we live), so we never eat the whole thing. I was happy to see this idea for mini cheesecakes and it seemed like a yummy flavor to make. This dessert definitely satisfied my cheesecake craving and - as a bonus - they didn't take too long to bake.

There were a couple of things that I learned while making these cheesecakes. First, it's better to use mini cupcake liners because they come out of the pan MUCH easier and there is less of a mess. Second, this dessert is WAY better the on the same day you make it and doesn't keep very well after a day or so. Overall, these are very good and did remind me of the traditional bananas foster dessert!

LESSON LEARNED: Mini cheesecakes are the perfect size to get your cheesecake "fix".

Recipe for Mini Bananas Foster Cheesecake