Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I don't like overripe bananas. They don't look very appealing to me, even though they can still be eaten. I know most of you will think I am so picky, but overripe bananas are nothing more than an ingredient for a dessert to me. 

I had two sad looking bananas in my kitchen the other day and I couldn't decide what to do with them. I didn't want to overheat the house by turning on the oven, but when I saw this recipe I just had to.

This is my first time ever baking a banana bread. I am always reserved when it comes to desserts with bananas because the flavor is mostly too dominant and I don't like that. I have to say this is my favorite banana recipe so far because it is so moist and tastes great, the bananas are not dominant and the chocolate chips make the bread so chocolaty and amazing. That is why I call it a chocolate chip banana bread, with the chocolate on first place because you can never have enough chocolate chips in it.

You need:

2 ripe bananas, smashed

1 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

1 tea spoon vanilla

1 tea spoon baking soda

dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a loaf pan. Smash the bananas in a mixing bowl and add the butter. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir and add the baking soda, salt and flour. Mix well and finally mix in the choc chips. Pour batter in a loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes.

Simple Cheesecake

It's all about simplicity in today's recipe. A simple, yet gorgeous and delicious cheesecake is the best cake. I love cheesecakes and everything simple to make. The recipe is from this wonderful website, written by a lovely fellow Slovenian blogger. 

You need:

For the crust:

250 grams digestive biscuits

100 grams butter, melted

For the filling:

500 grams cottage cheese

3 eggs

150 grams sugar

For the topping:

1 tea spoon vanilla

250 ml sour cream

3 table spoons sugar

First, put the biscuits in a bowl and crash them until ground. Put in a bowl and add butter, mix well and put in a lined springform pan. Use your hands to press down on the crumbs, until they are nicely layered all around the pan. Set aside. In another, medium sized bowl, mix the cottage cheese until light and fluffy (use a hand electric mixer). This should take up to five minutes. Then, gradually add the eggs, mixing well. When incorporated, add sugar and vanilla and mix for another two minutes on full speed. Pour the filling over the crust and bake on 150°C for one hour. After that, take the cake out of the oven and leave to cool for about twenty minutes. Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, combine the sour cream and sugar and mix well. Pour over the cheesecake and bake for another fifteen minutes. When baked, leave to cool before slicing.

The Cake Baby Turns 1

It's The Cake Baby's first birthday today! I am so excited and can't believe it's been a year. 

The main goal of this blog was to create a space with all my favorite recipes and share it with friends and family. Nowadays I can't imagine my life without The Cake Baby. I have read and whipped up a great amount of  incredible and delicious recipes from other bloggers and adore so many of you! 

Thanks to all my readers for stopping by and commenting on recipes. I love your ideas and am grateful for your feedback.

My wish for the next year is to continue sharing homemade, easy and delicious recipes. And now, grab a bottle of red wine and drink to that!

In case you're wondering, I am celebrating with these babies:

Patatas Bravas

The other day I was preparing a party menu and couldn't decide what to make for a snack. It has to be something that is quickly done, goes well with the wine and something that everyone likes. I was searching Pinterest, which kind of became my hobby, and found lots of things but they were all either too time consuming, or too fancy for a party with friends. You can see my party snack recipes HERE.

I decided to make Patatas Bravas. The recipe is from Valentina Smej Novak, a lovely fellow Slovenian, who had a famous Tv cook show and has so many lovely recipes for any occasion. 

I can tell you, this little fellas were a huge success! Everyone loved the spicy sauce and people started to ask for the recipe. And that is always a good sign.

You need    (recipe adapted from here.)

1 kilo potatoes

2 table spoons olive oil

For the sauce:

250 ml canned tomatoes

1 tea spoon brown sugar

1 table spoon balsamic vinegar

1 tea spoon chilli powder

1 table spoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 table spoons mayonnaise

Peel the potatoes and cut them into small chunks (about 2 centimeters). Preheat the oven to 200°C and prepare a roasting tray – put one sheet of parchment paper on the tray and set aside. Wash the potato chunks and season them with salt and pepper. Put one to two table spoons olive oil to the potatoes and toss them in the mixture. Put the potatoes on the tray and bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Meanwhile prepare the sauce. 

Put olive oil in a sauce pan and heat on medium flame until hot. Add the tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar and chilli powder. Mix well and leave on heat for two minutes. When it starts to boil, remove from heat and mix in the mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper and set aside. When potatoes are baked, remove from the oven and put on a plate. Top with the sauce and serve hot.

Double Chocolate Vegan Brownies

I tend to go vegan every now and then. But mostly when I discover that I don't have enough eggs in the fridge and can't make any ordinary dessert. Yes, it happens. Vegan desserts are actually just as good as normal desserts and it is hard (if not impossible) to tell the difference between a vegan and a non-vegan, if you ask me.

The following brownie recipe is one of my favorites because the batter is so easy to make and it is not sticky or gum-like. The brownies are moist and gooey, just as they have to be. Recipe from this blog.

You need:

1/3 cup brewed coffee

1 table spoon vegan margarine

1 ounce semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups plus 2 table spoons sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

a pinch of salt

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup water

1/2 table spoon vanilla

1 cup plus 1 1/2 table spoons flour

1/2 tea spoon baking powder

1/4 cup plus 2 table spoons chocolate chips

Grease a 8x8 inch baking tin and preheat the oven to 190°C. Combine coffee, margarine, and 1 oz chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and carefully microwave until smooth and melted. Stir to combine. In another bowl combine sugar, cocoa, salt and mix to combine. Add the oil, water, and vanilla. Stir well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. Stir in the chocolate chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. Pour the batter in the prepared baking tin and bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely before removing from tin.

Simple Tuna Pasta Salad

I crave salads lately. Blame it on the hot weather or whatever, but summer is the time of the year that turns me into a salad monster. Salads are very easy and very quick to prepare which is another plus, right? Besides, you don't have to turn on the oven to make a simple dish. 

What I like about this salad is the tuna. I love tuna! You can use this delicious fish in so many recipes. I have already posted a delicious and really easy tuna spread. This salad is a pasta salad, which besides tuna contains lots of veggies and of course, pasta. Win-win for a great meal.

You need:

500 grams pasta of choice

1 cucumber,  peeled and diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

3 table spoons capers,

3 table spoons mayonnaise

Juice of one lemon

2 cans tuna fish

First, cook the pasta and drain well. Set aside to cool completely. Meanwhile put all of the veggies in a medium sized bowl and mix with the tuna. Add the pasta and season with lemon juice and mayonnaise. 

Chocolate Cherry Cake

It is summer time! I love summer, sun and those long evenings outside with friends and great food. And when I think of summer food, I think of cherries. Aren't they the ultimate summer fruit? So fresh and juicy and they always taste best when eaten straight from the cherry tree.

You need:

100 grams fine grind almonds

100 grams chocolate

180 grams sugar

125 grams flour

2 table spoons baking powder

200 grams butter, melted

1 tea spoon vanilla

1 table spoon cinnamon

4 eggs

250 grams stoneless, fresh cherries

First, melt the chocolate in a double boiler and set aside. Combine eggs and sugar in a big mixing bowl and mix until fluffy. Add almonds, the melted chocolate, butter, cinnamon, flour and baking powder. Mix well until combined. Pour the batter in a lined cake pan. Arrange the cherries on top and bake for 25 minutes on 190°C.

Pre-bake