Honeyed Banana-Blueberry Bread

Celia, June 2, 2011 - So, it turns out the bar exam is kind of hard. My posts will probably be pretty sporadic these next couple of months: apologies in advance. I’m happy, however, to have fit a banana-berry bread in yesterday.

It was pretty much impossible not to make a banana bread: we had this bunch of bananas hanging around, in a state that practically screamed “Make bread from me!”

And then I found a banana-blueberry bread in The Dallas Junior League Cookbook. And then blueberries were on sale. Everything was coming into place…

I decided, though, to throw myself a curveball and play around a little with this recipe. It already replaced some flour with oats, so I started thinking in the direction of “health.” I learned some substitution tricks from a law school friend who bakes with whole grains all the time, and runs marathons nearly as frequently. He’d probably be disappointed I used white flour in this recipe (I was too lazy to go out and buy a new bag of whole wheat), but tales of his experiments inspired me to use honey in place of sugar (and reduce the amount of sweetener), and to thicken the batter with Greek yogurt instead of oil.  I also used more berries than the original recipe called for.  I just couldn’t resist…sorry this picture doesn’t do ‘em justice. Darn artificial light.

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Royal Wedding Party: Princess Cakes

Celia, April 28, 2011 - Yesterday, in addition to being my last day of law school classes ever, brought something utterly unexpected: a spot in the final round of the Saveur Magazine Best Blog Awards.  I’m up for “Best Cook-Through” – as in cooking through cookbooks (a stack of moldering vintage ones in my case). Many thank to Saveur, and to all who tossed my name into the hat.  If you have a sec to vote, it’d mean a lot!

Getting back to business…I have a cookie recipe for you: I couldn’t do the second half of my royal wedding party a la Mrs. Beeton without some of the rich cakes she declares a “must” at any ladies’ breakfast.  I was flipping through the tea cakes section when I came across a recipe for “Princess Cakes.” Pitch perfect!

Also perfect: the flavors in these light chocolate-dipped orange cream sandwiches. The cookies are kind of soft and cakey, with a texture about halfway between a black and white cookie and a butter cookie. They’re easily consumed in two bites: I loved eating the chocolate end first, then the plain end where the fresh orange flavor (perhaps I should say flavour given the occasion) was more forward. This orange flavor comes not only from the buttercream that fills these sandwiches, but from orange zest grated into the cookie dough.

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