Banana Bread Scones

Whenever I'm blogging, especially when I started, I'm constantly worrying about how it comes across. My main focus was to not sound like a negative Nancy, stupid Susan or Debbie downer. Sorry if that's your name. It's not you, it me. Most food blogs I read were so upbeat and 'yay for life and food!' That's great because I love people that are like that. People that are constantly positive. But I don't know how to write while sounding like myself. I'm not a happy-go-lucky kind of gal but I'm not an angst-filled girl either. So I got tired and gave up. 

On top of that, I was disgruntled with the whole food blog thing too. I have always loved and followed food blogs. Everyday I read through them, find new ones, discover new recipes and use it as a break for studying and writing papers that are due in less than twelve hours. Holla. But I felt that many of them had moved away from this idea of a 'blog,' something that captures what you're baking for yourself and the people around you, to baking for this internet audience. Appealing to what would appeal to them. (Something I've done so no judgement.) I missed people blogging for the sake of blogging, not on a schedule and just doing it for themselves. 

But I still read and love all the food blogs I did before. One of the top of my head, How Sweet It Is, is great at being a real 'voice.' She is able to post amazing recipes (I legit make at least one a week) nearly everyday but all while keeping 'blog' like. I'm not sure where I'm going with this. All in all, I got fed up with myself and discouraged with other blogs changing. But I can't deny change, even though I hate it, so I'll just adapt. On that happy note, here is a recipe!

I've made these countless times because I sold them at the Bakers Market for the last two years. For ten weeks, every Saturday I was up at five AM making these, bacon scones and apple scones. Scones need to be fresh. These days I'm not baking for a mass crowd so I like to make scones, shape them and freeze them then just pull them out and bake them whenever a craving hits. Even if you bake them and a few hours later you realize you can't or shouldn't eat them all, throw them in a ziploc and toast them later. 

Banana Bread Scones

Adapted from the kitchn

These have a crisp exterior, something I love on scones, and a soft but still flaky center. The original recipe from the kitchn was good but I've changed it throughout the years to work with what I like. That obviously means increasing the butter and swapping heart-healthy yogurt for whole cream. The first time I made them they were really soft and like lumps of banana bread but now they hold their shape and have a scone-like texture but still a great banana bread taste. 

These freeze great too, see above. Also, I like to make mini scones. Instead of forming one large dough ball, I cut it in half. Shape them both into 1-inch circles and cut little baby scones by cutting it into six or 8 triangles instead. They are cuter and easier to justify eating four.

7/8-1 cup very ripe bananas, mashed (2 bananas)

1/4 cup heavy cream + 1-2 tbsp heavy cream

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (8 tbsp) cold butter, cut into little cubes

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a one-cup measuring cup, add the two mashed bananas. Most times mine came to a scant cup, about two tablespoons short of a cup. I would then fill the rest of the cup with heavy cream. However if the banana reaches one cup it's not a big deal. Pour the banana/cream mixure into a small bowl. Then add the extra 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Mix until combined, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until completely combined. Add the cold butter to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, forks, your hands or a food processor, mix the butter until it looks like a sandy mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Create a little well in the center of the flour-butter mixture and add the banana mix to it. Knead this until it just comes together. I mix it with a spatula then switch to my hands to fold it together and form it into a ball. Take the dough and put it on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick circle. Cut the circle into 8 triangles. Space the scones out and then freeze on the baking sheet for 30 minutes in the freezer. (Or if you're a dingus like me, leave them in there all night because you forgot.) Preheat the oven to 400º. Pull the scones out of the freezer and bake them for 16-20 minutes. I check the bottom of the scones to make sure they are golden with bits of brown to know that they are done. Remove from the oven and eat them right away with butter, honey, jam, peanut butter, nutella, you name it. Makes 8 scones.

Peanut Butter Cake With Chocolate Buttercream

The coolest thing in the world has happened. I, Hannah Jeffries of Burnaby, British Columbia of the former British colony that is now known as Canada, and the daughter of Dan and June; met Joy the Baker. Thee Joy the Baker. Not just some Joy that bakes, not that they aren't cool too, but the one and only Joy the Baker.

Back in February, Salivz and I woke up at an ungodly hour after a night of facetime and wine to drive all the way down to Seattle (otherwise known as C-@Z) for her book signing in Fremont. Now I've never been cool but, boy, did I fool her. Not only did I have the shakes and the sweats but whenever anything exciting happens, tears pour. Thank God I locked the tears down.

She is totally awesome and pretty and she looks so hip, hop and happening. After I walked out of the book store, I broke out into a dance that was a mix of a crump and Irish dancing whilst singing 'Ni**as in Paris.' Please don't judge me, I was definitely in my zone.  

Peanut Butter Cake With Chocolate Buttercream

From the Joy the Baker Cookbook

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbsp butter, softened

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 with the racks in the upper and lower third. Butter and flour, or baking spray it up, two 9 inch cake pans. Set them aside. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a larger separate bowl, beat together the butters and sugars until they are light and creamy. Beat it up for about three minutes with some elbow grease. Then beat in the eggs one at a time until it is all nice and combined. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined and then pour in all of the buttermilk. Stir and just as it's about to come together, add the rest of the flour mixture. Now divide the batter between the two pans. Bake the cake for 15 to 25 minutes, alternating halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let them sit in the pan for ten minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Buttercream

From the Joy the Baker Cookbook

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 to 3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted

Scant 1/2 cup of heavy cream 

1/3 cup ovaltine powder

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, cocoa and salt at a medium speed until combined and fluffy. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the milk and vanilla. Beat to combine. Now add 2 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. Slowly beat at first so that it doesn't fly up everywhere and attack you and then increase the speed to combine it all up. That should take about 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed. In a one cup measuring cup, mix together the cream and ovaltine to combine. With the mixer going at a slower speed, slowly pour in the cream mixture until it is all combined. Keep beating until it looks nice and fluffy and delicious. I threw mine in the fridge for 30 minutes before I used it on the cakes.. and ate some while I waited.

Assembly Line Time

2 cups quartered mini reese's cups (optional)

Take one of the cooled cakes and plop it on a cutting board. Grab a big old serrated and thin blade knife. I run this puppy along the top to get rid of the dome on the cake. Mine normally dont turn out to even but as long as you have most of the dome top gone, you're in the clear. Repeat with the other cake. Now grab a pretty cake stand and throw a cooled cake on it, with the cut side facing up. Grab some of the buttercream and spread it on the cake so there is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of buttercream. Cover the buttercream with some quartered reese cups, if you wish. You can skip this part if you don't like them, which is strange because you are making a peanut butter and chocolate cake. Anyways, then plop the other cake on top, with the cut side down. Once it's secure, spread a thin layer of buttercream all over the cake. Put the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This is the crumb coat. It keeps all the crumbs from ruining the pretty appearance of the cake. Once the 30 minutes are up, grab the cake and spread the rest of the buttercream on the cake. Sprinkle the rest of the peanut butter cups on top of the cake. Eat up! Makes one two-layer cake.