Tag Archives: quick-bread

Gingerbread Loaf with Caramelized White Chocolate Ganache

December 14, 2015 Keep It Sweet 3 Comments

This Christmas dessert is a lightened up gingerbread loaf topped with an indulgent caramelized white chocolate ganache.

Something very major happened this weekend.

I had an entire day (over six hours straight!) to myself. If you are wondering why this is such a big deal I must tell you, this is the longest period of time I’ve had to do whatever I wanted since before L (almost 14 months old) was born. Seriously, it was blissful. I went to the gym, got a pedicure, painted my finger nails (who has the patience to sit at a nail salon for both?) and got a little work done. In fact, I am really proud of myself for not working the whole time.

After a full year plus of breastfeeding, it’s weird to be able to just be able to be away from L. I got so used to working everything around his feeding schedule that I forgot how to live otherwise. Freedom!

And let’s be honest, I still spent twenty minutes of my me time watching L videos. I couldn’t help myself.

I did put together this post in the final hour of my alone time so that it would be ready to publish and kick off the week. It’s a little Christmas treat that I am excited about because it you can convince yourself that it is brunch food or dessert food. The gingerbread loaf itself is sort of healthy. Some whole wheat flour snuck into the batter and I even replaced some of the butter with applesauce. As a result, it pairs perfectly with the caramelized white chocolate ganache. Together you get a wonderful sweet and spiced bite. It’s not too much sweet for a holiday brunch but it’s indulgent enough to end your Christmas dinner.

The gingerbread loaf is easy to make, it’s a basic quick-bread. The caramelized white chocolate ganache isn’t hard, but it does require a little extra attention. Caramelized white chocolate might just be one of my favorite dessert surprises (and seriously, I dislike white chocolate very much). It’s flavor is so much more complex than you might expect. It’s definitely worth the little bit of time it takes to get the white chocolate just right. Once it’s done caramelizing, you just mix it with some boiled heavy cream and pour it over your loaf! Your family and holiday guests will love this treat.

Gingerbread Loaf with Caramelized White Chocolate Ganache

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This Christmas dessert is a lightened up gingerbread loaf topped with an indulgent caramelized white chocolate ganache.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

Gingerbread Loaf

· 135g (~1 cup) all-purpose flour
· 155g (~1 cup) white whole wheat flour
· 5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
· 1½g (1½ teaspoons) ginger
· 1½g (¾ teaspoon) nutmeg
· 2½g (½ teaspoon) salt
57]g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
· 175g (2/3 cup) unsweetened applesauce
· 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
· 30g (2 tablespoons, packed) light brown sugar
· 80 milliliters] (1/3 cup) molasses (original unsulphered)
· 110g (2 large) whole eggs, at room temperature
· 7 milliliters (1 ½) teaspoons vanilla
237 milliliters·(1 cup) buttermilk

Ganache

140g good quality white chocolate, roughly chopped (make sure to use real white chocolate, white chocolate chips will not work as well)
2½g (1/2 teaspoon) sea salt
45 milliliters (3 tablespoons) heavy cream

Instructions

Gingerbread Loaf

Pr-heat oven to 350 degrees; grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray and set aside (you can also line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal)
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and salt; set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, mix together butter, applesauce and sugars on low-medium speed until well combined
Mix in molasses on medium speed until combined; mix in eggs and vanilla
Add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined; slowly add buttermilk while mixer is on low speed; add remaining dry ingredients and mix just until combined; do not overmix
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from center, do not overbake; allow to cool for ten minutes before running a knife along the edges and removing from pan
While loaf is cooling, make ganache
Make caramelized white chocolate

Ganache

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees and place wrack in center of oven
Spread white chocolate evenly over a clean rimmed baking sheet
Put in oven for ten minutes; remove pan and use a rubber spatula to stir and spread white chocolate
Place in oven again and repeat for additional fifteen to twenty (stirring every five to ten minutes) minutes or until white chocolate begins to darken into a light brown
I recommend reducing the increments to five minutes towards the end of caramelizing to prevent burning
When caramelized white chocolate is done, place in a heat-safe bowl and stir in sea salt
In a small sauce pan, place cream over medium-high heat and bring to a rolling boil (do not stir); immediately pour over white chocolate
Allow cream and chocolate to sit for one minute then whisk vigorously until smooth
Drizzle ganache over loaf and serve
Best enjoyed that day
Make ahead tips: Bake gingerbread loaf and wrap well in seran wrap; store at room temperature for one day before making ganache or in freezer up to one month

Notes

Adapted from Tastes of Lizzy T’s

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Blog, Recipes

Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread

June 16, 2015 Keep It Sweet 9 Comments

My go-to banana bread recipe loaded with blueberries is perfect for easy summer baking.

There are a few basic recipes everyone should have in their back pocket. A chocolate chip cookie, a basic dependable chocolate cake, and fudgy brownies. You should also have a go-to banana bread recipe. Need something to bring to brunch? Banana bread. A bazillion almost-rotten bananas on your counter? Banana bread. Want an easy after-school treat for your kids? Banana bread.

I’ve made a few and shared them here, but this is my favorite. I think of it as an every day banana bread because it’s made with whole wheat flour and very little butter and it’s super easy to make (no mixer required). Plus, the light and moist base lends itself to any kind of mix-in you would like (blueberries, chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or even peanut butter chips!) making it extra handy. Have I sold you yet? If so, head over to Meyer’s Styles for the recipe. Save it and use it all the time!

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Healthy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

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Low Fat & Whole Wheat Vanilla Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Quinoa Banana Bread

October 7, 2013 Keep It Sweet 17 Comments

This hearty but moist banana bread is healthy enough for breakfast while still being sweet enough to feel like a treat.

I have so much good stuff for you. There was basically a three-day baking marathon to get ahead on blog posts. The problem is, whenever I build up some recipe inventory, I have the hardest time waiting to share everything.

This banana bread isn’t quite the most exciting recipe of the bunch, but it was necessary. Sometimes you just need a baked good that isn’t going to give you an internal guilt trip if you eat it for breakfast! Plus, with the bazillion brown bananas on my counter, banana bread was inevitable (my frozen banana collection is already out of control).

What I love about this recipe is that the banana bread came out moist but hearty. I had a habit of cutting off a bit at a time until a huge slice was devoured, but Matt also enjoyed it for snacks over the course of a few days. I think his favorite way to eat it was toasted with a smear of almond butter.

Quinoa flour is an ingredient I’ve never used before. It’s actually commonly used in gluten-free recipes (there are some here), which is why I bought it in the first place, but I had bookmarked this high protein banana bread on Madison’s site a few months ago and decided to try it out. Wondering where to get quinoa flour? I actually found it at TJ Maxx (random much?), but Whole Foods, health food stores and Amazon are probably good resources as well. I’m looking forward to playing around with it in future recipes!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Quinoa Banana Bread

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This hearty but moist banana bread is healthy enough for breakfast while still being sweet enough to feel like a treat.

Makes: 8 nice-sized slices

Ingredients

2 ounces (4 tablespoons / ½ stick) unsalted butter, softened
6⅞ ounces (1¼ cups) white whole wheat flour
2 ounces (~1/2 cup) quinoa flour
10½ ounces (~1 cup) mashed brown banana (~3 medium)
1⅞ ounces (~1/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 x-large egg lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup milk (any type will work, I used almond milk) at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3½ ounces (~1/2 cup) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; lightly grease and flour a loaf pan; set aside
Brown the butter: Heat butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, when butter turns to an amber/light brown color, remove from heat immediately (You should be able to smell the deeper more caramel flavor of the butter) pour browned butter immediately into a small bowl and set aside to cool
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours; set aside
In a large bowl, combine banana browned butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla; whisk until all ingredients are combined
Add milk, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; whisk until combined
Slowly whisk in flour mixture and do NOT overmix; when flour is ALMOST combined, fold in chocolate chips; again, do not overmix
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until knife comes out clean from center
Set aside to cool before removing from pan to slice

Notes

Very slightly adapted from Espresso and Cream
Store tightly wrapped with seran wrap for a few days; you can also freeze individually wrapped slices for future snacking
The brown butter isn’t prominent and you could likely just melt the butter instead, but I do think it added just a little something to the recipe

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Get ready for more butter, more sugar, and more indulging over the next few weeks.

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread

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Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread {Guest Post}

November 8, 2011 Keep It Sweet 17 Comments

Hi, friends! I have so much to share with you from my Foodbuzz weekend but an apartment full of boxes is keeping me from the blog right now. In fact, I still haven’t found my underwear (thank G-d for now having a washer and dryer in the apartment!). On the upside, I don’t have to go to the gym yet since I can’t find my sneakers either.

In the meantime, I have another guest post for you. This one is from my amazing sister, Jessica. She is the reason I started the blog so I owe all of my Keep It Sweet life to her. The best part about this guest post? I get to eat this delicious pumpkin bread when she brings it for Thanksgiving.

Full disclosure: I do not bake. My sister and my mom – they bake. Me – I cook. I clean the dishes when they bake. But any time I try to bake, I am reminded of why I don’t bake.

Despite this fact, I offered to do a guest post for my sister while she takes care of the 8 million other things going on in her life. Ya’ know, like moving and preparing to host Thanksgiving dinner for our family.

So I decided to make one of my mom’s classic and easy recipes – pumpkin bread. Classic because everyone knows it and loves it. Easy because I was able to make it through the whole recipe without asking any questions. And to add my own little touch, I took one of my mom’s favorite touches – chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar – and put it in the center. And here’s what I got: Cinnamon Sugar Swirl, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Of course, being the non-baker that I am, something still went wrong. When the top of the loaf started burning and spilling over the edges before the center was cooked, I realized that I filled the pan way too high. Note to self: When they say flour makes bread rise, they mean it. Take that into consideration before filling a pan to the top.

[print_this]

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Adapted from My Favorite Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

Dry:

3 cups sugar

3 ½ cups flour

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp salt

Wet:

1 cup oil

2 cups pumpkin

2/3 cup water

4 eggs

Filling:

2 ounces semi-sweet mini chocolate chips plus additional for sprinkling on top

2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (I used a pre-mixed version but you can make your own to taste)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

First mix the dry ingredients, then mix them in with the wet ingredients.

Spray two 2-pound loaf pans.

Fill pans about halfway and then sprinkle cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips.

Pour batter on top, filling the pan about ¾ of the way (take it from me, you don’t want to fill it all the way). Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips.

Cook at 350 for about an hour.

Enjoy Smile

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Blog, Recipes

Strawberry Banana Bread and Childhood Friends

July 18, 2011 Keep It Sweet 62 Comments

Another summer weekend has come and gone and I feel like time is really flying. I spent this past weekend in Philly for a bachelorette party and bridal shower for one of my best friends since fourth grade. One of my favorite things about weddings is the series of events where you get to be with a group of friends who wouldn’t normally be in one place. Seeing a half dozen girls that I’ve known since elementary school and catching up on life was so nice. The most amazing part is that we can all do such different things with our lives but still come back to the same place and connect. The group of girls (or women I guess I should say now!) included a lawyer, a doctor, two teachers, a marketing coordinator and an assignment editor at a local news station. We live in different cities along the east coast and are a range of single, engaged and married but still we have that same place in our hearts for where we grew up.

This Strawberry Banana Bread is a post for the Secret Recipe Club. If you haven’t heard about it before, the Secret Recipe Club is a community of bloggers that, once a month, picks a recipe from a selected blog to make and share on his or her blog. It is a great way to find new blogs to read and see what different types of things people are making. For this month, I was able to choose a recipe from Katherine Martinelli. She has a wonderful blog with a ton of delicious looking recipes. There are a lot of savory dishes I want to try, but for Keep It Sweet, I obviously went with a baked good.

Thanks to several overripe bananas, I chose to make Katherine’s Banana-Walnut Bread. The changes I made were to replace the butter with fat free plain greek yogurt, reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup, use all whole wheat flour, skip the walnuts and add about a cup of chopped strawberries as she suggested. The bread was moist and flavorful. It was a great way to use up some produce on the end of its life! Check out Katherine’s blog and go here for the original recipe.

Do you keep in touch with any childhood friends? How often do you see them?

Cookie cakes, dessert platters, pop-ups and more!

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