Mexican Chocolate Banana Skillet Cake Food

MINI CHOCOLATE CAKES WITH CARAMELIZED BANANAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a microwave, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Cool. Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Sift in flour; mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate mixture., Spoon batter into 8 buttered 4-oz. ramekins dusted with cocoa. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 12-15 minutes. Run a small knife around sides of ramekins. Invert onto cooling rack; let stand 5 minutes. Remove ramekins; place cakes on individual plates., For bananas, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss banana slices with sugar until well coated; arrange in a single layer in skillet. Do not stir bananas until bottoms are golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Turn; cook until second side is golden brown, 4-5 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Place bananas on plates with cakes., For sauce, heat wine and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Whisk in chocolate. Pour over cakes.

CHOCOLATE BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix instant coffee with water set aside for later. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder together taking care that all the components are well combined and evenly distributed. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and shortening with paddle attachment on 2nd speed until combined. Add sugar, sour cream, vanilla extract, coffee mixture, and salt starting on 1st seed and gradually moving to 2nd speed until light and fluffy (approximately 8 minutes). At 1 1/2 speed add the whole eggs, in small amounts, until smooth and fully incorporated. Add dry ingredients and banana puree in staggering steps to the mixer and blend until well combined.
• Pour into greased sheet pans or 4 (4 by 13-inch round cake pans and bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE-BANANA MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, egg, melted butter and milk until incorporated.
• Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients just until blended (but do not over-mix as it could result in a tough muffin). Stir in the chopped Mexican chocolate.
• Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
• Bake the muffins until the tops are pale golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer the muffins to rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then remove from the muffin tins.

BANANA SKILLET UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare banana bread batter according to package directions; stir in walnuts., In a 10-in. ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium heat; stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Add lemon juice; cook and stir until slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Arrange bananas in a single layer over brown sugar mixture; sprinkle with coconut., Spoon prepared batter over coconut. Bake until dark golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm.

CHOCOLATE-BANANA BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F Coat Bundt pan with baking spray. Combine butter, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and water in medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring, until mixture is homogenous, about 2 minutes.
• Whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl, then, mix in cocoa mixture. Whisk in bananas and sour cream, then eggs and vanilla. Stir in walnuts.
• Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
• Transfer cake to cooling rack and cool 10 minutes, then invert directly onto rack and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve.