Monkey Tail Banana Cake Food

THE BEST BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan (see Cook's Note) with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two longer sides. Lightly spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
• For the cake, mash the bananas in a large bowl with a fork or potato masher until very smooth. Whisk in the dark brown sugar, melted butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla until smooth and combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
• Fold the dry ingredients into the banana mixture in thirds until just combined. Pour into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Leave the cake in the pan to cool slightly, about 30 minutes. Use the foil overhang to remove the cake from the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, beat the butter, cream cheese and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Reduce to low speed, then add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract.
• Transfer 1/2 cup of the frosting to a small bowl and stir in the dulce de leche until smooth. Cover both frostings with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature until ready to assemble the cake.
• For the candied banana chips, warm the maple syrup in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until it just starts bubbling. Add the banana chips and cook, tossing and stirring frequently with a rubber spatula, until the chips have absorbed almost all the maple syrup and are browned in spots, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately transfer the banana chips to a baking sheet, spread in an even layer and cool completely. Once cool, roughly chop.
• Transfer the cake to a serving platter. Spread about 3/4 cup plain cream cheese frosting all over the top of the cake.
• Dollop the dulce de leche frosting and remaining plain frosting on top, then use a small offset spatula to swirl both frostings together in a swooping design, making sure the frosting goes all the way to the edges of the cake. Top with the chopped candied banana chips.

MONKEY TAILS

Steps:

• Insert 1 pop stick into the cut end of each banana. Place the bananas on a wax paper covered baking sheet and freeze until the bananas are frozen, about 2 hours.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting, for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on your microwave).
• Dip the frozen bananas in the melted chocolate, spooning the chocolate over the banana to cover it completely. Roll in coconut if desired. Place the dipped bananas on the wax paper-covered baking sheet, and freeze until the chocolate is firm.

MONKEY TAIL PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375. Spray 9 inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine all cake ingredients; mix well. Pour batter into sprayed pan. Bake at 375 for 33-36 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove from pan; place on wire rack. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cool.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine pudding mix and 1 cup milk; beat with wire whisk until pudding thickens. Fold in whipped topping and bananas.
• With long serrated knife, cut cake into 2 layers. Place bottom cake layer on serving plate. Top with filling and remaining cake layer.
• In small microwave-safe bowl, microwave frosting on HIGH for 15-30 seconds, stirring until smooth but not runny. Pour warm frosting over top of cake, spreading frosting to edges and allowing some to run down sides. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on warm frosting. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in refrigerator.

DEBBY'S STEAMED BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Generously grease a 10-inch tube pan with the softened butter, making certain that it is thoroughly coated. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
• Break the eggs into a large bowl. Beat vigorously with an electric mixer at high speed until the eggs are light and lemon-colored and have tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 3 minutes. Add the mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla extract, beating well after each addition. Slowly, fold in the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the greased pan.
• Fill a wok or a large pot with water for steaming and heat until boiling. Place the cake pan in a steamer tray over the boiling water or balance it on a trivet or an empty tuna can in the center of the pan. Cover and steam over high heat for 50 minutes, or until the cake is springy to the touch; check the water level after 30 minutes and add more boiling water if necessary. Remove from the steamer and let cool slightly. Unmold the cake onto a platter, cut into slices, and serve warm with tea. To reheat, steam for 10 minutes.

MONKEY TAIL BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. In large bowl, cream together the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth.
• In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the sifted ingredients to the batter.
• Stir in nuts, if using, and chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting: Prepare the frosting by whipping the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until creamy. Increase the mixing speed, then slowly pour in the heavy cream and beat until smooth and thick and the frosting is the consistency of whipped cream. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.
• To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate. Spread with 1/2 the container of chocolate-hazelnut spread and top with a thin layer of whipped cream cheese frosting, about 1/2 cup. Repeat with the second layer, using the remaining 1/2 of the chocolate-hazelnut spread and 1/2 cup whipped frosting. Cook's Note: You will use the chocolate spread only for the bottom 2 layers.
• Top with the final cake layer and frost or decorate with the remaining whipped frosting. Garnish, as desired.
• Cook's Note: There are a couple different things that make this cake above and beyond, but by adding the "secret" ingredient of sour cream to the cake really makes for a much more moist cake. Also I love the sudden surprise of the Nutella in between each layer. For me it brings me back to being a kid and eating chocolate dipped bananas on a stick -- known to some as the "Monkey Tail".

BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray.
• Mix together the cake mix, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• In a mixer with the whisk attachment, mix together the egg whites, vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla, bananas and instant pudding until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients and then then slowly pour in 1 1/3 cups water.
• Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.
• For the praline: In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil without stirring; occasionally swirl the pan gently to blend the sugar. Once the mixture has turned a light caramel color, remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla and the candied pecans. Stir with a spatula and immediately pour out onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Allow to dry until brittle. Break into pieces.
• For the buttercream: Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until hot to the touch; the sugar should be dissolved and look like marshmallow cream.
• Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until the egg whites cool and form a thick, shiny meringue, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, add the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until thick and very smooth, 6 to 10 minutes. Refrigerate.
• To assemble the cake: Mix 1 cup of the crushed praline into 2 cups of the buttercream. Spread the top of one of the cake layers with the praline filling, then stack the second cake layer on top. Ice the entire cake with the remaining buttercream.

CHUNKY MONKEY BANANA TART

Steps:

• For the tart crust: Pulse the walnuts and sugar in a food processor until they are finely ground, about 6 pulses. Add the cold butter and pulse until the walnuts and sugar come together with the butter, but the mixture is not homogenous. Add the flour and salt and pulse again until the butter is the size of small peas. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead until it just comes together. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Lightly flour the dough and roll it between 2 pieces of parchment or plastic wrap to about 1/4 inch thick. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, patching any holes. Use a fork to gently prick the crust, ensuring that steam can escape while it bakes. Freeze until hard, 6 to 8 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the tart crust until pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the pastry cream: While the tart crust dough is chilling, bring the milk, vanilla bean paste and salt to just under a boil in a medium pot over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks in a medium bowl until smooth and combined. Whisking constantly, ladle half the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture, one ladle at a time. Continue until all the hot milk has been whisked in and the egg mixture is now warm.
• Return the milk and egg yolks to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, whisking, until thickened to a pudding consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately strain through a chinois or fine-mesh sieve into a large airtight container. Stir the butter cubes into the pastry cream until melted and combined. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream, and refrigerate until chilled through, about 2 hours.
• For the assembly: Spread the fudge sauce over the cooled tart shell and top with an even layer of thinly sliced bananas (using about half). Add a layer of pastry cream (about 1 cup) and smooth into an even layer; reserve the remaining cream for another use (see Cook's Note). Top with the remaining sliced bananas, shingling them slightly and arranging them in a concentric circle. Sprinkle the sugar over the bananas and brulee with a kitchen blow torch until golden brown. Garnish with some chopped walnuts.

MONKEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch-diameter 3-quart stainless-steel or ovenproof bowl and 1 cup of a large (1-cup capacity) muffin tin; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to medium; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture. Stir in pecans.
• Fill prepared muffin cup three-quarters full. Transfer remaining batter to prepared baking bowl. Transfer to oven, side by side. Bake cupcake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in tin on a wire rack. Continue baking large cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (1 hour and 40 minutes total). Let cool in bowl on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert bowl to remove cake; let cool completely.
• Trim flat side of cake to be level. Trim away top of cupcake to be level. Cut cupcake in half vertically for the two monkey ears. Cut bowl cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate buttercream on top of flat layer. Top with domed layer. Transfer to a cake plate. Spread a thick layer of chocolate buttercream over entire monkey head. Spread buttercream over cupcake ears. Attach ears to sides of head, top of cupcake facing forward, securing with toothpicks.
• Place remaining chocolate frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5). Pipe dots around bottom edge of cake in a continuous line. Switch to a small multi-opening tip (such as Ateco #233); pipe hair on top of head.
• Fill another piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip (such as Ateco #11) with yellow buttercream. Pipe an oval near the front base of cake. Fill in with frosting, and smooth. Place 2 small pieces of licorice rope inside for nose. Add a long piece of rope for mouth. Place licorice drops above oval for eyes. Pipe yellow half-circles in centers of ears; fill in with frosting, and smooth. Decorated cake can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.

MONKEY TAIL BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches, with shortening.
• Beat 1/2 cup shortening and the sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in eggs and bananas until smooth. Beat in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt just until mixed. Stir in peanuts and chocolate chips. Pour into pan.
• Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Place frosting in small plastic food-storage bag. Microwave on High 6 to 10 seconds or until pourable. Add peanut butter to bag; gently squeeze bag until peanut butter and frosting are well blended. Cut off tiny corner of bag. Squeeze bag to drizzle chocolate mixture over bread.

MONKEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a plastic bag combine, 1 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp of cinnamon.
• Cut each biscuit into pieces and put into the bag and coat them with the cinnamon mixture.
• Place in an ungreased bundt pan.
• In a small saucepan, bring to boil, 3/4 cup of butter, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tbsp of white karo syrup and 2 tbsp of cinnamon, stir constantly.
• Pour over biscuits.
• Bake for 35 - 40 minutes.
• Remove from pan immediately, be careful of the cinnamon oozing all over the place. But that is the best part of the cake!

MONKEY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Butter and flour an 8 1/2-inch-diameter 3-quart stainless-steel or oven proof bowl and 1 cup of a large (1-cup capacity) muffin tin; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and brown sugar; mix on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes; mix in eggs.
• Reduce speed to medium; mix in flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture.
• Fill prepared muffin cup three-quarters full.
• Transfer remaining batter to prepared baking bowl.
• Transfer to oven, side by side.
• Bake cupcake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
• Let cool in tin on a wire rack.
• Continue baking large cake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (1 hour and 40 minutes total).
• Let cool in bowl on a wire rack 30 minutes.
• Invert bowl to remove cake; let cool completely.
• Trim flat side of cake to be level.
• Trim away top of cupcake to be level.
• Cut cupcake in half vertically for the two monkey ears.
• Cut bowl cake in half horizontally to make 2 layers.
• Spread 3/4 cup chocolate buttercream on top of flat layer.
• Top with domed layer.
• Transfer to a cake plate.
• Spread a thick layer of chocolate buttercream over entire monkey head.
• Spread icing over cupcake ears.
• Attach ears to sides of head, top of cupcake facing forward, securing with toothpicks.
• Fill a piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip with yellow icing.
• Pipe an oval near the front base of cake.
• Fill in with frosting, and smooth.
• Place 2 small pieces of licorice rope inside for nose.
• Add a long piece of rope for mouth.
• Place Junior Mints above oval for eyes.
• Pipe yellow half-circles in centers of ears; fill in with frosting, and smooth.
• Decorated cake can be refrigerated up to 3 hours.