Banana Upside Down Cake

I'm finally back home by myself after 10 days of hosting, traveling, and socializing. Also, it's basically May which means it's basically summer (despite that bout of snow we got over the weekend), so there's lots to celebrate. And the best thing to celebrate with? A cake, of course. This recipe is a great casual baking cake, since it doesn't require any fancy layering or frosting or decorating. The bananas speak for themselves, and the caramel seeps into every nook and cranny of the light and airy cake. A scoop of ice cream on top really makes it fantastic, especially when you're looking forward to summer.

Let's start from the bottom, although the cake is flipped over so I guess we're starting from the top. The caramel. Or carmel. However you want to say it, you'll be surprised just how easy it is to make from scratch. I'll admit it's not a true caramel, but heating butter and brown sugar together until thick and bubbly makes a pretty good sauce. A pinch of salt and a splash of rum round out the flavors for the perfect base for this cake (and also a sauce to drizzle on top of the cake and/or more ice cream).

The cake is a pretty standard vanilla cake, though it mixes up more like a Devil's food cake. There's no butter to soften or cream together, just oil and sugar whisked with eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. The dry ingredients are pretty basic too: flour, baking powder, and salt. It mixes up in a matter of minutes for a truly speed cake with all the flavor and fluff of a classic yellow cake.

Assembly is way easier than a fancy layer cake. I spread most of the caramel on the bottom of a deep round cake pan. It should have cooled down from when it was cooked, but if it's too thick to spread just heat it up on the stove for a minute or two until it thins out again. I slice about four very ripe bananas long-ways and fan them out in a single layer on the caramel, flat-side down. You'll probably need to break a couple into pieces for maximum coverage, or you can cut them the other way into coins. The cake batter goes on last, and I tap it on the counter a few times to get out any big air bubbles.

The cake bakes until a toothpick comes out clean, then I invert it onto a fancy plate so you can see all the caramelized bananas and the extra caramel drips down into the cake. It is especially delicious when served warm (even better with some ice cream on top), so no need to wait until it cools down completely. It will cut better if you can stand to wait a few minutes, but it's still better than waiting to cool completely and spreading on layers of frosting. I can't stress this enough: if you want a quick, summery cake to snack on instead of working on your summer bod, this is the way to go.

4 Bananas
1/2 Stick Butter
1 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
3/4 tsp + Pinch Salt
1 T Rum
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Oil
2 tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
1 Cup Buttermilk

Heat the butter and brown sugar together in a medium skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Add a pinch of salt and the rum. Set aside to cool.

Heat oven to 350F and grease a deep 9-10" round cake pan.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and remaining salt together. Combine the oil, sugar, vanilla, egg, egg yolk, and buttermilk. Whisk the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Cut the bananas in half lengthwise. Pour the caramel into the cake pan, then add the bananas cut-side down. Top with the cake batter.

Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. Let cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert.

Makes 1 9-10" Cake
Adapted from Food52

Passover Almond Crinkle Cookies

I don't think these are what my grandma had in mind when she set out to perfect her black and white cookie recipe. For her (and pretty much everyone else on the planet), black and white cookies mean a yellow cakey base with a schmear each of chocolate and vanilla frosting. Unfortunately, those aren't Kosher for Passover, which is looming ahead in all of its gluten-free, leavening-free horror. It's not my favorite holiday. We've been over this. But there are still a few good desserts out there that you can eat for the next few days, like some thumbprint cookies or naturally gluten-free things like sorbet. Adding to that list are these almond crinkle cookies, which are kind of like if you made a really dense, chewy macaron. They're sweet and almondy, and instead of a frosting or jam filling they get rolled in cocoa powder, which crackles as it bakes for a zebra-striped look.

 Because it's Passover, this isn't a normal cookie recipe. Instead of beating your butter and sugar together, adding the eggs, then stirring in the dry ingredients and any mix-ins, you prep your dry ingredients then stir in whipped egg whites and flavorings. That's it! No softening butter, chilling dough overnight, or making sure nobody sneaks a taste from the bag of chocolate chips (guilty).

The dry ingredients are just almond flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt. You're not allowed to have flour or leavening, which makes sure it stays simple. If you wanted an extra chocolatey cookie, you could experiment with adding cocoa powder to the cookie dough itself, but I personally just like the cocoa dusting on the outside.

The wet ingredients consist of whipped egg whites plus a bit of almond extract and vanilla. A stand mixer will make your life much easier here, but a hand mixer or even a whisk and some elbow grease will work in a pinch. You do only need to get them to soft peaks, so it's not as bad as it could be. You'll know they're done when they're foamy, opaque, and the tip curls or flops over immediately when you lift up the whisk. I transfer them to the bowl with the dry ingredients and add the almond and vanilla extracts as I stir it all together. Normally you would be extremely delicate in folding the whites into the dough, but here it will take a bit more force to get the dough to come together. I'm not saying beat the stuff into a pulp, but don't be afraid to get in there with your spatula and squish it together.

I'm normally a big fan of big cookies for that contrast between a soft, gooey center and crispy edges. However, these cookies are best as small bites since you don't want the outsides to brown too much before the center cooks through. You can always eat more cookies to make up for their small size, but you wouldn't want to eat more cookies if they're burnt and raw at the same time. I use my smallest cookie scoop to make 1" balls, then roll them in cocoa powder and transfer them to my parchment-lined baking sheet. I did try some with powdered sugar and they tasted just fine, but for some reason they baked up all lumpy and misshapen when the cocoa-covered ones were perfectly round. For that reason (and because of my love for chocolate), I preferred the cocoa cookies but you can do either one or a few of each. They would be great along with some ice cream at your Passover seder, and you'll forget all about the matzo when you have these to snack on all week.

2 Cups Almond Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Egg Whites
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder and/or Powdered Sugar

Heat oven to 300F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the almond flour, sugar, and salt together. Whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until they reach soft peaks. Stir into the almond flour along with the almond and vanilla extracts.

Roll the dough into 1" balls, then roll each in the cocoa powder or powdered sugar. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes or until crackly and set.

Makes 18-20
Recipe Adapted from Love & Olive Oil

Strawberry Cornmeal Galette

I'm not sure if it's just the stores by me in Chicago, but it seems like strawberries are on sale everywhere. No, it's not strawberry season yet, but if they're cheap and they smell good (a sign of a good strawberry!), why not bake something with them? Most of my strawberry recipes leave the strawberries raw, like this strawberry cheesecake tart and this strawberry white chocolate mousse tart. But actually baking the strawberries into the tart cooks them down into a sweet, jammy filling that nobody can resist, plus it hides the fact that the strawberries aren't quite at their prime yet.

The strawberry filling starts by macerating the strawberries, which basically means you're tossing them in sugar to draw out some of the water. This gives you that jammy texture that's not too liquidy and doesn't soak into the crust to get it all soggy. After 15 minutes, drain off the liquid and add in the rest of the ingredients for the filling: a little more sugar to taste, some lemon juice and zest, a spoonful of cornstarch, and a pinch of salt. If you have really sweet strawberries to begin with, you may not need the extra sugar. The lemon juice and zest balance out the flavors, as does the salt. The cornstarch thickens whatever liquid is left so it doesn't seep out of the tart or through the bottom of the crust.

A regular pie crust would work just fine, but why not make it a little fancier? Cornmeal adds a bit of texture and a gorgeous golden hue. You still make the dough the same way: combine the dry ingredients, pulse in cold butter, and add cold water until it comes together. As with every other crust, keep the ingredients and the dough cold and work it as little as possible. I chill mine while I make the filling to make sure it stays extra cold.

Even though galettes may sound intimidating, they're actually way easier than regular pies or tarts because it's all freeform and they're supposed to look rustic. I take the chilled dough and roll it out to a thin circle-ish shape. The strawberries get piled in the middle, leaving a border around the edge that gets folded over to hold them all in. I start baking at a high temperature then lower it to finish baking. The extra heat creates more steam for a flakier crust and helps set the shape and the lower temperature allows it to cook through without burning. Once it's out of the oven, serve it with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you've got yourself a deceptively simple but fancy dessert.

1 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Sugar, Divided
1/4 tsp + Pinch Salt
1 Stick Butter, Chilled & Cubed
1 1/2 lbs Strawberries
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 T Cornstarch

Pulse the flour, cornmeal, 2T sugar, 1/4 tsp salt together in a food processor until just combined. Pulse in the butter, then gradually add 1/4 cup cold water until the dough begins to clump. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Hull and slice the strawberries. Toss with 1/4 cup sugar and let rest for 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 400F.

Drain the liquid from the strawberries. Toss with the remaining 2T sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt.

Roll the pie dough out to a thin, even circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pile the strawberries onto the dough, leaving a 1-2" border. Fold the edges of the crust up to partially cover the filling. Bake for 8 minutes, then lower the oven to 350F and continue baking for 20-25 minutes or until golden.