Banana Cake with THE BEST Chocolate Frosting

Happy Spring-ish! Easter is this weekend so naturally it might snow today in Chicago. Sigh.

Moving right along...you must make this frosting. It's my go-to frosting for just about anything that needs to be frosted. It's also excellent left over and smeared on graham crackers or spoons. :)

And because making an entire batch of frosting for only a spoon is not socially acceptable, I give you a delicious vehicle! Banana cake is a favorite in our house. My oldest requests it every year for his birthday. I have made A LOT of banana cake recipes. While I'm not married to any of them, I come back to the one from my Gourmet cook book most often. I always make it in a 9x13 pan so they turn out like more of a banana bar, but they are quick and easy for a weekday treat.

~Erin

Banana Cake with THE BEST Chocolate Frosting

Author: Erin (adapted from Gourmet and Cake Central)

Ingredients

• Cake


• 1 c. ripe bananas, mashed


• 2 1/4 c. flour


• 3/4 tsp. baking soda


• 1/2 tsp. baking powder


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1/4 plain yogurt


• 1/2 c. butter, softened


• 1 c. sugar


• 2 eggs


• 2 tsp. vanilla


• Frosting


• 1/2 c. butter softened


• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Hershey's)


• 1/2 c. chocolate syrup (again, such as Hershey's)


• 3 c. powdered sugar


• 1 Tbs. milk


• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350.


2. Spray or butter and flour a 9x13 pan.


3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.


4. Beat butter and sugar together on medium-high speed till light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.


5. In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, yogurt, and vanilla.


6. Gradually add flour mixture to butter and sugar, alternating with banana mixture. End with flour mixture and mix only till just combined.


7. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.


8. Bake on middle rack until top is springy and toothpick comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting

1. Combine butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate syrup in mixer on low speed till combined.


2. Gradually add powdered sugar on low speed till combined. Add milk and vanilla.


3. Increase mixer speed to medium and mix till frosting is smooth. Add a little more milk or sugar if needed to get a nice spreadable consistency.


4. Apply generously to cooled cake. Or to whatever else your heart desires!

Notes

Here's the deal...both the cake recipe and the frosting recipe call for sifting your dry ingredients (before measuring). I am lazy when it comes to this extra step. So unless I'm making it for people I'm not related to, I don't sift. Perhaps my cake is a little denser but otherwise I can't tell the difference. Either way people will love it. :)

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Chicken Ramen Soup

It baffles the mind that you can buy an entire case of ramen noodles at Aldi for less than $3. No wonder they're the official meal of college students across the country. When the only cooking supplies I had consisted of a hot pot and tap water ramen noodles made a daily appearance on my menu and I was perfectly fine with it. Now that my kitchen (and budget) has expanded I still have found a use for them! I always keep several packages of ramen noodles in my pantry. If you break them up and toast them under a broiler they make the best topping for any salad, especially an Asian chopped salad or coleslaw...yum! However they tend to get the most regular use at my house around lunch time. I love to doctor them up a bit and make this chicken soup. You can add any veggies you have in your refrigerator or freezer. I prefer carrots, peas, corn, and/or edamame. Some other great options might be cabbage, broccoli, red pepper, celery, or spinach. Feel free to experiment! The same is true with the chicken, you could easily use shrimp, pork or beef instead of the chicken. Just don't skip the cilantro or the red pepper flakes- they're my favorite part! This soup does not keep well so be sure to eat it as soon as its ready and don't plan on keeping leftovers unless you don't mind eating it as pasta instead of soup! Its a perfect spring lunch, especially on rainy days like we're having here today. So run out to Aldi or Walmart or wherever and take advantage of the $3 special- it will make you lunch for the next two weeks. How do you beat that??

Chicken Ramen Soup

Recipe Type: Soup

Author: Wendy

Prep time: 3 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 13 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 1 pckg chicken ramen noodle soup


• 2 c. water


• 1 c. peas


• 1/2 c. chopped carrots


• 1/4 c. chopped cilantro


• 1 c. chicken breast, chopped


• 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes


• 1 Tbsp olive oil


• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until slightly browned and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the pot, place on a plate and keep warm.


2. Back in the soup pot add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil. Add the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles. Discard the vegetable packet from the soup package.


3. Add the ramen noodles, peas and carrots and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.


4. Add in the chicken and red pepper flakes, simmer for another 2-3 minutes.


5. Remove from heat. Separate into 2 or 3 serving bowls and add in the cilantro and salt & pepper to taste.

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