Fallen Souffle

It’s crazy that I have had this recipe saved on my Bloglines for almost 3 years! I need to challenge myself to actually make these recipes I have been savings. I got this recipe off of Joe’s Blog. I love how he can post a recipes everyday! Wow, I wish I had that dedication. Maybe that’s another challenge…

So anyways, I was tired of making banana bread but was faced with a plethora of near rotten bananas and a need to bake something fabulous so I thought I would whip this up. It comes together very easily, I made this Thursday night after a workout and while cooking dinner. I brought it into work and it received rave reviews! I made this in a 9×13 inch pan instead of a 15×10 pan so it took about 30-35 minutes to bake. Next time I may make it in 2 round 8 inch pans and double the icing. I may also add a bit of cinnamon in the cake next time.

Overall, a fantastic cake that is moist and tender and perfect for an impromptu office treat or a special birthday.

Picture will hopefully be up tonight…

Banana Bars with Browned Butter Pecan Frosting

For the cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas for me)
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
(I also needed a splash of milk to smooth it out a bit)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

To make the cake

Preheat oven to 375

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined. Add sour cream, mashed banana and vanilla - mix until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Scoop the mixture into a 10″ x 15″ baking pan coated with nonstick spray - spread the top smooth with an off-set spatula. Bake until golden and a toothpick placed in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, about 18 to 25 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium - continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the butter releases a nutty aroma and just starts to turn golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.

In a small bowl, mix together browned butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, vanilla and salt until well combined and smooth. Spread frosting over the bars and sprinkle with pecans.

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So I have been debating whether or not to even write this post but feel like I might as well put it out there as this is the real me and I am no longer ashamed. So much has been going on the last 7 months or so and it’s time to come clean with it. I am currently separated from my husband. I am about 5 months away from being divorced. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be someone to get a divorce. I come from a long line of happily married family members including my parents who are about to celebrate 30 years! However, sometimes life throws you a curveball and forces you to deal with it. So at the end of October I bought my townhouse-which I love- and moved to Raleigh with a room mate. The room mate has thrown me another curveball and is unexpectedly moving out this month. So now I feel like I am starting over again as I have to buy new furniture and deal with my finances in a totally different way. In the meantime, I put on some weight, nothing major but enough to not feel like “myself” hence the reason for the Abs Diet. While that was a great starting point, I have concentrated alot on “cleaning up” my diet, lifting weights, running more, and mountain biking. I just did a 5k this weekend and have decided to run a 10k in two weeks. Maybe I will get the guts to run a marathon by the end of the year. I’m pretty excited to be getting my life back on track, in more ways that one. I have started to see someone, which is always scary when coming off a break up, especially a marriage, but I have trust and faith in myself and am tired of having my life on hold for other people. I have the awesome support of my family and friends which have helped me tremendously through the past 7-8 months.

So that’s why there was a 2 month hiatus, that’s why I am cooking different foods, working out more, and chopping off 8 inches of hair :). I am concentrating on myself and it’s sad that it took an event like this to really focus on my well being. I am doing things now that I love to do; trying new restaurants, going to art galleries, taking long walks with Bella, and planning some really fun trips (Alaska in 3 months!) so life is definitely not boring!

Whew- feels good to get that off my chest…now back to our regularly schedules recipes…..

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