Monthly Cooking Adventure: Gateau chocolat blanc et cerise (White Chocolate and Cherry Cake)

If I could only have one food for the rest of my life? That's easy: Pez. Cherry flavored Pez. -- Stand By Me.

Sorry for the extended silence but there have been many changes chez nous. In short ... we moved! Goodbye Lincoln Center and hello Washington Heights! This is a total change of area, apartment, (kitchen!) and commute but, while we now spend a bit longer on our subway rides, the changes are definitely for the best.

So after taking a few days to organize my "perfect" kitchen (using help from various sources), we invited some friends over and turned June's Monthly Cooking Adventure (just a few days late) into a 4th of July Housewarming Party. And how did I break in the new kitchen, you ask? By going off-diet and making a wonderful Gateau chocolat blanc et cerise (White Chocolate and Cherry Cake), Poivrons rouges farcis aux carottes (Red Peppers Stuffed with Carrots) and Corn and Edamame Salad with Mint. (Links are to recipes I adapted.)

**A note about the cake: This was my first time working with white chocolate (and I'm already not much of a baker) so I learned a lot along the way. The biggest issue was that I used too much butter (since white chocolate already has such a high butterfat content) so I ended up pouring off excess oil after the cake was cooked. I've adjusted the ingredient amounts below to reflect what I believe will work but, if you make it, use your best judgment and let us know how it turned out! Also, while my inspirational recipe (from Chocolate & Zucchini) didn't include one, I've added an (optional) crumble topping. This cut the sweetness nicely and also provided a texture contrast. I highly recommend this with vanilla ice cream. Bon appetit!

Gateau chocolat blanc et cerise
inspired by Chocolate & Zucchini

• 1/4 pound unsalted butter (1 stick) + additional to grease pan
• 8 ounces white chocolate
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4/5 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups cherries, pitted and chopped
• 1/3 cup pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon French sea salt
• 1/3 cup nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachio nuts and/or walnuts), toasted

Start your preparations: Preheat oven to 325 F and butter a 10-inch springform pan.

Microwave white chocolate and butter together for 1 minute, then stir until well-combined.

Add sugar and stir with a wooden spoon. Let rest 5 minutes. Add cream a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Mash cherries, then add to the batter. Sift in flour and salt and stir until just combined.

Pour batter into pan and bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cake in there to rest for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely, unclasping sides of the pan. Sprinkle top with nuts. Once it's room temperature, transfer to refrigerator and let chill several hours (at least 4). Enjoy!

Edible Inspirations:

• Moelleux chocolat et framboises from Histoire sans faim
• Chocolate-Raspberry Layer Cake from Bon Appetit Magazine
• Raspberry and Chocolate Ganache Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream from Evil Shenanigans
• Mini Black Raspberry & White Chocolate Crepe Cakes from Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
• Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Ice Cream from Cherry Tea Cakes

Chunky Banana Bran Muffins

Without a doubt, February has been the banana month. I think it's something about the weather (not that it's been particularly wintry this month but bear with me): when it's cold, I crave sweets. Not sugar so much but definitely fruits. And heavier foods. And spices (especially cinnamon). All of these lead me to baking, hence the influx of muffins.

So when the end of the month rolled around and it was time for our Monthly Cooking Adventure, I knew I wanted to make something with bananas. I was inspired by a recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home. I wanted to make the flavor more complex, however, so I added a sour undertone with creme fraiche and lemongrass. Not wanting the sour to be overpowering, in went some sweet cinnamon and nutmeg. That led us to "theme" the evening "Breakfast for dinner" so some Beet Pancakes with Pomegranate Syrup came along for the ride. To round it all out, we drank the vegetarian's Pomegranate Mimosas. Bon appetit!

Chunky Banana Bran Muffins
inspired by Barefoot Contessa at Home

• 2 cups wheat bran
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons creme fraiche
• 3 medium eggs
• 2/3 cup blackstrap molasses
• zest from 1/2 orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemongrass, minced very finely
• 1/2 teaspoon safflower oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
• 2 cups raisins
• 2 bananas, diced
• 2 cups walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If desired, fill muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together wheat bran and buttermilk. Set aside. In a food processor, cream together butter and sugar for 5 minutes.

Add creme fraiche, eggs, molasses, orange zest, vanilla extract, lemongrass and safflower oil, pulsing 1-4 times and then scraping down the sides after each addition. Add the bran-buttermilk mixture and pulse another 4 times. In a clean large bowl, stir together cinnamon, flour, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg. Add to food processor in three stages, pulsing 5 times and scraping down the sides after each addition. Don't overmix! Fold in raisins, bananas and walnuts. Fill muffin pans full with batter and bake 25 minutes. Makes 24 muffins.

Links to other banana cinnamon delicacies:

• Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Streusel from OliePants
• Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread from Big Mama's Home Kitchen
• Banana Vanilla Cinnamon French Toast from Mama to 4 Blessings
• Cinnamon Banana Bread from Man and Van Moving Blog
• Banana, Blueberry, Cinnamon and Strawberry Yogurt Muffins from Bakersbeans

Cherry Vanilla Smoothie

Everyone has a favorite taste memory and mine is Haagen-Dazs Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream. This was also my grandfather's favorite ice cream. He had a real sweet tooth and would often pick up all kinds of delicacies from the local bakery which (aside from rainbow cookies) I would decline, much to his chagrin. But whenever there was cherry vanilla ice cream in the freezer, I always had room for dessert. It's been about fifteen years now since I lost my grandfather but, whenever I'm feeling low and in need of comfort, I still always turn to cherry vanilla ice cream.

Lately, though, I haven't been able to find it at Fairway. (Has anyone else found this? Please tell me they haven't discontinued it!) And I do know that ice cream is not the best way to sneak more fruits into our diet. So I used this flavor combination as a jumping-off point and created a smoothie instead, using real frozen cherries and vanilla frozen yogurt, as well as some cinnamon, apple juice, applesauce and maple syrup (Grade B, so you really get the maple flavor). I also discovered a forgotten bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer, so those went in as well. And I snuck in some wheat bran and peanut butter for added health benefits and to thicken the mixture. (Even the vegetarian admitted their tastes weren't discernible.) This was a sweet smoothie -- more suited to dessert than breakfast in my opinion -- but it's was really delicious. The only thing to watch out for is that mine was a bit chunky; all those tiny blueberries somehow managed to escape the blender's blades. Enjoy with (or after) Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers. Bon appetit!

Cherry Vanilla Smoothie
inspired by Smoothie Web

• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 3 tablespoons applesauce
• 1 teaspoon wheat bran
• 2 scoops vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 cup Grade B maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Links to other cinnamon delicacies:

• Heart Cinnamon Rolls from Instructables
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes from From Away
• Cinnamon Roll Pancakes from Life as a Lofthouse
• Cinnamon Roll Scones from Annie's Eats
• Cinnamon Squares from Crumbs and Cookies

Not Box Muffins

I'm not a baker. See, when I'm cooking, I like allowing myself to just be seized by the moment and, while reaching for the allspice, allow my gaze to travel down to the vanilla and think ... maybe I'll throw that in too! And I can't experiment like that with baking. Oh, sure, I can play around with spices but it's when I start getting really adventurous and swap out eggs or add in buttermilk that things can get dicey. Because, when I'm baking, I have to keep track of the ratios of solids to liquids and acids to bases and, well, I never took chemistry for a reason!

But, somehow, all those insecurities go out the window when I make muffins. For some reason, I can't mess them up. (Oh, look, now I've gone and jinxed myself. Silly omnivore.) Seriously, though, as long as I have a leavening agent(s), I'm good. And whether they rise a lot or a little -- it's fine. As long as they're cooked through and over the top of the muffin pan, I'm happy.

These muffins are very much made from scratch. So much so that, while they were in the oven I kept turning on the light to check and make sure they were ok! The primary impetus was two bananas left over from my frappe that were turning dangerously brown and splotchy. But I didn't want them to taste terribly bananaey (especially since the vegetarian doesn't much care for their taste) and I wanted a little kick so some chile peppers went in as well, along with buttermilk, allspice, vanilla and, to round everything out, Armagnac. They're not quite savory but also not quite sweet. In fact they taste to me like mild banana muffins but with a little unexpected kick at the end. Perfect to wake you up in the morning or the afternoon. Enjoy with ginger almonds and a glass of Armagnac. Or buttermilk, depending on your preference. Bon appetit!

Not-Box Muffins
inspired by Food.com

• 8 tablespoons butter
• seeds from 1 vanilla bean
• 4 jalapeno peppers, seeds and white membranes removed, grated
• 3 bananas, the riper the better
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon Armagnac
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice, ground
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick oats

Melt butter (easiest in a microwave) and stir in vanilla seeds. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas and jalapeno peppers together with a potato masher until well-combined. Add sugar (microwave briefly if hard and lumpy) and buttermilk. Stir in butter and vanilla seeds and Armagnac. In a medium-sized bowl, combine allspice, baking powder, flour and oats. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Butter muffin pan or fill with muffin liners. Fill at least 3/4 way (they won't rise much so it's fine if you fill them higher). Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a chopstick inserted into the biggest muffin comes out clean. Let rest 2 minutes, then enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Links to other banana delicacies:

• Bananas Foster Shortcakes from Inspired Taste
• Banana Nutella Pops from The eMeals Blog
• Chocolate Yogurt Puddings with Strawberries, Bananas and Cocoa Nibs from The Teacup Chronicles
• Butterscotch Pudding with Caramelized Bananas and Cream from Joy the Baker
• Banana Blast from Redman Family Favorites