“Ew, Sarah, why would you EVER put sea salt and bananas together?” – You
What can I say, I’m good at reading minds. But you know what I was slightly less good at until recently? Baking banana bread. It has literally (and I mean literally, not figuratively…there is, in fact a difference) taken me YEARS to come up with the perfect banana bread recipe. I posted one back in my Tumblr-blogging days that I’m pretty sure consisted mostly of chia seeds. Not to hate on chia seeds (they have their time and place), but this recipe is tastier for sure, and just as healthy. Now, to address your sea salt inquiry, it’s pretty much universal knowledge these days that sea salt and dark chocolate are the new power couple. Caramel tries to make it a love triangle, but I am definitely on Team Chocolate. And lately, I have been putting dark chocolate in and on everything I can get my hands on.
Why?
Well, I’m celebrating, because (Spoiler: if you follow me on Instagram, then neither of the following things are going to be “big news” to you) after a whirlwind year of suddenly changing plans and deciding NOT to take a year off, I took graduate auditions and was accepted to everywhere I applied! I’m going to be pursuing my Master’s degree next year at the conservatory of my dreams in New York City, and I couldn’t be more excited. I also gave my senior recital a few weeks ago to a lot of positive feedback, which means I officially CAN graduate and go to New York City. Also, Ithought the performance went well had a lot of fun giving it, which for self-doubting and perpetually unsatisfied me was kind of big.
So, yeah… I’m declaring that I now deserve to put chocolate in everything. You can judge me or whatever, but you’re going to be thanking my little chocolate binge when you taste this banana bread. Notice I said when, not if, because that’s how sure I am that you need to make it immediately.
Just in case you’re not convinced yet and need a REALLY compelling reason to make it (other than that it’s chocolate banana bread and because I said so), it will use up your ugly, mushy, seemingly inedible bananas. I bet you’ve thrown out some spotty/browning bananas in your time, thinking they were unusable. Think again, my friend – your banana-wasting days have passed, because for this recipe and banana bread in general, the spottier the better! (Unless they’re actually rotten and wrinkled… Then you probably shouldn’t cook with them. :P)
These are what perfect banana bread bananas look like. <3
Also, this bread came out super moist, and has just the right texture! You could also omit the chocolate chips or walnuts (or both) and the base recipe would come out fine. I will definitely be keeping this as my go-to banana bread recipe!
1 cup unbleached whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup oat flour (may do 1 and 1/2 cups oat flour for gluten free alternative)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup 60% dark chocolate chips, plus 1 tbs. for melting
1/4 cup walnuts
Sea Salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
In a mixing bowl, mash peeled bananas thoroughly until mostly smooth. Some small lumps of fruit will remain, that’s ok!
Mix in melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla, and then add the egg/egg white (adding the egg and coconut oil too closely together may cause the egg to cook in the hot oil).
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients (except for the 1 tbs. of chocolate chips for melting), and then slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet.
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan.*
Melt the remaining chocolate chips, pour onto the batter, and swirl with a fork. Sprinkle the top lightly with sea salt, and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
*I recommend using coconut oil spray, which I swear by for baking, roasting, and sauteeing! So flavorful, and so much better for you than most non-stick sprays.
Well, friends, I have officially reached the home stretch. My graduate auditions start on Sunday in New York, and things are starting to feel very, very real. Until they’re over, my days will be filled with a lot of mental preparation, meditation, and positive thinking (not to mention, lots of practicing). When all that eventually proves exhausting (which it will), this chocolate cake should be a pretty decent substitute. This recipe was created on an impulse yesterday, when my teacher called me at 2:45 to ask why I wasn’t at my lesson. I had misheard her and written my lesson time down for 3:30, but she had actually told me 2:30. Although it was an honest mistake and I’ve never done that before, I was really frustrated at myself and the situation. Since I was already having a pretty bad day to begin with, I turned to the only remedy I could think of – chocolate. For a chocoholic, bad day + bad luck + chocolate = good day. Always.
For those of you who don’t already know, I am also a tea-holic. I gave up coffee over a year ago, and have found that I’m now so detoxed from caffeine that I’m essentially unable to drink it without feeling sick (you may use your one complimentary eye-roll now). I occasionally have tea in the morning, but I almost always have a cup before bed because I just reeeeeally really love tea. If you’re having a hard time visualizing my obsession, my roommate bought a next-to-the-Keurig organizer for our living room over winter break, and its contents are 90% my tea boxes and 10% K-Cups. Oops. I’ve also been buying teas faster than I can actually use them, so I figured it was time to start using my tea stash creatively.
The last element that went into the creation of this beautiful cake was the container of coconut cream I had in my fridge waiting to be used. Coconut cream is the delectable layer of dense, rich, creamy, coconutty deliciousness that can be found when a can of coconut milk is left to separate in the refrigerator. With a little bit of cocoa powder, maple syrup, and a lot of lactic acid (thanks, biceps!) I turned the cream into a smooth and fluffy mousse, and the Chocolate Chai Mousse Cake was born.
I used a fancy pan that I bought from Ikea to make this cake, because I’ve had it for months and it was just begging to be broken in with something delicious. However, you don’t have to be fancy, and could even make this into a thin layer cake by dividing the batter into two round pans and then putting the mousse in the middle instead. Since you won’t get to see how awesome this pan is in any pictures of the decorated cake, heres a picture of it pre-decorated in all its beauty:
1 and 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/4 cup cacao powder
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (8 oz.) boiling water
1 bag of chai tea (I used Spiced Rooibos Chai from Trader Joe’s)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Mousse
Cream from one can of full-fat coconut milk (leave can in refrigerator upside down for a day or two, then open right side up and scoop out the cream)
1/2 tbs cacao powder
1 tbs. maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
In a mixing bowl, stir together whole wheat pastry flour, cacao, coconut sugar, and baking soda.
Bring 8 oz of water to a boil (I just microwaved a mug with 8 oz. of water for 3 minutes) and let your tea bag steep for 5-10 minutes, depending on the intensity of flavor you want. Once steeped to your liking, remove your tea bag and drop the coconut oil into the hot tea to melt it.
Once completely melted, pour the tea/oil mixture into your dry ingredients, mix to combine, and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk egg and vanilla and then stir into the cake batter.
Pour batter into a cake pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the mixture is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
Mousse
Combine the coconut cream, cacao, and maple syrup, whisking heavily until fluffy and completely combined.
Notes
If your coconut cream is very solid and you’re having a hard time mixing, you may choose to gradually add some of the leftover coconut milk from your can until the mousse is at a satisfactory consistency. Do not put the mousse on the cake until it has cooled completely! Decorate with sprinkles or dust with a little bit of cocoa.
What does one do with a free evening after all of the day’s obligations have been met? Definitely not go to sleep at a reasonable hour. But a blogging marathon? NOW we’re speaking the same language.
I made these almond butter and jelly bars a few weeks back as an experiment and liked how they turned out, so I served them to all the guests at my teacher’s studio recital. I was going to tweak the crust (it’s a bit chewy and I was going for crumbly) but I got pretty good feedback from the crowd, so I decided to post the recipe now. If I edit it, as always, I will update the changes! Because these bars do not contain any refined sugar or sugar substitutes, they are not overwhelmingly sweet, but with all of the flavors they have going on, you won’t miss the sugar.
Ingredients:
Crust
2 cups oat flour
1/2 cup almond milk (unsweetened vanilla works best)
1/8 cup almond butter
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 tsp almond extract
“Jelly”
1/2 cup dates, boiled and mashed
2 cups whole strawberries, fresh or frozen, tops removed
6 oz. raspberries, fresh or frozen
6 oz. blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 tbs. honey
1/4 cup chia seeds
3-4 tablespoons almond butter, melted
Method:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately for the crust. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and knead until combined. Pat dough evenly into a 13’x9′ or similarly sized baking pan (nonstick or greased – I like coconut oil spray for baking) and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until crust is set. Remove from oven and set aside. While the crust is baking, bring dates covered with about 1 1/2 inches of water to boil in a deep skillet. Boil for about 5 minutes, or until dates are soft. Remove the dates from the water, and mash them into a paste. Heat all the berries together in a pan and cover, until they begin to pop/release juice. Thoroughly mash the berries together with the date paste, and then mix in the honey and chia seeds. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes so that the chia seeds can soak, and then spoon the “jelly” onto your baked crust. Melt the remaining few tablespoons of almond butter in the microwave, and drizzle evenly over the top. Return pan to the oven for another 5-10 minutes, then remove and let cool. For best results, refrigerate before cutting and serving so that the “jelly” has more time to thicken.
Since I am now without a kitchen for two months and am behind on posting my recipes, I figured I would use the one or two totally free days I have left in Aspen to catch up! I just finished up with both auditions I needed to play, and am planning to go walk around the grounds and do some exploring later. Things are going to start up early next week and I’ll be a busy busy girl between rehearsals/practicing/lessons/etc., but for now, I can finally share the recipe I’ve been dying to post! I’ve been tweaking this recipe, and it’s finally almost perfect. I say almost, because nothing to me is ever really perfect, so if I make any changes I will eventually post them here. But that won’t be for a while, so I’d love for you to leave me your feedback either in the comments or on Instagram if you end up making them. Any feedback is good feedback (unless you’re obnoxious… So don’t be)!
These Raspberry Orange Rose Scones are made without butter or sugar, can be easily made gluten free or vegan, and contain a special ingredient that makes them smell (and taste) incredible – rose extract. I bought mine at Sur La Table, but you could probably find it at a similar specialty kitchenware store. The recipe could also be made with any other extract you like that you think would go nicely (almond, vanilla, etc) but I think the rose really makes the recipe!
Raspberry Orange Rose Scones (Serves: 16)
Ingredients:
Dry:
•2 cups oat flour (Blend 2 cups regular or gluten free oats in food processor until flour consistency)
•2 tsp. baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/4 tsp. kosher salt
•1/3 cup Cup-For-Cup Stevia in the Raw
PLUS •8 tbs. coconut oil
Wet:
•2 eggs (VEGAN: Use chia seed or flaxseed eggs. 1 tbs ground chia or flax + 3 tablespoons water per egg. Let sit for a few minutes to become gelatinous)
•1/4 cup 0% Plain Chobani greek yogurt (VEGAN: Use soy or almond milk yogurt)
•Zest of one large orange
•Juice of 1/4 large orange
•1 tsp. rose extract
•1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
•1 1/4 cups fresh raspberries
Glaze (optional):
•1 tbs. each egg white, fresh squeezed orange juice, and honey
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl (except coconut oil) and combine. Slowly add the coconut oil, mixing by hand until the dry mixture becomes crumbly. Then, whisk the wet ingredients (except raspberries) in another bowl. Add raspberries, stirring gently as not to burst too many of the berries. This will ensure that there are still some chunks of fruit in the final product. Then, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by hand until completely combined.
Split dough into two equal parts. On a floured surface, make a log out of each portion (about 10” x 4” x 1.5”). Cut both logs into quarters width-wise, then cut those quarters in half on the diagonal.
Assemble scones onto baking sheets that have been greased (I used coconut oil spray). If using the glaze, brush each individual scone with the mixture before putting into the oven. If you have enough raspberries left over, halve them and put on top of each scone as a garnish before baking. Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you know my love affair with Chobani Greek yogurt has gotten pretty serious. Well, at least on my end. (Although they did send me three coupons and a free case of yogurt which arrives tomorrow, so maybe it’s more of a prom-couple-that-dates-for-the-convenience type of deal. Whichever it is, I’ll take it!) Unfortunately, I went through a period last year where I couldn’t eat lactose and it was the gentlest form of torture. So now that those circumstances are in the past, I have been putting Chobani in ALL of the things.
My newest Chobani adventure began when I decided to try something I’ve been seeing on a lot of different blogs:
Greek Yogurt dipped strawberries.
But of course I’m not just going to dip the strawberries in yogurt. I’m going to cover them in all sorts of goodness too.
I may be lazy, but I found the easiest way to go about dipping the strawberries was straight into the brand-new container of Chobani. Just stir to make it creamy and then dip away! The strawberries will come out evenly coated with a nice thick layer of yogurt.
I placed the dipped strawberries in a Pyrex baking dish that I lined with parchment paper to keep the berries from sticking. For toppings, I decided to make the berries like an Almond Joy (which is my favorite candy of all time besides sour gummi worms. I know, I’m a five-year-old) and use unsweetened coconut, crushed dry-roasted almonds, and dark chocolate.
Once the berries were dipped in the yogurt and sprinkled with the coconut/almonds, I popped them in the freezer to let the yogurt shell harden a bit (about 10 minutes). Then, I drizzled them with a combination of 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips (melted) and water, and froze for another 10-15 minutes until the shell was hardened.
TIP: Serve immediately, before the berries get too hard to bite into!
