Baked Zebra for Valerie

It's not what you think!  Well, if you were thinking that I baked Zebra as a meal for my sister, that is.  Given I don't live on the same continent as zebras, you can imagine this would have been quite a feat.  There is, however, the zoo.  Somehow, I don't think I'd be posting here if that were the case.  Zookeepers tend to frown on that sort of behaviour.

I guess there's the black market.  Given I don't even know where to start looking for that sort of thing, I think we can eliminate that possibility as well.  It would be probably just as tricky as finding Diagon Alley.

Back to it though, yeah?

It was my sister's birthday yesterday.  In a nutshell, she's pretty wicked.  She's creative, fashion-forward, friendly, and ridiculous sometimes.  She is, however, great for a laugh.  Even at our parents' expense.

And, because it’s a birthday, that means cake!  In our family, this always used to be ice cream cake.

I'm not that developed in the dessert field.  Maybe we'll come back to this in the future.  (Given the amount of space - both for moving and for working, this may be in the distant future.  So, don't hold your breath.  I need readers, 'kay? ^__^;; )

I could have gone plain, flavoured, two bowl (wet/dry) cake that comes together and bakes quietly away.  I could have really saved myself a lot of time.  I didn't take the easy way.  I chose to do something a little bit trickier without the guaranteed outcome. Taking the hard way this time was so worth it.

An internet search of 'Zebra cake' will give you a million and more different pictures of an awesome striped cake.  I was having doubts that it would be achievable.  Then, in the corner of my eye, I behold my special cake pan.  I purchased it on sale when I was on holidays.  It is supposed to be a green pan and cook well, etc.  Whether this is true or not, I couldn't say.  It does, however, bake a mean cake and I won't lie to you about that one.

So, I bring to you, the Zebra Cake for Valerie in celebration of her birthday!


Zebra Cake For Valerie
As Put For by The Girl Who Bakes (original recipe here!)

That chocolate icing conceals something amazing underneath.  A striped cake, I should say.  A great surprise!

What You'll Need:
For the main cake part:

• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup drained applesauce (I use baby food when I have to applesauce... I don't eat a lot of applesauce and its either a small container or a jar.  The plastic cups just sort of sit there in my pantry and make me feel guilty because I'm not eating them.  Besides, baby food give these little resealable containers that are quite handy in my lunch. Uh, anyway...)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup plain yogurt

For The Different Stripes:

• 1/2 cup coconut, toasted then divided*
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 20g dark chocolate (I used two squares of Lindt 85% chocolate that I recieved as a gift)

* For the coconut, toast the coconut until it is a light brown colour.  Set it aside to cool.  Remove 1 tbsp from the browned coconut and stick it in a bowl elsewhere; it will come in handy later.

For The Icing:

• 3 tbsp margarine
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 2 tbsp skim milk
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

How It's Done:
1. Preheat the baking machine (read: oven) to 350F.
2. Grease the cake pan according to the instructions that you get from the company that makes it.  (I say this because the recipe I'm referencing says grease.  Some people like to grease and flour.  My pan suggests just a little bit of oil and it will kick butt.  So probably grease will work wonders.)
3. In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (we're talking the baking powder and flours).
4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the eggs, whites and sugars until you go from the yellow of the yolk to a lighter yellow colour.  (I borrowed from the colourful people at Behr.  When it comes to colours, they know their junk.  So, basically,going from Marigold yolks to a Neon Light liquid that's even in color.)

5. When you get that really nice colour, add the yogurt, vanilla, oil and applesauce (baby food) then beat until homogeneous.
6. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix it all together to make it even.
7. Separate the batter into two even portions.
8. Fold in the toasted coconut and extract into one batter portion and set that aside.
9. In the other bowl, mix in the cocoa and the finely chopped chocolate to the other batter and let that bowl keep the other one company.
10. Get yourself two spoons, one for each batter on the exclusive.  (You don't want to be mixing the batters before mixing the batters... Yeah, that was confusing.  Don't go making a light brown cake in one bowl from mixing schools.)

Two bowls, two spoons and one cake.  Trust me, you don't want to go mixing up the batters.  Also, don't worry if your spoon drips by accident.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but the cake will still come out okay and, as my mom commented, even zebras themselves don't have perfect stripes.

11. Alternate with two spoonfuls of each batter into the prepared pan.  You don't have to wait for the batter will spread, spooning it in will get that done for you.  Keep adding until all the batter is gone.
12. Stick the cake into the baking machine (go oven!) and bake for 30-40 minutes, making sure to toothpick test it.  (I bake for the minimum time then check and adjust with more time.  I'm not sure if that's how it’s done, but that's how you do).
13. Remove the cake when it’s done and let it cool completely.  (Trust me on this one.  If you try to ice it when its warm... You know?  Take my word for it and just don't.  Yeah, we won't go into it further than that.)

Hot out of the oven with a slight crack and some imperfections.  All in all, the cake is still pretty solid.

Okay, this was my first time making icing that actually came out right.  Is that a startling statement?  I am not in the habit of icing a lot of stuff and we all know I cheated on Yu-Han's cake a while back.  I owe Girlwhobakes a huge thanks on this one.  She not only had an amazing recipe but I actually made icing that worked.  Right, icing.

1. Measure the margarine into the dish and add 1/4 cup of the icing sugar.
2. With a hand mixer, mix on high until it is well-combined and light in appearance.
3. Soft cocoa into the bowl and 1 tablespoon of milk.
4. Mix again until coloured completely throughout.
5. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat until it is light and creamy.
6. Add the vanilla and mix until it is all together as an icing.
7. Spread the icing over the cake in an even layer.
8. Finish the cake by sprinkling over the reserved toasted coconut.

I used margarine here and, after I added the above, I didn't need to add any more milk.  If you choose to use butter (the real way), check out Girlwhobakes and the original recipe! ^__^

Birthday served up moist and striped.  Don't front like you don't want a piece of this glory!

Let me tell you, what a cake!  Girl Who Bakes really brought the rain on this one.  Her original recipe is for this cake on the skinny.  Given that I added a boatload of chocolate and coconut, I think its pretty obvious that the beast I created is not exactly on the skinny any longer.  My bad.  I just couldn't resist!  But, for cake on the skinny (without chocolate and coconut), check out the link over yonder.

Homeless Banana

Wow!  Sorry that it has been such a long time since we last spoke.  I've been experimenting with feeding myself something other than tuna from a can, quinoa and frozen vegetables.

I hate to admit some bad nutrition, but that's what happens when you get busy doing other things and then you realize you're hungry.  And I don't mean hungry in the way of "you know, I think food might be a good idea in the near future" sort of way, but the "wow, my stomach is digesting itself slowly" sort of way.  Yeah, that happens a lot.  Tuna, bread and vegetables are a pretty quick fix.  Then I eat strawberries and am extremely pleased!

Anyway, getting back to the baking business.  Wouldn't you know that I got off-handed someone's banana recently.  It wasn't even really at the edible point.  I'm a full supporter of all bananas spotted brown like giraffes, but tiger streaking?  That's a tad too ripe, even for me.

So what to do with this banana that no one wants?

Well, one banana does not a great loaf of banana bread make.  And I know that bananas can replace oils sometimes in recipes I've learned.  Where do you go with one over-ripe banana that needs a purpose other than to line the rubbish bin?

I decided to make cookies.  Chocolate ginger cookies.  After a lot of browsing on the internet - what *can't* you find on the web, seriously? - I came across Anja's Food 4 Thought recipe for 'Crispy Ginger Chocolate Cookies'.  I scrapped the olive oil and replaced it with the banana.  It came out to what appeared to be a little over a third of a cup.  I wouldn't say heaping, but it wasn't a third of a cup flat.

I think they came out okay.  I find them pretty tasty and will try to post back with an update.  I have to have more opinions; my opinion just doesn't cut it in my kitchen.  Then again, I'm the girl who eats tuna from the can and frozen vegetables.  By no means do I think my palette is sophisticated!

If you have a banana kicking about that needs a use other than the rubbish bin, maybe give this one a try sometime.

Oh!  I should probably also mention that I put these babies in a container after they were all cooled off and they didn't stay crispy.  I'm mentioning this because I don't want you to get upset if it happens to you.  I get extremely upset when this happens to me... ^__^;;;



Crispy Ginger Chocolate Banana Cookies
Adapted from Anja over at Anja's Food 4 Thought (<- Click for original recipe!)

So not really thin and crispy but more like chewy and puffy.  These cookies puffed right up given that I used banana and no oil.  I have seen crispiness increase when using oil when making pizzelle as well.  It happens.

What You'll Need:

• 1 1/8 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 medium banana
• 1 egg

How It's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, ground ginger and cocoa powder.  Whisk until it is evenly distributed in colour and consistency.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar and banana.  Beat the sugar and banana until it is creamy; it likely won't get too fluffy because there is a lot of moisture in the banana.
4. Add the egg to the sugar-nana mixture and beat until fully mixed.
5. Stir in the dry ingredients until well mixed.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop the dough by teaspoon full onto the sheet.
7. Pop the tray in the oven for 12 minutes and pull them out when they are domed and slightly dark on the bottom.
8. Let them cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transfering them to a wire rack to cook completely.

Makes about 22 cookies.