TWD: Catching Up -Brownie Buttons and Classic Banana Bundt Cake

I'm finally back on track with TWD! It took going on vacation to get there... I've been in Florida for the past few days, and have been taking advantage of the fact that there are more people than usual to bake for.

Up this week: brownie buttons, hosted by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen.

I was planning on baking before I left home, so I copied the recipes I was going to be using and made a shopping list, assuming I'd be able to find all of the ingredients I'd need in Pensacola. Hmmm... Well... We are very strict about eating all organic food, and a problem arose when trying to find organic white chocolate - something widely available in Asheville - to top the brownie buttons that are a little naked in the above photo. They were supposed to be covered in a white chocolate glaze, but there was none to be had. I considered milk or dark, but ultimately decided against it (though at the moment I'm not sure why).

These were pretty good, but not amazing. The flavor was good, the density was good, what fell short for me was the outer texture. I like a brownie that is dense and fudgy on the inside and a little chewy/crunchy on the outside. These had no contrasting outer texture.

They are also not terribly attractive. I know the white chocolate would have resolved the beauty problem, but naked as they are, they never smoothed out in the oven. The batter was rather greasy, and the pattern that was there when I spooned it into the muffin cups never left. All I had around was some maple pecans, so I topped a few brownies with those. It helped a bit.

So, a good recipe, not a great one. Probably not one I'd try again, though I may use a different brownie recipe and top it with a white chocolate glaze. I love that idea.

You can got the brownie button recipe on Jayma's blog.

Now, on to the banana bundt cake, made by most TWDers last week, and hosted by Mary of The Food Librarian.

I love banana bread so I was looking forward to this one. Especially after reading so many favorable reviews on other people's blogs.

I was not disappointed. I tinkered with the recipe a bit to use agave instead of sugar. I used 1 1/8 cup agave instead of 2 cups of sugar; 1 1/2 sticks of butter versus 2 sticks; I added an additional 1/4 cup of flour. It was perfect- nice and moist, with lots of banana flavor. A definite keeper. My 7 year old nephew helped me bake which was a blast, and he and his brother and my son all loved the cake. I think this one can pass for breakfast as easily as it can dessert, especially with the changes I made - it was the perfect sweetness.

I topped it with a lemon agave caramel sauce. The sauce was delicious, but the cake really soaked it up, so it didn't photograph well. I would have make the lemon glaze that was supposed to go with this cake, but I couldn't get powdered sugar in bulk, and spending over $5 on something that I had multitudes of at home just so I could have 3/4 cup of it seemed ridiculous.

This was also an exciting recipe because it was my first bundt cake! It certainly won't be my last... I used a silicone bundt pan, and was so pleased with how easy it was to unmold. It came out perfectly with no sticking whatsoever.

Thank you to Mary for picking such a great one, please visit her blog for the recipe.

The best part of baking in a beach rental.

My son (center) and his cousins enjoying their banana cake.