Banana Walnut Cake

This recipe comes from my Grandma's recipe collection. When looking to use leftover bananas, I usually think of banana bread. This banana cake is a lighter, less dense variation on banana bread. Due to the difference in the portions of the ingredients, the banana flavors comes through stronger in this cake than in banana bread. I highly recommend giving this recipe a try.

Like many of Grandma's recipes, there are not very clear instructions. I decided to use a 9x9 cake pan, which worked out perfectly. Adjust the baking time to suit the pan used. Also, there is a step to mix the milk with the lemon juice and vanilla, which I believe is a substitute for buttermilk. I just topped this cake with some powdered sugar. MDS thinks a good cream cheese frosting would be nice on this cake. Maybe next time.

Banana Walnut Cake

• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/3 cup flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3/4 cup mashed bananas

Mix together the shortening, sugar, eggs, and bananas. Blend in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Blend the milk mixture into the batter. Fold in the walnuts. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 cake pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cake is done. Cool. Enjoy!

Sunburst Pound Cake

I am not sure why this recipe is called Sunburst Pound Cake. This recipe is a somewhat classic pound cake using cream cheese, and it is delicious. Because this cake takes a long time in the oven, it is a great recipe to try on a cold day. The resulting pound cake has a classic taste.

The recipe calls for baking in a bread pan. I decided to make this recipe in a bundt pan because I like the look of the resulting cake. The recipe lists cake flour, but I used all-purpose flour. Cake flour results in a slightly finer texture cake, but all-purpose flour works fine here. Pound cake does not need frosting, so I just sprinkled this cake with powdered sugar. But a nice sugar glaze or any type of frosting would also be delicious.

Sunburst Pound Cake 

• 1/2 pound butter (room temperature)
• 8 ounce cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 eggs
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1/2 tsp. double acting baking powder

Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time; beat one minute after each egg. Add flour and baking powder. Blend well. Pour into buttered bread pan. Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour; then lower heat to 300 and continue baking for 1 1/2 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Enjoy!

Old-fashioned Blueberry Muffins

When the weather is cold, enjoying fresh baked goods still warm from the oven is such a treat. These muffins certainly hit the spot. I especially liked that this recipe includes orange and cinnamon as flavoring to give these muffins just a slightly different flavor from standard blueberry muffins.

When I made this recipe, I left out the nuts but I think chopped or sliced almonds would be terrific. I did not actually measure the blueberries, but I might have added too many because some muffins had a lot of blueberries sunk to the bottom. For the sugar in the topping, I used turbinado sugar which is a less refined sugar that has a bit more of a caramel flavor.

Old-fashioned Blueberry Muffins 

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp grated orange rind
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 2 tsp. sugar 
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Sift together flour, half cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in orange rind. Combine milk, oil, and egg. Add to flour mix, stirring only until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in blueberries and nuts. Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Combine 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of batter. Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!