MOTHER HOOD

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend + A Cake Recipe

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I am already seeing signs of celebration in my home.

While I was reading in bed yesterday, Dev brought me a giant bowl of strawberry ice cream topped with fresh strawberries marinated in balsamic vinegar. When did he have time to marinate strawberries, I think. But clearly he knows me too well.

Then this morning, a giant bouquet arrived studded with some of my favorites flowers. Heart melting!!

The kids too have been up to something sweet, because they keep disappearing behind closed doors, whispering and giggling, and then asking me not to look in certain spots. I am more than happy to comply. Except their excitement over whatever it is, is so great that all they want is for me to say YES SHOW ME NOW!! They keep giving me little nuggets of information about it hoping I’ll slip and give in.

Just tell me how not to walk around with a goofy smile on my face! = )

To add to all this good energy, I decided to bake a Cherry Chocolate Banana Nut Bread. I used David Lebovitz’s recipe for Banana Bread and made it more decadent by adding Cherry Chocolate from one of my favorite chocolatiers Videri Chocolate Factory, right here in Raleigh.

I figured it can be something we unwrap and eat on Sunday except none of us could resist an entire cake just sitting on the counter-top. So we ate it. And it was delicious.

Leaving you with the recipe and hoping that you too have the most wonderful time celebrating the most wonderful mom-figures in your life!

Recipe: Cherry-Chocolate Banana Nut Cake

Adapted from David Lebovitz’s Banana Nut Bread recipe

Ingredients:
1 bar Videri Cherry-Chocolate Bar
1 1/2 cups (210g) white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder preferably 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
2 tablespoons (30g) melted butter, salted or unsalted
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup (250ml) banana puree, made from about 2 very ripe, large bananas
1/2 buttermilk (mix half cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar and let sit for 20 minutes to make your own buttermilk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (75g) walnuts, coarsely chopped

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Shift as you go.
In a second bowl, mix the wet ingredients.
Combine the two by pouring the wet into the dry mixture.
Add chopped walnuts and Videri Cherry Chocolate bar at the very end.
Line and grease a 9-inch loaf pan if you have one. I used a 10 x 7 baking dish.
Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 F.
Wishing all of you a Happy Mother's  Day + A wonderfully delicious cherry-chocolate banana nut cake recipe to add to the celebrations.

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