My husband and I don’t really watch the same TV shows. I watch mine downstairs and he watches most of his upstairs. Oh we have a few we watch together, like Lost and Top Chef, but for the most part we are on our own. One he likes to watch is Chuck. I probably would like this show if I had started to watch if from the beginning but at the time I was already watching too many things on Monday night.
Anyway, when he goes up to watch it, is one of my favorite parts of the week. Sounds odd I know that one of my favorite times of the week is when I am not with my husband but it is. He goes up there and puts on the headphones and watches the show. And so all I hear from time to time is his laughter. And loud laughter too. It’s darn close to my favorite sound in the world. It always makes me smile.
I celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary on Saturday. Some days I still can’t believe I am married. I am past the stage in our relationship where I feel butterflies all the time. Where I can’t sleep. Where he can’t see me in my mud mask (poor boy, such a scary site). It’s still young enough that I try not to fart in front of him, but when I am asleep all bets are off as I can’t control that. 😉 But I figure if the sound of my husband laughing from upstairs every Monday night fills me with happiness that we are still doing good. 🙂
I am still in play it safe mode. Even when I thought I was playing it safe with the cookies I left out the cocoa powder and a poor reader made them without the mocha part. At least this time I could blame it on the meds and not just my absent minded mind. 🙂 So I went with banana bread/cake. It’s stuck in the middle if you ask me. Not quite bread anymore but doesn’t quite make the full crossover to cake. I used a recipe that I do all the time, this time adding white chocolate chunks and chocolate covered toffee pieces. I have now found the new way I will be making it. The referees I brought it to on Friday night agreed that it was good stuff.
Hopefully I will write the recipe down correctly this time.
Thanks for all the anniversary well wishes (if you want to see how I spent my anniversary go here) and Crazy Cocker Spaniel says thanks for the birthday wishes too.
White Chocolate Chunk Banana Toffee Chip Pound Cake
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mascarpone cheese
6 ounce unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 fully ripe bananas, pureed
½ cup white chocolate, chopped into chunks
½ cup chocolate covered toffee pieces (if you can’t find, chop up a Heath or Skor bar)
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9-x-5-3-inch loaf pan. I used 4 mini loaves.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the sour cream and mascarpone cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter with the cinnamon on high speed until soft and creamy, about 1 minute. Slowly add the sugar, 1 TBSP at a time, beating continuously on high speed. It should take 5 to 10 minutes to add the sugar. The mixture should be light, fluffy and creamy white in color. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add the eggs, one at a time. Be sure each egg is completely incorporated and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the next.
Add one third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat until it is just incorporated. Add one third of the mascarpone cheese mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add the flour and mascarpone mixture in two more additions, mixing until addition is incorporated before adding the next. Fold in the bananas, white chocolate chunks, and toffee pieces.
Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If using mini loaves, fill 2/3 of the way full and bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan and set on rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Will keep for one week in fridge or 3 weeks in freezer.
Source: Adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard
Elyse says
Sounds like you and your hubby have a wonderful marriage. You know you truly love someone when the sound of the laughter makes you happy inside. This banana bread makes me happy inside (as does my bf’s laughter) 🙂 Happy Anniversary! Hope you’re feeling better! (And yay for having a slew of TV shows that you have to watch by yourself; I’m there with you!)
cheffresco says
I love banana nut bread. I like that you added white chocolate chunks!
VeggieGirl says
You two are fabulous 😀
Wonderful banana bread variety!!
veron says
Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby, Peabody. Hubby and I love Lost and Chuck :).
Erin says
This looks fabulous! I love the twist on banana bread 🙂 Hope you had a great anniversary!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Happy Anniversary and this recipe looks awesome. Tomorrow my oven will be fixed and I can’t wait to dig in and make some baked treats:) Enjoy your bread and your husbands laughter:)
Elle says
That is so cool that his laughter is the best part of your week. You guys are cute in the best possible way.
Great looking bread/cake! Looks far better than my usual banana bread.
Rosa says
What a wonderful cake! Scrumptious!
I’m glad that you are happily married couple!
Cheers,
Rosa
Monica H says
I have a picture of my husband laughing and every time I look at it I can hear his laughter. I just love it.
Happy Cook says
I loved this post, i have treas inmy eyes as i am laughing here, especially with the fartting, beeing married now for 18 years my farting fear as long gone and i am sure you enjoy the laugh of you hubby from upstairs as reading it made me slile too.
Culinarywannabe says
That is such a sweet thought! And I thought I had made just about every banana bread version around, but this one is really different from anything I’ve eaten/made. Sounds awesome!
Debbie says
I’m a banana bread addict!!! I’ll be trying this one in the future.
Carmen says
Yum this looks delicious! I’ve never seen banana bread w/ toffee in it, and I love all things toffee. 🙂
Happy Anniversary, may you two have many more years of laughter. It’s so sweet that you love your husband’s laughter so much. 🙂 Your wedding picture from your last post is gorgeous!
Cathy-wheresmydamnanswer says
What a great twist on an old favorite – Love your combination!!
Ashley says
Oh my oh my. Banana bread is never exciting to me but when I saw the title of your banana bread……… now I’m excited. Great creation! Happy anniversary! =)
Lynn says
What an extravagant take on banana bread! I hope you’re feeling better.
pinkstripes says
OMG. How funny. It’s the same with my husband too. Except I have my shows and Tivo upstairs and he has his downstairs.
Happy Anniversary!
snooky doodle says
Hi
Hope you feel better now. I really enjoy reading your blog. you always make me smile. Thanks 🙂 This banana bread surely looks delicious. I like this variation. It seems you spent a nice Anniversary, Nice place to dine 🙂 Have a good week 😉
Jaime says
white chocolate and toffee?!?! i would never think to put it in banana bread but now that you’ve done it sounds like a great idea! wish i could have had a piece for breakfast today 🙂
steph (whisk/spoon) says
happy belated anniversary! our 6-year is in a couple weeks. we watch TV separately, too. well, except for lost and top chef…weird. i am a huge fan of baked banana sweets, so this looks goooood!
MyKitchenInHalfCups says
Whether or not the bread makes the cross over to cake I think I can see why it makes it into the keep it file 😉 And yes when they guys laugh still makes your heart comfortable with happiness, you’re doing very well indeed.
Rico says
Extremely nice and fluffy I luv’d it a lot ..great pics too.. 😀
Claire says
WOW…that sounds wonderfully delicious.
joey says
Happy Anniversary!!! Sounds like you have a great marriage 🙂 It’s the simple things (like laughter) that really build a strong foundation I think!
Banana bread also helps! Especially if it sounds as good as this one does!
A&N says
I love love such cakes 🙂 And long names like that too 😀
cakebrain says
That looks yummy!
I too watch different things from my husband. My station’s always the Food Network. I recently found “The Next Iron Chef” and it freaked me out when one of the chefs cut his hand in a contest and was still working while he was bleeding all over the place! ewww! I had to change the channel because I wanted to puke at the sight! But I came back. 🙂 I couldn’t stay away for long.
RecipeGirl says
Ah, you are brilliant. It’s so hard to think of fun things to do with ripe bananas. Love everything about this cake!
Maria says
Happy Anniversary! This cake has it all! I can’t wait to try it. I always keep my old bananas in the freezer so I always have some to work with!
Melinda says
Since I started freezing my over ripe bananas, I have have them coming out the ying-yang. I’m in the market for a few hundred ripe banana recipes to use up the glut! This sounds lovely.
EatingRD says
Congrats on your wedding anniversary! Looks like a great dinner, what a wonderful relationship. My fiancee and I usually like to watch the same things (mostly food network and HGTV), but not when it comes to all his sports! All bets are off with us any time of the day haha. Can’t wait to try the recipe! I don’t know if I’ve asked before, but may I ask what kind of camera you use? All your restaurant pictures look so good even in the dim light.
-kristen
EatingRD says
just saw the info on the camera! Would you recommend an SLR or a point and shoot for more of an amateur like me? I’m looking to spend around 300 for one that works well especially in dim light, since the the lighting in my condo can be quite drab. Thanks!
Mrs. L says
We are a three Tivo (or actually DVR) family…his, mine and ours!
Belated anny congrats to you and belated birthday wishes to the CCS.
dawn says
love how flexible banana bread can be; the additions are endless. I’ve eyed that cookbook and have it on my list to get & treasure.
Holly says
I got chills when I read your description of this. It sound like absolute heaven. Why oh why don’t I have an bananas stashed away right now! I can’t wait to make this! Do you think I would need to adjust anything to make it as muffins?
Deborah says
Banana bread with toffee?? YUM!
Katrina says
Now THAT’s great looking banana bread/cake. (I love all things banana!) Printing!
Patricia Scarpin says
Pea, I’m late, but I mean just as well – happy anniversary! It’s such a nice feeling to hear/read stories like yours – it comforts me to know that there are great people out there, even though the ones we run into everyday tend to make you think otherwise.
I’m always interested in new ways of baking with banana – and the addition of mascarpone made me very curious!
Brandy says
I made the banana cake this weekend and it was delish! Best banana bread/cake ever!
Cheryl Newton says
I Googled the original recipe to try to find the amount of cinnamon. It’s mentioned in the directions, but not listed in the ingredients. 1/2 tsp., for anyone else who needs to know.