Some Banana-Forward Snackable Bakes

Hello folks (aka peeps). Sliding into your inboxes on this Tuesday to share a few banana-forward recipes (an upside down cake, a pudding and a bar) in celebration of the fact that it is National Banana Day on Wednesday the 19th (and also my younger son’s 18th b-day, FYI). And, also because Food52 recently rounded up its 15 best cake recipes OF ALL TIME and my caramelized banana upside-down cake made the cut! Eeek! Kind of a cool thing in my book and it did get me thinking that I needed to share that recipe with you all STAT. The recipe was actually the first I ever developed for Food52 and it was a contest winner to boot . . . which is also kind of cool. Feel free to scroll on down to check out the recipe and a couple of other banana-forward ones, now, if you’re feeling impatient, or hang out for a bit as I tell you about a few things unrelated to bananas. 

So in news that is not banana-related, I wanted to share that my new book, Savory Snackable Bakes, (it’s a book very much in keeping conceptually with my last sweets book, Snackabe Bakes) was officially announced over at Publisher’s Marketplace, which honestly is always a thrill for us writers. Even though the deal was signed back in the fall, there is sometimes a lag between signing on the dotted line and the actual announcement.

I actually included the announcement in my first ever Substack “note” which was an extremely exciting experience (drafting and publishing a note). And just wanted to remind all you lovelies that my PAID newsletter which will be hitting paid subscribers’  inboxes soon, is going to be all about the process of writing Savory Snackable Bakes - like ALL about it (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and there will be never-before-published recipes from the book in the paid letter that you will not want to miss. 

In other news having nothing to do with bananas, my baking podcast, She’s My Cherry Pie, made Bon Appetit’s list of the top food podcasts of 2023! I was thrilled, to say the least. In each episode I chat with an iconic baker and do a deep dive into their signature bake (in case you did not know) and here I’m sharing my episode with Claire Saffitz (who some of you may have heard of ?? JOKE). We discuss fruit pies - apple in particular. Here is the link to listen to the episode. And here is a link to Claire’s recipe. 

Okay, how about some recipes? 

First up is my Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake. This cake is as easy-peasy as they come (big surprise, since easy-peasy is my jam) calling for oil instead of butter (so no softening of butter needed) and assembled in a bowl with a whisk and a spatula, so no mixer necessary. The cake is baked in a skillet which makes for a lovely presentation and if you have any anxiety about flipping the cake over post-bake (which is what one must do when upside-down cake making): don’t worry - if any bananas stick to the bottom of the pan, you can easily scrape them up and place them back on the top of the cake and no one will be the wiser. Serve with ice cream and a few chopped and toasted walnuts for (almost) banana split-like vibes . . . 

Next up in our celebration of bananas, is my Classic Banana Pudding, a recipe I developed for Bon Appetit. This is also an easy dessert even though it requires a homemade pudding, as opposed to one from a box. And the pudding, BTW, is otherworldly, calling for, as it does, sweetened condensed milk - one of my all time favorite baking ingredients. The SCM adds extra creaminess to the pudding, as well as a caramelized complexity - and making the pudding itself adds only a few minutes of prep time. The pudding also calls for mascarpone which cuts the sweetness of the pudding due to its subtle tang. 

And today’s final banana recipe of the day is for my Black Bottom Banana Dream Bars. These bars include shredded coconut; they’ve got a chocolate cookie crust (you’re welcome); and bananas - and if you did not know that coconut, bananas and chocolate is a stellar combo, you’re about to find out. 

That’s it for this letter’s recipes, BUT since I mentioned my love of sweetened condensed milk above, I did want to share this little vid I made with Taste of Home, in which I share some of my favorite baking ingredients, including SCM (and marshmallows, sorry haters). Usually, as some of you know, I like to share a baking tip video in each letter - but this week, we’re shaking things up a bit.

@jessiesheehanbakesFAVORITE INGREDIENTS. #bakingingredients #professionalbaker

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Alrighty, another newsletter in the can - hope you enjoyed - feel free to comment away and let me know what you like, don’t like and what you’d like to see more of. 

See you in two weeks!