Lime Bars

Last week, I picked up a big bag of limes from the dented-and-dinged rack at the store. I had used a few of them, but I could tell it was getting to be time to get rid of them somehow. Although I'd had something else in mind for Lost Lunch Thursday, I ended up making a batch of Lime Bars, using the Lemon Bar recipe from Emily Luchetti's Stars Desserts. The last time I made these bars, they were something of a disaster as the filling somehow seeped under the crust. This batch, however, turned out perfectly. I was actually a little skittish about using this recipe again after the previous batch, but I'm glad that they turned out well. I can now (re)elevate this Lemon (or Lime) Bar recipe back to my all-time favorite for this treat.

Lemon Anise Bread

The subtitle of this post could be "When things go wrong."

This recipe follows the banana bread recipe in Lora Brody's Baking Basics, and basically follows the same formula and technique. I knew I'd never made this bread before and was kind of surprised I hadn't. The flavor combination seemed really intriguing. In addition to the lemon and the anise, the bread contains a cup of chopped toasted slivered almonds.

As with the banana bread, the batter assembled well. When I took it out of the oven, though, the center of the bread had collapsed. The loaf also had the same coarse top texture that the banana bread had. Remembering something I read in Shirley Corriher's BakeWise, I have come to think that this bread is overleavened. It contains 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, which is maybe too much for 1-1/2 cups of flour and a cup of chopped nuts. The flavor is pretty awesome, though, so I think I'll try it again, but will dial back on the baking powder. Even if it baked out to a more pound-cake-like texture, it would still be pretty good.

Two Banana Breads

It was a race to the wire, but I finally managed to use up an entire bag of dented-and-dinged bananas. This coup was completed with these two banana breads. For the first one, I used a recipe from Lisa Yockelson's Baking by Flavor. This Banana-Cranberry Tea Bread has dried cranberries in a sour-cream enriched batter. I zested an orange into the batter, figuring that it would go pretty well with the cranberry flavor.

The second loaf is from Lora Brody's Basic Baking. For this loaf, I added the zest of a couple of limes and 1/4 cup of lime juice instead of the lemon zest and juice the original recipe called for, plus some toasted coconut. While I was relatively happy with how the recipe came together, but I was a little disappointed with the coarse texture of the top of the loaf. Also, although the recipe called for an 8x4 loaf pan, the batter was plenty enough for a 9x5 loaf pan. I'm glad I went with my gut instinct on that one, or I'd have been scraping up burned batter from the oven floor.

Both of these breads have been sliced and will go to this week's PLTI class.

Michele's Pies

Last Saturday, I was on my way home from Brooklyn via Stamford. I'd been busy all day in Brooklyn and didn't have the opportunity to make any bakery visits. As Claire and I were heading for home, driving north on Route 7 in Norwalk, I caught a glimpse of a man picking up a sandwich-board type sign on the side of the road. I said to Claire, "Was it just me, or did that sign say something about free pie samples?" She concurred, and I replied, "There must be a pie bakery in that plaza." I checked the clock on the dashboard; it read 7:55. I looked for the next available left-hand turn and prayed that the shop would be open til 8 p.m.

Much to our good luck, Michele's Pies in Norwalk was indeed open until 8, and I think we snuck in as the last customers of the day. I definitely wanted something but didn't want to commit to an entire pie. Lucky for me, Michele's carries small pies (probably two servings per pie, unless you're incredibly hungry). I ordered one pineapple crumb and one chocolate peanut-butter dream. In addition to pies, Michele's carries quick breads, savory pies, and cookies, among other items. Claire went for a couple of peanut blossoms, and I also got a couple of pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting.

The verdict? Very nice pies. The crust was incredibly flaky. Of the two I ordered, I liked the chocolate peanut-butter pie best. I really liked that the pineapple crumb was made with tidbits of fresh pineapple, but I kind of wished that maybe there had been something binding the pineapple bits together. It's a small gripe, though. Pineapple is a pretty unusual pie ingredient, and I loved having the chance to sample it in that use.

You can find Michele's Pies in the Town Line Center in Norwalk, Conn.

Banana Crunch Cake

Whenever I succumb to the dented-and-dinged banana challenge, I end up racking my brain to remember good banana recipes. One favorite I hadn't made for a while is Banana Crunch Cake from Elinor Klivans's Bake and Freeze Desserts. It's a pretty straightforward banana coffee cake; the crunch comes from a streusel sprinkled in the middle of the cake (applied after half the batter is in the pan) and then on top of the cake. The streusel contains butter, brown sugar, toasted pecans, and crushed dried-banana chips.

While the cake is good as it is, I like to add 3/4 cup of miniature chocolate chips because, really, you usually can't go wrong adding a bit of chocolate to a banana cake.

Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake

For this week's PLTI class (inspired by a bag of limes from the dented-and-dinged rack at Stew's), I went with Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake, a Maida Heatter recipe that appears in Baking From the Heart. The cake contains lime zest. Then, while it's still warm from the oven, the cake is brushed with a lime-sugar glaze. I lucked out and got to try a piece of the cake (there was a little left over); it's definitely worth making again.

This recipe also reminded me how much I enjoy Maida Heatter's recipes. Her manner of writing process is so comforting and welcoming. I need to unearth some of her books and rediscover them.

Banana Muffins

This morning, Claire needed something to bring to share with her skating friends for an early practice, so I made them a batch of Banana Muffins from More Muffins (Leslie Weiner and Barbara Albright). They were supposed to be muffins with a streusel topping, but I opted to sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top instead. By the time I got there to pick up Claire, the muffins were gone. I understand they were good. (Should have saved one for myself!)