banana cream cheese cakes

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Ingredients

Filling

  • 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 egg whites room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
     
  • For Cakes
  • 1.5 cups cake flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs at room tempature
  • 3 ripe bananas (mashed)

 

Makes about:

  • 6 mini bundt cakes or 12 muffins. Can be made with or without filling.

 

Preheat oven 325. Make the filling. Beat cream cheese and vanilla in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth; set aside in a separate bowl. Clean out mixer and add egg whites and beat with whisk attachment on med-high until frothy. Add sugar gradually and increase speed to high until shiny stiff peaks form. Add half the cream cheese mixture and beat until just combined. Add remaining cream cheese and beat until smooth. Transfer filling to pastry bag fitted with large round tip. Set aside.

 

Make cakes- Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. In a clean mixer beat butter, sugar and vanilla with paddle attachment on medium until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time and then add mashed bananas until combined. Add half flour mixture until almost combined. Add remaining half and beat until just combined. Do not over mix. Divide batter between muffin pans until about 3/4 full. Insert the pastry tip into each muffin and pipe about 1 tablespoon into middle of batter. Bake until toothpick comes out clean about 20-30 mins. Transfer to rack and cool about 10-15 mins and then remove cakes to the rack to cool completely.

 

Mom's Viet Spring Rolls

Ingredients

  • 3 - oz vermicelli noodles (bean thread). (2 blocks from an 8 count package)
  • 5 - large carrots (peeled and grated)
  • 2 - lb ground pork
  • 2- lb raw shrimp (peeled and de-veined)
  • 1- bunch scallions (chopped)
  • 4- yellow onions (diced)
  • 2- tbls salt
  • 1- tbls black pepper
  • 6 - tbls sugar
  • 2- eggs
  • 4- 25 count package of spring roll wrappers (thawed)

Servings- Approx 75-85 rolls

  1. Soak noodles in cold water- set aside while prepping other ingredients
  2. Cook ground pork until no longer pink, drain and set aside to cool
  3. Saute onions briefly (2 mins) using same pan with 1/2 tblsp oil.  Set aside to cool
  4. Ground the raw shrimp in food processor (using pulse) or chop by hand 
  5. Drain the rice noodles and squeeze between paper towels to remove excess water. Run a knife through the noodles to chop into smaller strands (about 5 times)
  6. Mix together the pork, shrimp, noodles and remaining ingredients.
  7. Using about 2 tbls of mixture, wrap the rolls as directed on the spring roll package.
  8. Deep fry in canola oil (medium heat) for approximately 6-8 mins or until golden brown.
  9. Serve with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam), lettuce, cucumber and cilantro

The pork and shrimp can be replaced with other combinations of your liking. My favorites include crab/tofu and  jicama/shrimp. Be creative! 

Hoisin Dipping Sauce

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Ingredients

  • 1- 12 oz package wet tamarind
  • 1- 15 oz jar hoisin sauce

    Cut a 3oz block (approx. 1/4 of the package) and place in a small sauce pan with about 1.5 cup water. Heat on medium about 5 minutes until the tamarind is tender. Turn off heat and mash the tamarind with the back of a spoon or use a mortal /pestle to extract about a cup of liquid. (Discard the pits and flesh from tamarind mixture). In a saucepan, heat the hoisin sauce on low/medium flame and gently stir the tamarind liquid into the hoisin sauce. Turn off heat until ready to serve. Upon serving in dipping bowls, top with crushed peanut (optional).

 

Viet Summer Rolls

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Ingredients

  • 1 package Vietnamese rice paper
  • 1 package Rice noodles
  • 1 English cucumber or similar
  • 1 head green or red leaf lettuce
  • 1 bunch Cilantro
  • 1 bunch mint
  • 1 lb cooked shrimp
  • Servings - about 12 wraps
  • Serve with Tamarind Hoisin Dipping Sauce 

Prepare the Rice noodles as directed.Drain and set aside. Peel and slice the cucumber into about 4.5 inch long match sticks. Wash and let dry lettuce, mint and cilantro . Prepare shrimp by slicing lengthwise in half.

If using raw shrimp:  Place a few peppercorns (5-8) into a pot and bring water to boil. Boil shrimp for 4-5 minutes until pink. Drain, cool , peel and de-vein. Cut in half length wise.

Using a plastic cutting board or similar ( the rice paper tends to stick too much to wood boards). Wet the rice paper under gentle running water on both sides and shake off excess water. Place on cutting board and turn up about an inch of the paper from bottom to provide a stronger base for the wrap. Layer with a 1/2 piece of lettuce (rib cut out), a few cucumber sticks, cilantro,  3-4 pieces of mint, noodles, and about 4-5 pieces of shrimp. Fold in the two sides and wrap up!

#vietnamesesummerroll