Bites from other Blogs

Today and tomorrow are two of the busiest cooking days of the year because of Thanksgiving, so I was tempted to skip BfoB today simply because I figure that everyone is busy with the recipes they already have. But, as usual, everything looked so good that I couldn’t resist.

• The Chocolate and Caramelized Banana Cake from Cafe Fernando looks amazing, and is very unusual for a banana cake because the bananas are used as a layer in the center of the cake, rather than being mixed into the basic batter. The contrast between the caramelized center and the chocolate loaf looks fantastic.
• Split Seconds, from notes from my food diary, are shortbread type cookies with a stripe of cranberry sauce down their top. They are sliced and baked in little bar shapes, rather than in rounds, and look ideal for munching with hot chocolate on a winter evening.
• While the cookies mentioned above are on the casual side, Tartelette‘s Cappuccino Creams and Chocolate Madelines are on the other end of the spectrum. The elegant dessert pairing includes a Kahlua and coffee doused custard and rich perfect-for-dipping chocolate madelines. The spongy cookies won’t soak up the custard in the same way they would soak up coffee, but somehow I don’t think that will take away any enjoyment when you eat them.
• Throwing in a Thanksgiving recipe, Homesick Texan has an outstanding Sweet Potato Cheesecake. She says it combines the best of sweet potato pie and pumpkin cheesecake and, looking at the amazingly creamy consistency that the dessert has in the photo, I don’t have any doubt that it would be the star of a dessert table.
• Last but not least is Kitchen Wench‘s Pecan, Walnut & Golden Syrup Tartlettes. Sweet and nutty, the little tarts are pretty much irresistable if you are a fan of pecans and/or walnuts. KW made four batches in a row before having to institute a household ban because they were just that tasty. It’s a recommendation and a warning in one!