• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

eating in instead

  • Home
  • About Me
    • Eating Out
    • Perks and Policies
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Brunch
    • Breads & Biscuits
    • Salads
    • Soups & Stews
    • Pastas
    • Main Dishes
    • Vegetarian
    • Side Dish
    • Desserts
    • Cocktails
    • Food List Challenge
    • Recipe Index
  • Our Kitchen
  • Around the World
    • France
    • Germany
    • Morocco
    • Portugal
    • Turkey
    • Tanzania & Zanzibar
    • Tunisia
  • Tips & Clips

Baking for House Guests: Banana Cake with Cognac Raisins (aka Monkey Bars)

April 8, 20131 Comment

It tastes better when you share!Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on Google+
Google+
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Yummly
Yummly
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print

Monkey Bars

I’ve had house guests in town the last two weekends which means I’ve fallen a little behind in getting new recipes posted.  When we have friends or family staying with us, I like to bake up a few items that work well for a breakfast or a mid-day snack so our guests have something homemade to nibble on.  Personally, I find that being forced to eat out every meal of the day can be tiring, expensive, and unhealthy when I’m away from home.  And, while it is always nice to stay with friends and family, access to the kitchen can feel like an imposition in someone else’s home.  I try to make guests feel welcome in our kitchen (even if it is tiny!) and if I can get my act together, providing some baked goods helps to create a warm welcome.

Last week, I made these banana cake bars to welcome our guests.  These are not as dense as a traditional banana bread and I baked them in an 8 x 8 pan before cutting them into squares for breakfast or a snack on the go.  I used Cooking Light’s recipe for Monkey Bars as a starting point, but I made a few modifications based on the ingredients I had on hand.  First, I used ½ whole wheat and ½ white flour.  Second, I didn’t have rum or apple juice, so I soaked the raisins in some cognac instead.  Third, because I was out of brown sugar, I used 1 tablespoon of black strap molasses and only ½ cup granulated sugar instead of the ¾ cup of brown sugar called for by Cooking Light.  Next, I doubled the bananas because I had two that really needed to be used, and I substituted non-fat Greek yogurt for the buttermilk.  Finally, I skipped the walnuts in favor of white chocolate chips since I was trying to finish up a ½ bag of white chocolate chips.

These bars came out really nicely and the house smelled wonderful.  They were light enough as a nice breakfast cake or a midnight snack.  The bars were very moist and full of banana flavor.  This recipe is a great way to use up ripened bananas too!

What is your favorite way to use ripened bananas?

BANANA CAKE WITH COGNAC RAISINS (adapted from COOKING LIGHT’S MONKEY BARS)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup raisins
1 ½ tablespoons dark rum, cognac, or apple juice
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon molasses (I used black strap molasses)
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt or buttermilk (non-fat or low-fat are perfectly fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg whites
½ cup white chocolate chips
olive oil or butter for greasing the pan

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease and flour an 8 x 8 baking pan, set aside.

In a small bowl, add raisins and liquor or juice.  Microwave the raisins for 1 minute then, set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set this aside too.

Raisins soaking in Cognac

In a large bowl, add the molasses and sugar and beat on medium speed until well combined.  Add the butter and beat with sugar on medium until light, fluffy, and well-blended, about 4 minutes.

Molasses, sugar and butter

Next add the banana and the egg whites and continue to beat on medium speed for another 2 minutes, making sure the ingredients are all incorporated.  Add the flour mixture and beat on medium-low, until just combined, then stir in the raisins and white chocolate chips.

Mashed BananasAdding the bananas.

Spread the batter into the baking pan.  Bake for about 30 minutes at 350F or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

Ready for the oven!Monkey Bars

 

It tastes better when you share!Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on Google+
Google+
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Yummly
Yummly
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print

Related

1 Comment

Previous Post: « Eating in solo: Soba Noodles with Fresh Watercress (and other vegetables)
Next Post: Quinoa Patties with Roasted Asparagus »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura Feldman Mishkin says

    May 26, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    Ethel,
    My monkey bars were tasty, but after a few hours when I cut them and put them in a container for storage, they were soggy. Why is this? I’ve had this issue with wheat flour before.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Ethel!

I'm an expat living in Tunis, Tunisia with my hubby and exploring life through food. We travel, we cook, we drink, and we EAT! I'm all about cooking healthy, delicious meals with an international flavor at home, so I can save and savor my indulging for dining out. I hope you'll poke around and join in my food adventures! Let's eat! Read More…

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
Subscribe

Some of my favs!

Creamy, Cheesy, Cauliflower & Sausage Casserole #SundaySupper

Vegetable and Ginger Congee for #SundaySupper

Freeze ‘Em for Later Peach Berry Hand Pies #SundaySupper

Cheese-Filled Apple Rounds #SundaySupper

Soul-searching, simplicity, and a Artichoke, Feta, and Bacon Tart

Celebrate with a Campari Mint Spritzer #SundaySupper

Cal-Mex Avocado and Egg Salad #SundaySupper

Beermosas for the #SundaySupper Pool Party!

Shrimp Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette #SundaySupper

White Bean Pesto Stew for #Unprocessed #SundaySupper

Sunday Supper Movement
ExpatsBlog.com - Where Expats Blog
Certified Yummly Recipes on Yummly.com

Footer

Let’s be friends!

I'm a food lover, travel addict, career counselor, professor, and lawyer living in Tunisia (and sometimes Washington, DC). Read More…

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Let’s Travel

Let’s Cook

Copyright © 2019 · Eating In Instead · Log in