Baking at home offers a therapeutic escape and a delightful way to spend your time. This weekend, why not dive into the world of baking from scratch with some mouth-watering recipes? Here are a few to get you started:
**Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread**
This recipe combines the rich flavors of chocolate with the natural sweetness of bananas. Start by mashing two large overripe bananas and mixing them with coconut oil, eggs, and brown sugar. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and tonka bean, then stir into the banana mixture. Add cocoa powder to a portion of the batter and swirl it into the main mixture before baking at 350°F for 50 minutes.
**Traditional Sponge with Lime Meringue Frosting**
For a classic treat, prepare a sponge cake by creaming butter and sugar, then adding eggs, vanilla, and milk alternately with sifted flour. Bake in greased pans at 350°F for 35-40 minutes. Top with a lime meringue frosting made by beating egg whites, adding a sugar syrup, and incorporating lime peel.
**Coconut Lime Crunchies**
These cookies are a zesty delight. Mix melted butter, sugar, grated coconut, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, vanilla, and lime zest. Roll into balls, press gently, garnish with cherries, and bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes.
**Date Walnut Bran Muffins**
Combine all bran cereal with buttermilk, then mix with sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, walnuts, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, dates, and vegetable oil. Spoon into muffin tins, top with a butter, walnut, flour, and sugar mixture, and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.
These recipes are perfect for a cozy weekend baking session, offering a variety of flavors to satisfy any sweet tooth.