Author: Anne Thomas

BANANA SPICE BREAD

Ingredients:
1/3 cup/80 mL vegetable shortening
1/2 cup/125 mL sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Original Double-Strength Vanilla
3/4 tsp/4 mL Watkins Banana Extract
1-3/4 cups/440 mL all-purpose flour
1 tsp/5 mL  baking powder
1-1/2 tsp/7.5 mL Watkins Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL baking soda
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL Watkins Sea Salt
1/4 tsp/1.2 Watkins Ground Nutmeg
1 cup/250 mL mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup/125 mL chopped walnuts

Directions
Grease bottom only of a 9 × 5-inch/23 × 13-cm loaf pan; set aside. In large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla and banana extracts until well combined. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add alternately with bananas to sugar mixture; mix well. Stir in nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F/180ºC for 45 to 50 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool in pan on rack 5 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool completely on rack. To store, wrap tightly and refrigerate.

Makes 1 loaf, 12 servings.

 Ingredients — Cake

• 1 lb/454 g semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 lb/227 g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus 1/2 tbsp/7.5 mL
• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 cup/60 mL sugar
• 2-3 tsp/10-15 mL Watkins Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp/2.5 mL salt

Ingredients — Sauce

• 12 oz/450 mL semi-sweet dark baking chocolate or dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup/250 mL heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Almond Extract or any Watkins extract of choice

Directions

Grease a 9-inch/22.5 cm spring form pan and line bottom with a parchment round. Combine the chocolate and butter in a bowl. Set the bowl over simmering water or in the top of a double boiler. Melt the mixture, stirring constantly until smooth, about 5 minutes. Set aside. Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until frothy and almost doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Fold 1/3 of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Repeat this process until all of the egg mixture has been folded in. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake at 325°F/165°C for 45-50 minutes or until the cake has risen and the edges are set. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove spring form pan side, invert cake onto a plate, and peel off the parchment paper. Reinvert cake on a serving platter. Heat cream and chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add extracts. Drizzle chocolate sauce over cake and serve.