whipped cream

Unbirthday Buttermilk Waffles

We all know the Mad Hatter was onto something brilliant with the celebration of the “Unbirthday”. The whole concept is awesome! You only get to enjoy your birthday one day a year, but your unbirthday party can last all year long. That alone is worth celebrating! (Ok, I’ll stop.) The same idea goes for these waffles. They are definitely any day of the week buttermilk waffles… but whipped cream and sprinkles make anything special, am I right? (Caramel sauce doesn’t hurt either.) Of course, you can use any topping of your choice. It’s YOUR unbirthday after all. 😉

As organic as possible:

1 3/4 cup Flour

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking Powder

1 tsp baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

2 Eggs, beaten

2 cups Buttermilk

1/2 cup Sunflower oil (or subtle oil of your choice)

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Caramel sauce, whipped cream and sprinkles (optional, along with any other toppings of your choice!)

Preheat your waffle maker. Lightly coat with non-stick spray. I use a Krups Waffle Maker, you can find it by clicking here.

In a large bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a bowl and whisk together.

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Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla to dry ingredients and stir until incorporated. (Little lumps are okay!)

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Using a 1 cup measure, scoop the batter onto each waffle grid square.

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Close lid and don’t peak until indicator shows done! (Or according to manufacturer instructions.)

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Remove with tongs or fork.

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Repeat until batter is gone. Serve warm with your favorite toppings! Makes about 12 waffles.

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Happy Unbirthday! (Or birthday… if it just so happens to be!)

 

 

Banoffee Pie

I love trying new things. Especially when they turn out to be awesome! Banoffee Pie, short for Banana-Toffee Pie, is a recipe that caught my attention a while back for my must try list. I mean come on, what’s not to like, right? Then along came Lina of Lin’s Recipes. She hosts recipe challenges for bloggers who’d like to participate in creating a themed list of dishes. This time around it was for “Cakes we have to try this Feb,” a collection of unusually named cakes/desserts that she gathered. Well, that struck a chord with me too. (The combined excitement was almost too much to contain.) This pie is sweet and creamy, luscious with an almost candy like crust. And if I may suggest: you should put this on your list.

As found in PIES delicious recipes for perfect pies:

Serves 4

Filling

generous 3 1/2 cups canned sweetened condensed milk (I used 2 – 14 oz cans)

4 ripe bananas

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream, whipped

2 3/4 oz/75 g semisweet chocolate, grated

 

Cookie Crust

3 oz/85 g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

5 1/2 oz/150 g graham crackers, crushed into crumbs

scant 1/3 cup shelled almonds, toasted and ground

scant 1/3 cup shelled hazelnuts, toasted and ground

Place the unopened cans of milk in a large pan and add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 2 hours, topping up the water level to keep the cans covered. Carefully lift out the hot cans from the pan and let cool.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 9 inch/23-cm tart pan with butter. Place the remaining butter in a bowl and add the crushed graham crackers and ground nuts. Mix together well, then press the mixture evenly into the base and side of the tart pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool.

Peel and slice the bananas and place in a bowl. Squeeze over the juice from the lemon, add the vanilla extract, and mix together. Spread the banana mixture over the cookie crust in the pan, then spoon the contents of the cooled cans of condensed milk over the bananas. Sprinkle over 1 3/4 oz/50 g of the chocolate then top with a layer of whipped cream. Sprinkle over the remaining grated chocolate and serve the pie at room temperature.