CABIN-FEVER CARAMEL BANANA BARS
From Dorie’s Cookies, by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt 2016)
FOR THE BARS
- 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons; 3 ounces; 85 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (136 grams) all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 very ripe banana
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) chopped salted peanuts or other nuts (optional)
FOR THE TOPPING
- 4 ounces (113 grams) milk chocolate finely chopped (or 2/3 cup chips)
- 1/4 cup (30 grams) chopped salted peanuts or other nuts (optional)
Makes 16 bars
Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray an 8-inch square baking pan, dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess.
TO MAKE THE BARS:
- Cut the butter into pieces, toss into a small saucepan and sprinkle over the brown sugar. Set the pan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until both the butter and sugar are melted. Scrape the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer and let cool for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cardamom. In a medium bowl, mash the banana and yogurt together with a fork until you have a smooth puree.
- If you’re using a stand mixer, fit the bowl and paddle attachment to the stand. Add the sugar to the melted ingredients and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the egg and beat for 2 minutes, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the banana-yogurt mixture, beating for 1 minute after it’s incorporated. Turn off the mixer and add the dry ingredients all at once and pulse to begin blending, then beat on low speed until the flour almost disappears into the batter. Add the chopped nuts, if you’re using them, and mix just to blend. Scrape the batter into the pan and use a flexible or offset icing spatula to get the batter into the corners of the pan and to even the top.
- Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean — it will have started to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top will spring back if you press it lightly in the center. Transfer the pan to a rack.
If you want the top of the bars to be smooth, run a table knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cake over onto the rack; place the rack on a baking sheet. If a bump here and there is okay with you, there’s no need to unmold.
TO MAKE THE TOPPING:
- Sprinkle the chopped chocolate over the hot cake and slide the cake, on the baking sheet or in its pan, into the turned-off oven for 3 minutes.
- Remove the cake and smooth the melted chocolate with an offset icing spatula or butter knife.
- If you’re using the nuts, sprinkle them over the icing and gently pat them into the chocolate.
- Cool the cake until it is only just warm or it reaches room temperature.
- Using a serrated knife or a chef’s knife, cut the cake into 16 bars, each 2 x 2 inches (or see Storing).
STORING
If you want to keep the bars, it’s better to cut them as you need them. Covered, the uncut bars will keep for 3 days; the cut bars will be good for about 2 days. Wrapped airtight, the bars will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
