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Sunday, September 5, 2010

Mexican Banana Bread (Pan de Platano)

So these plantains are taking fuh-ever and a day to ripen.. I would have waited til they were mostly blackened but I got all antsy in my pantsy and went ahead and made my Plantain Bread anyways..
I happen to think it turned out well for being a first run and it was fun putting together some flavor combos for compound cream cheeses to accompany said plantain bread. Mmm…


Mexican Banana Bread (Pan de Platano)

2 c. AP Flour
1 t. ea. :
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Cinnamon
2 Ripe/Over-ripe Plantains - diced small
1 c. Brown Sugar
1 stick Unsalted Buttah - room temperature
2 Eggs
1 T. Bacardi Solera Rum
1 t. Mexican Vanilla Extract
1 t. Cider Vinegar

~ Preheat oven to 325*F and prep a loaf pan by greasing and flouring.
~ Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside
~ In a mixer, cream together sugar and butter 2 minutes - til fluffy.
Add in eggs one at a time. Add in rum, vanilla and vinegar. Mix in
flour until just combined.
~ Fold in, by hand, the diced plantains. Pour batter into prepped loaf
pan and bake for 1 hr - 1 hr 10 min until a knife inserted comes out
clean. Let cool then unmold and slice. Spread on butter or a flavored
cream cheese (like the ones to follow). Enjoy :)

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I forgot the eggs here so just imagine I added them 
How I prep a plantain (whose skins can be thick and may take some finangaling to get off)
Trim ends
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They are long so, cut in half and score the skin longwise. Make sections if you must, but this plantain was easy to peel.
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Oh God.. working has turned my hands into wrinkly old lady hands.. 
Err.. back on track.. Yeah, dice these up. After having tasted the end product, I would dice this much smaller than I did here – since plantains are more solid and starchy than bananas.
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And through the magic of television… Voila!
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I did 4 different combinations of flavored cream cheese to have with this plantain loaf. Get creative, add your own nuts/spices/extracts/oils/herbs/zests/juices (you get the idea  ).


Pepitas y Canela Creamcheese (Pumpkin seeds & Cinnamon)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 t. Ground Cinnamon
2 T. Powdered Sugar
2 T. Chopped Pumpkin Seeds
~ Mix creamcheese, cinnamon and 10x sugar with an electric mixer. Fold in pumpkin seeds.

Nuez el Clavo Creamcheese (Pecans & Clove)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
2T. Powdered Sugar
¼ t. Ground Cloves
¼ t. Vanilla Extract
2 T. Chopped Pecans – toasted
~ Mix creamcheese, ground clove, extract and 10x sugar with an electric mixer. Fold in pecans.

Cocoa Chile Creamcheese
8 oz. Cream Cheese
½ t. Ancho Chile Powder
1 T. Cocoa Powder
2 T. Powdered Sugar
¼ t. Vanilla Extract or Rum
~ Mix creamcheese, chile powder, cocoa powder, extract and 10x sugar with an electric mixer.

Mojito Creamcheese
8 oz. Cream Cheese
2 T. Powdered Sugar
Few drops of Lime Oil
1 T. Fresh Mint – minced
~ Mix creamcheese, 10x sugar and lime oil with an electric mixer. Fold in minced mint. Serve soon after making.

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Mexican Vanilla from Nielsen-Massey – Some of the best stuff on the market. I get mine through either King Arthur Flour or Williams Sonoma
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I got this Boyajian Lime Oil from King Arthur Flour too. A 1 oz. bottle has the equivalent of like 80 limes or some crazy mess like that. So use sparingly!
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Psst! I also added a smidge of this. Not too much, don’t want the cream cheese to be soupy and yuckers.
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Ugh, and with that.. Goodnight! 