Presley's Pantry

For St. Patrick’s Day this year I’m celebrating with some tie-dyed shamrock looking Polvorones, the ultimate Mexican sugar cookie. These cookies will make you feel so LUCKY like you just fell into a pot of gold. Okay, maybe not a pot of gold but you’ll feel GOLDEN for sure. They will have you doing a little Irish jig and furthering the similarities between Mexicans and The Irish…. What a beautiful union of people and cookie dough.

The first time I had a three layer banana pecan cake was at my Uncle Luke and his bride Vita’s wedding. I was a little girl under the age of ten and had never tasted anything so fine. Having banana cake at a wedding wasn’t a popular thing to do in those days. I distinctively remember instantly falling in love with the taste of banana cake and wondering WHEN I would have this enchanting taste in my life again?

Many banana cakes later I still excite over the taste of banana cake. It’s like the little girl in me is tasting it for the first time with each passing of a bite. This is my banana cake… the one that transports me back to my childhood discovering delicious cake.

Ingredients for Three Layer Banana Pecan Cake:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 very ripe bananas (mashed)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (packed)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 2 sticks butter (room temperature)
• 12 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
• 4 cups confectioner sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon whipping cream
• Toppings:
• Milk chocolate chips
• Banana chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray (3) 8- inch baking pans with non-stick baking spray then line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Set to the side.
3. Whisk cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl.
4. In a stand-up mixer on medium speed mix olive oil, and brown sugar together until they fully combine. Add in eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix on low until combined. Slowly add in cake flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time until just combined. Don’t over mix. Stir in pecans.
5. Divide the batter equally between the 3 pans. Bake the cakes for 30 minutes each or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool cakes completely before removing from pan.
6. Let’s make the frosting:
7. Using an electric mixer beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until well combined. Then add in sugar a little at a time until it comes together. Scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Lastly add in vanilla and whipping cream and mix until completely combined.
8. Frost the cake:
9. Place first layer of cake on cake stand or platter. Scoop 1/3 of frosting mixture onto the top of the cake and spread out evenly to cover top.
10. Repeat process with layer 2 by stacking on top of one another.
11. Top with final layer of cake, and then gently press to make sure top layer is secure.
12. Use offset spatula to frost the entire outside of cake stacks with cream cheese frosting. Decorate with chocolate chips and banana chips.
13. Place in fridge for 1 hour before serving.
14. Enjoy!

My Uncle Luke also used to make me a ‘banana wacky’ his version of a licuado when I was a kid…. here’s his recipe.

This vegetarian muffuletta is all you’ll need to SCORE big with your friends and family this Super Bowl Sunday!! I used my own homemade sourdough bread, but as a time saver you can buy a loaf at your favorite bakery. I also made the most tasty olive salad to enclose my sandwich fillings. I say feel free to stack up your sandwich with whatever your heart desires. I listed the ingredients I used below.

We are currently experiencing COLD Los Angeles season, and by that I mean its a bit nippy outside. During this climate here on the west coast my mind naturally makes the transition to soup time. Everyday I’m whipping up a new bowl in my soup kitchen….some I share, some I don’t.

Wake up for the holiday season to a cranberry coffeecake with hibiscus glaze:

I’m low key crazy for coffeecake. I always have been. I remember my grandfather would give me $3 everyday to buy nutrition at school, and I would use a portion of that money to buy a piece of coffeecake without fail. That’s where my love of coffeecake began. Fast forward to the present day and the want of waking up to fresh coffeecake at home is strong, especially during the festive 12 days of Christmas.

Pumpkin Flan Pie:

Let those words sink in for a moment. YESSSSS! This holiday pie is so delicious and no one will expect this level of delicious-ness to hit the feast table. This pie is seriously on it’s own trip. No one else is playing this game. Mixing my two cultures together with American pumpkin pie and the lovely Mexican flan. It’s a match made in fusion heaven.

This post has been sponsored by NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™. All thoughts and opinions are my own. NESCAFÉ® and CLÁSICO™ are trademarks owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland.

I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster lately. From the second I open my eyes, I begin zooming through life. Running around town, driving my son back and forth to school and all his extracurricular activities, picking up groceries from Walmart, taking my mom to her appointments, cleaning the house, getting my recipes done, and photographing has all become the norm. I do it all happily—knowing that at the end of the day, I will have my sobremesa time to unwind and relax with my family over a cup of NESCAFÉ® CLÁSICO™