AmbergrisCaye.com Home
Posted By: Marty Banana Chocolate Cake Empanadas - 10/16/12 01:29 PM

Banana Chocolate Cake Empanadas

Now I want to talk about the Banana for a quick second. We all know the Banana, it's a very common fruit; but do we really know the banana? what it's good for, where it came from?  Is there any weird cool facts to know about the Banana? Maybe, I looked online for a couple hours and this is what I've found.

The Bananan

1. The Banana Tree isn't actually a tree. Instead it is a Herb and the Banana is the berry, yes that's right you heard me...it's a berry.

2. Alexander the Great came across the Banana first in India around 327 B.C

3. In 2001 Britain recorded 300 injuries related to people slipping on banana peels.

4. Very low in saturated fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It's a good source of Dietery Fiber, Potasium, Vitamin C, Manganese, and Vitamin B6. But, has high sugars.

5. If you throw a Banana infront of a colony of bees they will get aggitated. The compounds in the banana that makes it taste like a banana are the same phermones that aggitate bees.

6. If you put a ripe banana underneath a black light it will glow blue.

7.  Banana's have no seeds therefore must be cloned from a "parent plant" which means that all Banana trees came from 1 single tree in asia and also makes it really easy to wipe out worldwide in a short amount of time. They are also very susceptible to disease.

Ok, seven is a nice odd number to end that list at. But it does go on and there are some cool ones too so check it out for yourself.

Ok, now to the good stuff...the food :)

Ingredients

10 Ripe Banana's

2 tbsp Instant Coffee

1 tbsp Cinnamon

5 tbsp brown sugar

1 capful Nutmeg Essense or 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3 cups Flour

1/2 cups milk

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp Salt

Coconut Oil for frying (or regular veg oil)

1 pack Devil's Food Cake Mix

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the cake mix according to the pack. Then set aside.

2. Peel the banana's and slice them up and put in a big mixing bowl.

3. Add 1/2 cup Milk, coffee, nutmeg, and 2 tbsp of brown sugar. mash with potato masher until lumpy

4. Add in cake mix and stir it just 3 times. Don't completely mix it up. (btw small marshmellows is a good add to the mix)

5. Then set that aside and in another medium sized mixing bowl put flour, salt, baking powder, and 1/2 cup milk. Mix everything together you may have to add a little bit of milk or flour. The dough has to be smooth and easy to hold, meaning not sticking to your hand and not too hard. Good elasticity is what you want.

6. Knead dough for 3 mins separate into small balls and then let sit for about 15 mins.

7. Heat coconut oil in small frying pan. Keep on medium-low heat to cook the empanadas.

8. flatten balls with either rolling pin, tortilla press, or by hand. make a 6" diameter circle and put 1 tbsp of fill...fold over and with a fork press down the edges. Some mix might get out but that's ok, no big deal.

9. After you've folded it over and pressed it with the fork. deep fry in oil til golden brown then flip over and cook til that side is golden brown. Then sprinkle with the cinnamon and rest of the brown sugar when still hot out the oil.

10. Repeat this until your flour is finished should give you about 10-12 patties. With the rest of the batter you can pour in a greased and floured cake pan and cook for about 30 mins at about 350F. Enjoy your cake and Empanadas...both are EXCELLENT with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

Tizzle Sizzles

© Ambergris Caye Belize Message Board