Honey Poppy Banana Bread

This is a light banana bread with a hint of honey. It’s also full of poppyseeds, which is something I really like when I bake sweet breads. Your house will smell awesome when you make this! I challenge you to wait till it has cooled off before cutting a slice.

You will need:

• 3-4 ripe bananas, lightly mashed
• 1/4 c Greek yogurt (I had vanilla on hand, but plain would work too)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 c vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter
• 1/4 c honey
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2 c flour
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t ground cloves
• 1/8 t salt
• 1.25 oz poppyseeds

Then you will…

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, honey and vanilla.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and poppyseeds.
4. Add the banana mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until just combined.
5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until golden and just set in the middle.
6. Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Fresh Blueberries

This cake is inspired by lemon poppyseed bread. The cake is sweet enough for dessert, but it would be a great addition to any brunch.

You will need:

• 1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 + 1/4 c sugar, divided
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 egg
• 3 T poppyseeds
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c light sour cream
• 3 c fresh blueberries
• 4 T blueberry jam
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/3 c powdered sugar
• 2 T strong coffee

Then you will…

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter together with 1/3 cup of the white sugar plus the brown sugar.
3. Mix in half of the zest and lemon juice.
4. Mix in the egg, poppyseeds, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla.
5. Stir in half of the flour and half of the sour cream.
6. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream.
7. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.
8. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, the other half of the lemon zest and juice, the blueberries, blueberry jam and nutmeg.
9. Spread the fruit on top of the batter.
10. Bake 40-50 minutes or until the center is set and the cake is golden brown.
11. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing the springform sides.
12. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar with as much of the coffee as needed to making a drizzling consistency. Drizzle to taste on top of the cake.