"Simply Irresistible"

This is my entry to a reallllly cool Blogging Event...."Eat to the Beat!" Check it, peeps!
Food and music - woo hoo!

Remember Robert Palmer? Kinda hot! Maybe not to you whippersnappers, (Emiline), but back in the day, I totally rocked the spandex….pretending I was a 'Robert Palmer girl'. Too bad the babysitter and the kids laughed so hard when I came downstairs in my red lipstick and slicked back hair. And it didn't help when I took a header in my 4 inch heels. While dancing. And doing air guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3geoXOdnJQ

And how about these ooey gooey puppies, eh? Looking pretty rockin’?? They are SO "simply irresistible" and, (because you all know what a lazy, sketchy, and paranoid baker I am), VERY easy. Nothing can go wrong. Except getting the butterscotch caramel syrup in your hair. That was messy. And NOT very Robert Palmerish.

Oh, dear Lord, what kinda of deluded 80's memories am I serving up these days????

I used my Texas sized muffin pan – because Texas goes with shoulder pads, spandex dresses, and…oh, never mind. These are just big ol’ irresistible Robert-Palmer-girl-over-the-top muffin cakes. And you MUST use Mrs. Richardson's topping...it's the best.



"Simply Irresistible" Banana and Butterscotch-Caramel Muffin Cakes

Makes 6 – I really suggest the “Big Pan”

For Muffin Cakes:
6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark, whatever)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup cake flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup smashed overripe banana (about 1 small one)
1/3 cup sour cream
1-2 tablespoons milk, as needed

For Filling and Topping
1 jar Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch-Caramel Ice Cream Topping Sauce
½ cup heavy cream, whipped
2 medium nice bananas, sliced very thinly
About 3 oz good dark chocolate (I used Sharffen Berger), shaved

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 6 hole muffin tin (Texas!) with paper liners or grease with butter and dust with a little flour.
2. In a medium sized bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well after each one. Beat in the vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, allspice and nutmeg.
4. Add the banana and sour cream to butter mixture.
5. Stir in the flour mixture, just mixing in and not beating too much. Add milk if necessary to obtain a nice banana bread type batter.
6. Divide mixture among baking cups and smooth with spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and springy to the touch.
7. Remove to rack, cool for a few minutes, then remove muffins to cool completely before filling.
8. Cut cakes horizontally into three slices. Re-assemble cakes with caramel and 4 banana slices on the bottom and middle layers. Place top layer.
9. Fold 3 tablespoons of the butterscotch caramel topping into the whipped cream – don’t over mix, it will appear streaky, which is good!
10. Dollop the top of each muffin cake with whipping cream and top with chocolate shavings.