I do enjoy recipes from perfectionist chefs, like Martha Stewart, from time to time. But when it comes right down to it, perfect pastries are not my style. I like things to look, taste, and feel homemade.

Banana Pudding
based on Nathalie Dupree’s recipe

1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup flour
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 a pinch of nutmeg
30-40 vanilla wafers
4 bananas, sliced
4 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar

To make the custard, mix together the 1/2 cup of sugar, the flour, and the salt. Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan and add the dry ingredients. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat. Beat the egg yolks lightly with a whisk. Pour a little bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking together. Then add the egg mixture to the saucepan. Bring the custard to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly, and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch baking dish with vanilla wafers. Next, line it with a layer of banana slices. Repeat, alternating layers of wafers and bananas until you have used them all.

Then pour over the custard so that it completely covers the bananas and the wafers.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Gradually add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Spread the meringue fully over the top of the pudding, so that it touches the edges of the baking dish.

Bake until lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes. You may serve the pudding warm or chilled. Serves 6-8.

Here is a fun mini-muffin recipe that I made with some more ripe bananas I wanted to use up. It is based on my Banana Cake recipe, but I’ve added nuts and spices to make a tender, hearty, cozy morning treat.

Banana-Nut Spice Mini-Muffins

2 1/4 cups flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease your mini-muffin tin with cooking spray or line each cup with a parchment liner.

Measure all ingredients into a large electric mixer bowl. Blend for 30 seconds on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Next, beat for three minutes on high speed. Fill mini-muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake 15-20 minutes, or until slightly golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on racks.

When muffins are completely cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve!

Note: If you would like to adapt this recipe for regular-sized muffins, simply increase the baking time to 20-25 minutes!

I’m going to be completely honest with you, dear readers. I love to bake. But I also love to bake quickly. Nanny can tell you plenty of stories about how fast I can throw a pie together. So it makes perfect sense that some of my favorite recipes are what I like to call “dump and mix” recipes. Basically, the directions on these recipes read something like this:

“Preheat your oven and grease the pan. Dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy.”

With recipes as simple and quick as this, I just don’t see how you can justify using store-bought cake mixes. Okay, I admit that I’ll use a mix when I’m in a pinch – but I usually goose it up à la Cake Mix Doctor. But I very much prefer baking from scratch, and I honestly believe it doesn’t have to be any harder than baking a cake from a mix!

Confession: I wrote an “argumentative essay” in my 8th grade English class. What topic did I choose? Reasons why people should bake from scratch and not use store-bought mixes. When I presented my topic to my teacher, she was very skeptical. But I ended up with an A+ on that masterpiece.

This is one of those recipes that goes right to the heart of my position on this issue. This dump-n-mix recipe for banana cake is incredibly simple, super-quick, and outrageously moist and flavorful. I like to top it off with a classic cream cheese frosting. I usually make this as a layer-cake, but this time I decided to go for some cute cupcakes.

On an unrelated side-note, check out the photo below, in which my dog Sophie is making another special Vintage Victuals appearance. Even from outside the window, she knows there are good things going on in the kitchen – especially when I get the camera out!

Banana Cupcakes
Adapted from my vintage Betty Crocker cookbook

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease your desired baking pan: either a 13×9x2 inch pan, two 9-inch round layer pans, three 8-inch round layer pans. Or line cupcake tins with liners.

Measure all ingredients into a large electric mixer bowl. Blend for 30 seconds on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Next, beat for three minutes on high speed. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans, or fill cupcake tins about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake oblong 45-50 minutes, layers 35-40 minutes, cupcakes 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on racks.

Classic Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-ounce package of regular cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend together cream cheese and butter. With mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar until completely incorporated. Add the vanilla, and blend. You may add extra sugar or add a little bit of milk to thicken or thin the frosting to the desired consistency.

Banana-Blueberry-Oat Muffins