Are You a Procrastibaker?

Hello. My name is... and I am a procrastibaker. Baking is my excuse when I have a writing deadline and struggling with "writer's block."

Now I am going to confess something shocking. It dawned on me a few years ago that I actually hate baking. One couldn't tell it by looking at my photos of the last couple of years with all of the baking I have done for Christmas, but I really do-not-like baking - - but I do it. 

There can be a million things on my plate (cake plate, of course) and I will find a reason to bake. However, there are a few shortcuts I have taken over the years. Like brownies  - - 

I swear by brownie mixes. (See the Infallible Brownie Mix) It doesn't matter the brand. I buy whatever is on sale. I always keep one or two boxes of brownie mixes in my cupboard. When I feel like procrastibaking - - and a little chocolate, I can grab a brownie mix. 

Now it's what I do with the brownie mix that's important. I often add an extra egg. I always add leftover coffee instead of water, and sometimes add a little spice - like Mexican vanilla, cinnamon, or even a little chili or cayenne pepper. I have also added a few chocolate chips to the batter. And the pan I use to bake the brownies is always lined with parchment paper. The brownies lift right out of the pan and I cut them right on the parchment paper - and I don't have an extra dirty pan to scrub. I love parchment paper as much as I love a brownie mix. 

I think the reason why I am not a fan of baking is I get bored measuring out the little stuff: salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda... And then there's the moisture part of it - do we use butter, shortening, oil - - and what kind of oil? Olive, corn, canola, vegetable... snooze. 

Recently, I discovered another secret when it comes to procrastibaking - cake mixes. I typically don't buy cake mixes because I don't bake cakes. However, if I do make a cake, I make them from scratch - and I use my grandmother's carrot cake recipe or the Waldorf Astoria red velvet cake - another family recipe. And that's my limit when it comes to baking cakes... I guess I have always been a fruit pie baker and less a cake baker. 

So what do I do with cake mixes? When life hands you lem... bananas, you bake bread - banana bread! I freeze a lot of bananas because once they start getting ripe, I won't eat them. Baking banana bread is boring, but I recently came across a recipe for banana bread using cake mixes. My first try was a couple of loaves of chocolate banana bread for gifting - and the reviews were excellent.

For the next banana bread science project, I bought a yellow cake mix... Also, I am going to experiment with less oil and/or none at all and rely on the bananas for the moisture. We'll see how that works. 

Chocolate Banana Bread

• One 15.25-ounce box chocolate cake mix (or yellow-vanilla flavor)
• 1/4 cup oil
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate or peanut butter chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. (Also I used parchment. The bread lifted right out) 

• Combine the cake mix, oil, mashed bananas, eggs, and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup water in a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer or whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Use the water for a lighter consistency just in case the bananas are not "gooey." 
• Fold in the choice of chocolate or peanut butter chips - or not. Evenly divide the batter between the 2 prepared loaf pans.
  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool on a cooling rack.

Now stop what you're doing and go procrastibake!