No Fair!
Reader Marianna from Rio de Janeiro writes:
Hang on a second Joe, this is almost identical to a famous Brazilian cake called Bolo de Banana. The small difference is that we add cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the topping. Did Mr. Colicchio rip us off here?
As far as I know Marianna, no. But I sure like the idea of adding spices to the topping. I’m going to put that into the recipe. Thanks!
That’s the thing about recipe development, especially when it comes to baking: there’s very little that’s new under the sun. I don’t feel like I could ever publish a baking book because at the end of the day, I’d just be slightly modifying other people’s work. But then, those people probably slightly modified someone else’s work. I can’t imagine folks truly develop baking recipes from scratch. If you know, for instance, from an existing recipe that a half teaspoon of baking powder is the right amount of leavener for X amount of flour, you’re not going to try many test batches to discover how much baking powder you should use.
Hey Beth!
That’s why I focus on techniques! 😉
Actually I do believe there’s a lot left to do in baking. There’s always another unexpected twist on a classic out there. But me, I’d just as soon leave that to more innovative bakers!
Cheers,
– Joe