Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

See the Caramel brittle pieces on the sides?

This is after the cake had been more-or-less demolished, with a big piece of the caramel brittle left over.

Pineapple upside down cake is a pre-school staple, as I recall. Along with nasty tapioca pudding, graham crackers, and over-cooked carrots. However, the idea of it is so deliciously like something Curious George or the French orphan Madeline would love, that I cannot help but love it too. It reminds me of rainy puddle splashing days in small bright raincoats with shiny red wellies and discarded umbrellas. Anyway, on a dreary summer morning in Oxford, it seemed the best breakfast I could muster. (I know one shouldn't eat cake for breakfast, but at least I have all day to work it off, right?) Anyway, I found this recipe for pineapple upside down cake at Smitten Kitchen, an insanely great recipe blog, and I decided to veganize it for breakfast. The great thing about this recipe is that the topping of the cake is a delicious and super-easy caramel, and the cake has rum in it, as well. I'm moving out of my student accommodation on Saturday this week, so I'm trying not to go grocery shopping again before I move and I only have certain ingredients left in the flat, including a tub of vegan sunflower spread (vegan margarine), so I used that instead of butter, and for the eggs I used the old cornstarch substitution, but instead of mixing it with water, I used rum, both because I'd like to finally finish off the bottle I bought at Christmastime and because who wouldn't want a tad more rum in a rum and pineapple breakfast cake, hmmm? Anyway, here's the recipe, so enjoy!

Topping:

1 can pineapple chunks, or equivalent fresh pineapple (enough to cover the bottom of your cake pan)

6 Tbsp vegan margarine

3/4 cup brown sugar

Cake:

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp vegan margarine (I suppose if you wanted to go lower fat you could substitute apple sauce for the margarine in the cake batter, but for the topping you really NEED the fat)

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp Cornstarch

3 Tbsp + 1tsp dark rum

3/4 cup pineapple juice (I just used the juice from the can)

2 Tbsp dark rum for sprinkling over the finished cake

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C.

Melt butter over medium heat in non-stick frying pan. When it has melted and is just simmering, add the brown sugar and simmer for 4 or 5 minutes. Scrape the caramel into the bottom of an ungreased cake pan (9 in round, square, or similar). Arrange pineapple artfully on top of caramel (I used concentric circles...ish, since I used a square pan).

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the margarine until fluffy-ish (If using apple sauce, don't worry when you can't make it fluffy). Gradually add sugar and continue beating. Mix Cornstarch and rum in a little bowl, or cup measure and when combined, pour them into butter-sugar mixture.

Add half of flour mixture and beat until just blended (overbeating may make the cake tough). Beat in pineapple juice, then remainder of flour. Batter may look slightly curdled, but its okay.

Spoon batter over pineapple in cake pan and spread evenly.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until cake tests done when poked with a toothpick.

After removing from the oven, let cake stand for five minutes and then run a spatula around the edges just to loosen the crispy caramel bits stick to the sides. Invert a plate over the top of the pan, and then invert cake onto the plate. Replace any pineapple and caramely bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. (I ended up with some big pieces like brittle, which I served broken up alongside the cake.) Sprinkle the remaining 2 Tbsp of rum over the finished cake and serve warm. mmmmm.....

Alternatively, you can make this cake one day ahead and refrigerate overnight. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Also, if you're not concerned about fat, and like an even richer cake, substitute coconut milk for the pineapple juice and make a scrumptious Pina Colada Upside Down Cake!!! It's the perfect reminder of the tropics on a rainy summer day.

Amazing Apricot Curd

It's been a while since I posted, I know. I've had lots of successful recipes since the last one I posted, but this one really stands out, so even though It's crunch time for the final papers of my post-grad classes, I found time to type up the recipe for this Amazing Apricot curd. It was so delicious that when I went to fill the cake with it, I'd eaten too much of it and had to fill half the cake with leftover strawberry-lemon curd that I made last week during my obsession with finding the perfect tart filling. (Inspired by Frank Beddor's desctiption of "tarty tarts" in Alyss's Wonderland.) Anyway, here's the recipe, and above are some pictures of the lemon chiffon cake I filled it with. (The chiffon cake recipe I have makes more batter than my bundt pan holds, so I can get about 9 cupcakes out of it, too, which is great for leftover curd)

Apricot Curd (w/lemon)

 

Seriously, the most amazing thing you may ever eat. Addictive, especially with little lemon chiffon cupcakes!

1 cup granulated sugar

5 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups apricot nectar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 can apricot halves in syrup, finely chopped (or fresh apricots, if you can get them, about 8-10)

2 egg yolks, beaten (optional)

2 tablespoons butter (optional)

 

In saucepan, whisk half the sugar, the cornstarch and salt. (If not using egg yolks, add all the sugar and 1 or 2 additional Tbsp cornstarch). Stir in water and juices until evenly mixed. Bring to boil over medium-low heat, stirring (sort of) constantly – you don’t want it to cook unevenly and get lumpy. When it has boiled to the point that it is clear and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, take it off the heat.

If using egg yolks, whisk them with the other half of the sugar until they thicken and lighten in colour. Add a quarter cup of the hot juice mixture to the eggs to temper. When combined, add them back into the juice mixture pan and stir constantly over medium heat, but do not let it boil.

Remove from heat and add the butter, stirring until incorporated.

If you want to make this in other flavors, just use different juices and fruits in similar proportions. (Ex. Orange and Lemon with 1 tsp. zest from each makes sour orange pie filling, or using macerated strawberries instead of apricot nectar would be delicious too - Be Creative!!!)

Good as a filling for cakes, or just to eat on its own!

Try not to eat it all at once!

Persian Pear Cupcakes

This was an experimental cupcake inspired by Roopa of Raspberry Eggplant's Lavender Pear Bear cupcake. I had pears lying around, and I just discovered that the little middle eastern shop nearby sells big bottles of rosewater, and in researching recipes that use rosewater I discovered that a common accompanying spice in Persian food is cardamom. Cardamom may just be one of my favorite flavors of all time, so I just had to invent cupcake that used all these elements! It's a (Low fat) Pear and Cardamom cupcake with Rose Buttercream Frosting.

The cupcakes turned out a little more moist than is strictly necessary. I was worried they would be dry because I tried to cut fat by using pear puree instead of butter, but I kept a little butter in so they wouldn't be too rubbery, which is what happens to cake when you don't add fat. So it might be okay to further reduce to butter to 2 Tbsp. Also, I used margarine to further reduce the fat, and because it's cheaper. I had to run out the the store today to buy butter for the buttercream, because margarinecream just seems wrong. 

This recipe isn't vegan because of the butter and the milk, but the cornstarch and water bit is my way of substituting of eggs. There would have been three eggs in the cupcakes, so if you want to make them that way, go ahead. Additionally, if you substitute soy milk (or even water) for the milk and Earth Balance (vegan margarine) for the butter, the whole recipe could be vegan!!!

Anyway, here goes. Let me know what you think!

Persian Pear Cupcakes

Makes 13

Cupcake Ingredients:

1/2 c. pear puree (I just reduced a can of pears over the stove and mashed it up)

1/4 c. butter (could be reduced to 2 T)

2/3 c. sugar

3 T cornstarch dissolved in 6 T water

1 t vanilla (optional)

1/2 c. milk (I used skim)

1 1/2 c. flour (all purpose)

1 1/2 t ground cardamom (better if freshly ground)

1/2 t salt

2 t baking powder

3/4 c. small chopped fresh pear pieces

Cupcake Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, and pear puree. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and mix in thoroughly. Add vanilla if using. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients and then add alternating with the milk and stirring after each addition. Fold in chopped pear pieces.

Spoon batter into lined muffin baking tin. Fill each paper 3/4 full. If you want really tall domed cupcakes, fill them up a little higher, but the recipe will yield less. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Let them cool cool completely before frosting.

Rose Buttercream Frosting

1/2 c. real butter at room temperature

4 c. powdered sugar

1 or 2 T rosewater, to taste

up to 4 T milk

a little red food coloring

It's important for the butter to be room temperature, because otherwise it's impossible to stir!

Cream butter with wooden spoon until smooth. Add sugar one cup at a time up to two cups. Add rosewater, it will make the stirring easier. Add the rest of the sugar one half cup at a time alternating with milk as needed. Don't get excited and add too much milk, or your frosting will be too runny. Add the red food coloring to achieve the desired shade of rose.

Pipe or spread buttercream onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

Tip: the frosting is so strong (and delicious) in flavor that it can easily overpower the cupcake, so try to keep it thinly spread. Also, you may have a lot of leftover frosting. (I do!) I wasn't sure it'd be enough at first, but now I'm thinking I'll take the leftovers and roll it into little balls and put them in the freezer and then dip them in dark chocolate later when I have time. Mmmm....dark chocolate rose buttercreams!

I would post more pictures, but I can't get it to do what I want, so that's it for now!

Let's Abodiyo Go!

"Abodiyo go" is one of those dorky phrases my mom always used when I was growing up, and which I swore in high school that I'd never say. That aside, I think it fits this beginning of a dorky amateur blog about food. Food is my not-so-secret passion. In another life, I could definitely have been happy being a baker. As it is, my current calling is as a peacebuilder and friendmaker. That said, baking things for people is one of the fastest ways to make friends. 

Here are my scrambled thoughts about cooking:

Cooking can be a communal activity, which can help strengthen relationships. Eating, as Wendell Barry said, is an agricultural act, so cooking and eating connect us with the earth, and those that tend it. Eating is also an intimate act, which we generally share only with our friends and families. Cooking for someone is an act of love. It can show concern for their well-being, care for their body, and an appreciation of their taste, as well as being a sacrifice of the chef's time.

Here are my thoughts about being vegetarian or vegan:

I've never really liked meat, so it's no real hardship to give it up. I've been sort of vegetarian for a year now. I say "sort of" because hospitality is more important to me than my personal eating choices. So if someone else is cooking for me, particularly if they are from a culture different from my own, I eat whatever they make. In fact, because of this rule, I have now partaken of three different (and tasty) insect varieties.

I started out being vegan last year for Lent and I really enjoyed it, and even got to the point where eggs kinda gross me out, but in the end, my admiration of cheese was too great. In any case, when I cook for myself, I tend to cook vegetarian, so that's the kind of recipes you'll be finding here, although many of them are also vegan, or easily adaptable with the proper substitutions.

Oh, and the name BeanCake, I felt encompassed the vegetarian vibe, and the wonderful realm of desserts. 

So, here's my mission statement for this blog:

 I will publish and organize my recipes (original, altered, and otherwise) on this blog in order to develop my creativity, confidence, prowess, and gusto in the kitchen. I will post questions in order to learn form the wisdom of others, as well as share what I have learned. Hopefully others will see the recipes and in turn, be inspired...perhaps even lulled into a peaceful state by sensory goodness. 

This blog is a way to share with you the love I put into my food.

Thanks,

BeanCake