Pineapple Upside-down Cake

I made this cake yesterday for dessert, just because I happened to have some leftover canned pineapple in the fridge.  Who knew it was going to be so delicious and decadent!  I remember when my Mom made this cake when I was little and have always loved it, but her version didn't have this rich caramel layer on the bottom.  This extra step makes this cake really special and even good enough for entertaining - especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I baked this cake in a cast iron pan and so can be made in one step.  However, if you do not have one, then just pour the caramel into a 9 inch cake pan or Pyrex dish.  The cake recipe part is pretty basic and luckily only uses one egg (due to my kids making egg and bacon sandwiches for breakfast).  The caramel part is a little trickier however, and I found it impossible to dissolve brown sugar in melted butter as the recipes tell you to do.  So, if you come across the same problem, just add a teaspoon of hot water to the mixture and whisk vigorously on medium heat.  This will dissolve the sugar and result in a beautiful liquid caramel.  I hope you try this cake, I'm sure you and family/friends will love it.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake
(Makes 9 or 10 inch cake)
Ingredients:
Caramel layer
1/2 (4 tbs) stick butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons hot water
1 large can pineapple slices, drained
Maraschino cherries
Cake: 
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tbs) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare caramel: If you are using a cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat.  Sprinkle on  the sugar and stir to dissolve for 3 to 4 minutes.  If the sugar clumps and does not blend into the butter, then add the water and whisk vigorously until a syrup forms.  Transfer the caramel to a 9 or 10 inch baking pan or Pyrex dish.  Set aside.
• Carefully place the rings of pineapple on top of the caramel and fill the centers with cherries (or raspberries, if you don't have cherries).

• Prepare cake:  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
• Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the soft butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.
• Mixing on slow speed, add one third of the flour, then one half of the milk.  Add another third of the flour and the remaining milk.  Finally mix in the rest of the flour, but do not over mix.
• Spoon the batter evenly on top of the pineapple.
• Bake  for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick when inserted in the middle comes out clean.

• Cool on wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes and carefully turn out onto a serving plate. This must be done while the cake is still warm.  Enjoy!

Ultimate Banana Nut Muffins

So, we have a house full of guests this week - 3 daughters, plus friends and boyfriends.  I also had a fruit bowl full of over ripe bananas.  It was the perfect opportunity to make muffins for breakfast or any time snack.

I decided to search the web for the BEST banana nut muffins and came up with Tyler Florence and his "Ultimate recipe"  It looked perfect and didn't have any extras like sour cream (which was not in my half empty fridge) and from the reviews, I could even cut down the amount of butter from 1 1/2 sticks to 1 stick!  Hurrah!  I also had the cup of brown sugar, which is a change from other recipes I have tried before. He also mashes half of the bananas roughly, so we get to see chunks of the fruit inside.  I also substituted the pecans from his original recipe to walnuts.  This recipe definitely looked promising.  As you can see from the photos, they were a great success and made 15 good sized muffins.  Thank you Tyler!

The Ultimate Banana Nut Muffin
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease 2 muffin tins with non-stick spray. 
•  In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside. 
•  Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture.

•  With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.

• Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. 

•  Use ice cream scoop or spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

•  Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.