Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Dad's birthday was celebrated at brunch time, so it seemed a little weird to make a traditional birthday cake. Combined with the slew of birthday and Valentines related treats, I was looking to make a bit of a lighter cake! Fruity desserts are healthier, right?? :-)

I debated between two recipes for this old classic. One was from old faithful Cooks Illustrated, while the other was from Chang's Flour Recipe Book. I went with the CI recipe since they used brown sugar in their caramel sauce, which sounded tastier. I'm sure both are wonderful, though. This sure was! My only advice would be to make this dish the same day you're serving it. Since I had a volunteer commitment the morning of my dads birthday brunch, I made the cake the day before. I think the refrigeration changed the consistency a bit, and next time I'll make this when I can serve or eat it immediately!

Ingredients:

Pineapple topping:
1 medium fresh pineapple, peeled and diced in small pieces
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cake:
1.5 cups flour - I used GF Better Batter!
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg white, room temperature
1/3 cup whole milk

Grease one 9 inch round, 2 inch deep round cake pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

For the pineapple topping: combine the pineapple and brown sugar in a 10 inch skillet.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally during the first five minutes, until pineapple is translucent and has a light brown hue, 15 - 18 minutes.

Empty the fruit and juices into a mesh strainer or colander set over a medium bowl. Return the juices to the skillet, leaving the pineapple in the strainer, returning the bowl underneath to catch additional juice.

Simmer juice over medium heat until thickened, 6 - 8 minutes.

Feel free to add more of the juice that collects in the bowl, but don't worry about all of it, especially if it gets added past the four minute mark as it won't have time to reduce. Off heat, add the butter and vanilla.

Whisk until butter melts and then add the mixture, which is now caramel, into the bottom of the 9 inch cake pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, add vanilla, and beat to combine the eggs, one at a time (ending with the egg white). Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Reduce speed to low, add one third of the flour mixture, and beat until mixed. Add one half the milk, and repeat with the remaining thirds of the flour mixture and half of the milk. Give the whole thing a final stir with the spatula. The batter will be thick!

Here are your three items:

Distribute the cooked pineapple in the cake pan in an even layer, gently pressing the pineapple into the caramel.

Spread the cake batter over the pineapple/caramel layer and tap the pan to release any air bubbles. Bake until the cake is golden brown and passes the toothpick test, 45 - 50 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, not much longer so the caramel doesn't harden in the pan, and then place the inverted serving platter over the cake pan. Invert the cake pan and platter together, lift off cake pan. Your cake should be left behind!

Mom's Beef Stew

My mom made some awesome beef stew for my birthday dinner, and I had to make some!

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2 -3 pounds stewing beef, lean
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
mushrooms, optional - I left them out
2 lbs potatoes - I found a bag of very small yellow potatoes from Roche Brothers I used. I think they were mini yukon golds
1 can tomato paste
1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 14 ounce can of tomato sauce
4 cups of GF beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
Flour, I used GF flour Better Batter
Seasonings - whatever you prefer! My mom brought me back some great spices from her trip to Grenada. The seasonings she used in her stew, which I did as well, was a calypso chicken seasoning mix. The ingredients listed are salt, chilies, paprika, onion, garlic, oregano & ginger. So a combination of these spices (the onion and garlic being in powder form) would work great!

Take the meat out of the plastic and dry with paper towels.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drudge in your flour.

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan, such as a Dutch oven, and add your meat in one or two batches. Using tongs, turn the meat after a few minutes on each side. When done, transfer to a large plate.

Add the onion to the now empty pan, adding a little more olive oil if necessary. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits left behind by the meat. After a few minutes, when the onion is soft and beginning to turn translucent, add the carrots (and mushrooms if you're using them, plus any other veggies you'd like) and let cook for another few minutes. When the carrot is softening a bit, add the tomatoes, sauce, paste, broth, salt & potatoes. I added two tablespoons of my spice packet.

Bring to a boil, then add the meat. Cover, and either simmer on low heat or transfer to a 350 degree oven. Either way, cook for around an hour until the meat is nice and tender. I like to finish cooking it in the oven, especially this time because I was also cooking some bread I made from one of my new King Arthur Flour gluten free bread mixes. BTW, the bread was AWESOME! One of the best breads I've ever had, and not even "for being gluten free". Just fantastic!

Doug had a nice bowl waiting for him when he got home from work!