PINEAPPLE AND COCONUT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

 

PINEAPPLE AND COCONUT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Would you believe me if I say that my favorite recipe in The Artful Baker doesn’t have chocolate or caramel in it? It isn’t one of the many ice cream recipes either. I can almost hear you gasp. I know, I wasn’t expecting it either. Considering that there is a chocolate cake using over a pound of chocolate (the one on the cover), this is a big statement, but my favorite recipe in the book is the Sour Cherry and Almond Upside-Down Cake.

And it would still be a contender even without the sour cherries on top. It is that good.

It is also one of the easiest recipes in the book. For the cake, you put the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor one after another and press a button.

So what do you do when you develop a recipe like that? You simply test all the variations you can think of.

I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the walnut version which I topped with a banana and milk chocolate ganache or the pistachio version which I’m currently contemplating on transforming into a pound cake, but none of the variations came close to the original.

That is until I thought of a coconut version many years later.

There’s only two and a half months left before The Artful Baker is released (on October 17 to be exact) and I’ll make sure to share the original recipe then, but you don’t have to wait that long to get an idea. This pineapple and coconut version is just as good.

For the fruit layer of upside-down cakes, I prefer to cook the fruit before arranging them on the bottom. This enables me to fit in more fruit and prevent the bubbling juices from leeching into the cake.

In the case of this pineapple version, I cut the pineapple slices into small pieces and arranged them in concentric circles to maximize the amount of fruit. For an 8-inch round cake, seven slices of pineapple is a pretty good amount, don’t you think?

Not that you need yet another reason to run immediately into the kitchen, but the cake gets better with time, too.

PINEAPPLE & COCONUT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE RECIPE

Serves 8

FRUIT LAYER

• 1/3 cup (67 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) unsalted butter
• 7 3/4-inch-thick fresh pineapple slices (1.54 pounds; 700 grams; from about 2 medium fresh pineapples), cut into quarters lengthwise

CAKE

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups (140 grams) unsweetened shredded dried coconut
• 3/4 cup (105 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 grams) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) fine sea salt
• 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (5.3 ounces; 150 grams) unsalted butter, cut into large pieces and softened, plus more for pan

SERVING

• Vanilla or coconut ice cream, optional

1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. To make the fruit layer, put the sugar in a 12-inch (30.5-cm or larger so that you can cook all the pineapple pieces at once), high-sided skillet and shake the skillet to level the sugar. Set the skillet over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar melts on the edges, drag the outer edges to the center with a silicone spatula to moisten the dry parts. Once the sugar melts completely, stop stirring and cook until the caramel turns a dark amber color. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the butter and stir until melted. Be careful; the caramel will bubble up vigorously and hot steam will rise. Arrange the pineapple pieces in a single layer and cook until they are caramelized on the bottom, about 7 minutes. Flip the pieces and cook until they are caramelized on the other side, about 5 minutes. Transfer the caramelized pineapple pieces to a cutting board and let cool completely.
3. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch (20.5-cm) round cake pan, line the bottom with a parchment round, and wrap a dampened cake strip around the pan. (I highly recommend using a cake strip to prevent a domed top, which can cause the fruit layer to crack after the cake is inverted onto the serving plate.)
4. To make the cake, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla with a fork until blended.
5. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the coconut, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the dough gathers around the blade, about 1 minute. Add the egg mixture and process until blended, about 20 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The batter will be very thick.
6. Cut the cooled pineapple slices in half lengthwise and arrange them in tightly packed concentric circles on the bottom of the prepared pan, alternating the pieces for the two outer circles pointed ends up and down so that there are no gaps left between them (see photo above). Scrape the batter over the fruit layer and spread it evenly with a small offset spatula.
7. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Pressing firmly against the pan, run a small knife around the edge to loosen the cake, invert onto a serving plate, and remove the parchment round.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature, with vanilla or coconut ice cream if you wish.

Storage: The cake will keep, wrapped airtight, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

August 2, 2017 · 11 CommentsCategories: Best of Cafe Fernando, Cakes, Cookbook, FruitTags: coconut, pineapple, pineapple and coconut upside down cake, pineapple upside down cake, pineapple upside down cake recipe, the artful baker, upside down cake
http://cafefernando.com/recipes/

EARL GREY PUDDING

 

EARL GREY PUDDING

Here is another interesting version of the Gum Mastic Pudding recipe I posted earlier. This time with Earl Grey… Earl Grey tea leaves added an earthy flavor to the pudding. Next time, I will try with Lapsang Souchong.

EARL GREY PUDDING RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 6 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons Earl Grey tea leaves (may be replaced by 5-6 tea bags)
• 1 vanilla pod

Method

1. In a medium pot, mix 2 cups of milk, 1 vanilla pod (split and seeds scraped) and 3 tablespoons of Earl Grey tea leaves. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat off and let steep for 30 minutes.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add 1 cup flour and whisk (it will look lumpy and give the impression that this will never work with this amount of butter, but it will – trust me).
3. Pour in 2 cups of milk gradually (whisking constantly and thereby dissolving the lumps) and simmer for 10-15 minutes. With the help of a hand blender, pulse until all the lumps are gone and the flour is absorbed completely by the milk.
4. Pour in the remaining 2 cups of milk and 1 cup sugar and whisk until everything is incorporated.
5. Pour in the Earl Grey/Vanilla/Milk mixture through a fine sieve and whisk until the mixture starts to thicken (about 20-30 minutes).
6. Take off the heat, transfer to a stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment for 20 minutes.
7. Pour into your serving dish(es) through a fine sieve and chill.

June 18, 2006 · 6 CommentsCategories: Puddings and CustardsTags: earl grey, pudding recipe

Two Turkish Summer Salads - Cafe Fernando

Two Turkish Summer Salads - Cafe Fernando

TWO SUMMER SALADS

Come summer, I find a box full of organic produce on my desk every Monday morning. Big, bright red tomatoes that do smell and taste like tomatoes, tiny crunchy seedless cucumbers, crisp & sweet green peppers and a bunch of tender purslane. And how can I forget the dark purple eggplants that will perfume my kitchen all week long while they bake in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon?

The delivery guy behind this marvelous produce is my father.

Every year from June to September, my parents spend their weekends at our summerhouse, just an hour’s drive from Istanbul. Our house is by the sea, so we never had a pool and that meant a garden for my father to spend every minute of his waking hours. The garden wasn’t this bountiful during my childhood. We always had tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, but that was nearly it. Me and my brother used to throw the stones of the fruits we ate after dinner at the garden downstairs. Now those stones turned into cherry, apricot and peach trees. There is also a lemon tree by the entrance, which produces 3-4 lemons per year! It isn’t plenty, but we devour them.

Purslane is my favorite produce this summer. The first time my father brought a small bunch, I was ecstatic. I had never seen purslane leaves this tiny and crisp. All I wanted to do was rush home and make my most favorite summer salad.

Purslane Salad with a yogurt, garlic and ginger dressing.

My other favorite summer salad, called Shepherd’s Salad, is very straightforward. It is basically a mixture of diced tomatoes, peppers, red onions and cucumbers dressed with one part olive oil and one part red wine vinegar (or lemon juice).

If you add half a bunch of flat leaf parsley, a tablespoon of pomegranate molasses and some sumac, then you have another traditional salad called Gavurdagi.

PURSLANE SALAD WITH A YOGURT, GARLIC AND GINGER DRESSING

Serves 2

Ingredients

• A bunch of purslane (about 3 cups, loosely packed)
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tbsp hot red pepper flakes

Method

Wash purslane (discard coarse stems, if any) and drain well. Place yogurt, garlic, ginger, olive oil and salt in a bowl and blend with a hand-held immersion blender until the texture resembles buttermilk (the yogurt will liquidize after a while). Toss with the roughly chopped purslane. I always sprinkle a generous amount of hot red pepper flakes on top for an extra kick.

TURKISH SHEPHERD’S SALAD

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 large tomato
• 4 tiny seedless cucumbers
• 10-20 tiny sweet green peppers (or one large green bell pepper)
• 1 medium red onion
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Feta cheese and Nigella seeds, for decorating

Method

Cut the tomato, cucumbers, red onion and green peppers into 1/2-inch cubes and toss with olive oil & vinegar. Mix in chopped flat leaf parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a square piece of feta cheese and sprinkle Nigella seeds on top.

July 18, 2008 · 34 CommentsCategories: Salad, Turkish CuisineTags: ginger, purslane, purslane salad, yogurt