Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Although an upside-down cake is traditionally made with pineapple, fruits like peaches, pears, plums, apples or berries work just as well. I always thought that an upside–down cake was too challenging and complicated to make until I saw this simple recipe on Joy of Baking.

This was my first time making a cake like this and I was very pleased with the results- this is a cake that tastes as good as it looks.

I did make some minor changes to the recipe by cutting down on the butter, sugar and milk and the cake still turned out fine. The proportions I've mentioned worked well for me.

Ingredients:

For the topping:

• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 pineapple (peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick)

 For the cake batter:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the bottom and sides of a round cake pan.

In a small bowl, melt the butter and brown sugar in the microwave. Mix well and heat for another minute or so till the sugar melts and the mixture turns bubbly.

Pour this mixture into a round cake pan and spread it around a bit so that it coats the bottom of the pan and arrange the pineapple pieces in a single layer over it.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients together. Add milk to loosen the batter a bit and mix well.

Dump the batter into the pan over the pineapple layer and spread to get a uniform layer of batter. Smooth the top and place in the oven. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (I let the cake sit in the oven for another 10 minutes after turning it off.)

Cool the cake in the pan for about 5 minutes, run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen it and invert onto a serving plate. Slice and serve warm.

Update: I made this cake again but used plums this time. I also added the zest of one orange to the batter. The cake was a big hit and was gone in just 2 days! 

                       Plum upside-down cake

Pineapple Pulissery (Pineapple in a yogurt and coconut gravy)

Pulissery is a sweet and sour yogurt based Kerala preparation that is regularly made at home. It has been one of my favorites since childhood. It can be made using a couple of different fruits. My mother makes the best pulissery ever, and she does it usually with ripe mangoes or pineapple. She does make it with plantains too, though I do not care much for that version.

This is how I make pineapple pulissery…
Ingredients:
1 20oz can of pineapple chunks, drained (Fresh would definitely be better and sweeter)
½ tsp turmeric powder
5-6 curry leaves

Salt
1 ½ cups yogurt, whipped nicely (Ideally, sour curd should be used. I used some yogurt that I had bought at the Indian store, but it still wasn’t sour enough.)

To be ground to a fine paste:
4-5 Tbsp grated coconut (I used frozen)
½ tsp cumin seeds
5-6 red chillies

For the seasoning:
1 Tbsp coconut oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
A pinch of asafoetida(hing)
2-3 red chillies
3-4 curry leaves

Method:
Cook the pineapple cubes along with some curry leaves, salt and turmeric powder in a little bit of water on medium heat till the pineapple pieces turn soft.

Add the ground paste of coconut, cumin and red chillies to the cooked pineapple and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes.

Turn down the heat and add the yogurt. Mix well and turn off the heat. (This is important as the whole thing starts to curdle with too much heat…not a pretty sight!)

Heat the oil in a pan and add the ingredients for the seasoning. Add to
puliserry.

Serve with steaming hot rice,

thoran and pappadams.


Other Kerala style preparations on this blog -
Vegetable Stew
Ulli Chutney (Onion Chutney)
Pazham Pori (Plantain Fritters)
Instant Dosa with Sambar and Chutney
Kaya Thoran( Raw Banana stir fry)
Kale Thoran (a stir fry with Kale)


This is being sent to Jyothsna of Currybazaar who is hosting RCI: Cuisine of Kerala.

Pineapple Pudding

Here’s a really simple dessert that is suitable for any occasion and makes use of less than five ingredients. It can be put together very quickly when you are craving something sweet. However, consider yourself warned - it IS loaded with calories.

The other day I was going through my food cupboard and came across some canned pineapples and a long-forgotten can of condensed milk, stashed away at the back.
I immediately knew what I had to make.

This is a recipe for a simple and sweet pineapple pudding.

Ingredients:
¾ can (14 fl oz) of sweetened condensed milk
1 can (15 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
1 envelope gelatin (You could use whatever substitute you have available.)
A big handful of dried cranberries

Please note:
*Do not use fresh/frozen pineapple if you are using gelatin as the gelling agent. The fresh fruit contains an enzyme that breaks down the protein in the gelatin, it will fail to firm up and the end- product will be watery. Canning/heating pineapple breaks down the enzyme and it can be used without a problem.

* Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the bones and connective tissues of animals such as the domesticated cattle, pigs and horses.(Source:

Wikipedia)

Strict vegetarians/vegans are better off using agar-agar or other similar substitutes. Though we are Kerala brahmins and most of our clan practices strict vegetarianism, we only do what we find practical and convenient.

But I digress… before you lose interest competely, let me continue with the recipe!

Method:
Dissolve an envelope of gelatin in a cup of hot water. Stir to mix everything well.

Add the drained and crushed pineapple to the condensed milk along with the cranberries and mix well. Add the dissolved gelatin & mix again.

Pour into molds (I used my muffin pan) and refrigerate for an hour or so till the pudding sets.
Sprinkle a few cranberries on the top and serve cold.

Verdict: It was a little too sweet even for me, considering the fact that I am the one with the sweet tooth in the family, but my husband loved it.
I would cut down on the amount of condensed milk used the next time I make this.

Pineapple Halwa or something like it...

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups canned, crushed pineapple
1 cup milk
½ cup rava/semolina/cream of wheat
2 tsp sugar (according to taste)
1 Tbsp ghee
A pinch of powdered cardamom
Almonds

Method:
Heat the ghee in a pan and add the rava to it & toast it till it is done. (You can tell by the smell when it’s done.)

Add the milk followed by the crushed pineapple. Stir continuously and keep mixing well on low to medium heat for about 15-20 minutes.

Add the almonds, sugar & cardamom powder and continue to cook for another 2 -3 minutes.
Serve hot or cold.

P.S.- I am really not sure whether this is a halwa or a sheera or a kesari. I’m pretty sure that there is some subtle difference. If any one of you knows the difference, do let me know.

Update: I have decided to send this to Latha as my entry for participating in her Krishna Janmashtami celebrations.