Follow me as I dive into the world that is cooking! There will be mishaps, burns and feasts as you watch my progression from college-student fare (pizza rolls and ramen noodles) to (hopefully) goddess of the hearth! I am always open to new recipes and ideas, so feel free to contact me.

October 15, 2012

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake





Some awesome friends of ours invited us out to their  house for brisket this afternoon. How could we say no?! The guy had woken up at 5:30 this morning to prep and begin smoking this hunk of beef.  So good.  Naturally I asked if there was anything I could bring, and when I realized my friend had no dessert in line, I opted for that.
friend!

I don't know if you've ever had the experience of wandering around your kitchen, picking up random foods and asking the morsel, "how can I use you?" so as to avoid a trip to the store, but in just such a search I came across a ripened pineapple I had been meaning to devour this weekend. With my Cook's Illustrated book in hand (I LOVE Cook's Illustrated!) I threw together a tasty, slightly sweet end to an afternoon meal of meat and potatoes.


The Cook's Illustrated staff has perfected many recipes, including the fudgiest brownies I have ever experienced (don't worry, they will be here soon!).  They operate out of an amazing test kitchen that usually results in some pretty specific instructions to replicate the recipe, so when you read the instructions on this, know that it is detailed because it's awesome EXACTLY how they make it.  

The only change I would have made (yeah you like that contradiction?!) is added more pineapple-caramel juice.  I don't think the pineapple I had was big enough, or maybe I didn't let it sit long enough before allowing it to be devoured.  

Anyway, it was a hit and I barely had time to take a photo before there was only a tiny sliver left!  I had an avid pineapple upside-down cake fan at the house, and it was stamped with a mouthful of approval.  I really enjoyed the fact that this cake was not overly sweet and had a nice balance of soft, moist cake to fresh-baked caramelized pineapple goodness.  Note that this recipe uses no canned pineapple or cherries!  Be forewarned in case that's what you found in your pantry...