Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I know, I know. A nice glacé cherry would really cheer this cake up - but I say - wouldn't that be a bit Eighties? A bit cliché? Actually, it's just because I don't like glacé cherries, which is a damn shame - they always seem so cute and filled with all the very best E-numbers!

This recipe for Pineapple Upside Down is really one of my favourites. It's very easy, very quick and quite forgiving. I believe the proper ones can take a good hour or two to cook - so this might not have the perfect sponge - but actually, you're only eating this cake for 2 reasons, the pineapple and the sugar crust and don't pretend otherwise! I use a bigger tin than the one from the official recipe, because then I can use the whole tin of pineapples, but you do get quite a scant sponge. I doubled the sponge for these pictures, but I don't think it tasted as nice. Serve with some whipping cream with a bit of the pineapple syrup stirred in. Then invite me round please!

For the Topping:

50g softened butter

50g light soft brown sugar

7 pineapple rings, tinned in syrup

Glacé cherries (optional!)

Instructions:

In a large bowl, use a spoon, or hand held whisk to mix the butter and sugar together till creamy. Spread out onto the bottom of a 20cm+ cake tin, smearing a little bit up the sides too. Drain the pineapple rings, keeping the syrup, and arrange into the tin, along with your cherries. 

For the Sponge:

100g softened butter

100g golden caster sugar

100g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

 2 tbsp pineapple syrup

Instructions:

So simple - put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them all together!

 Spread out over your pineapple layer, put into an oven heated to 180°C for 30-35 minutes. Leave for a few minutes before you cross your fingers and flip upside-down! A great cake tin really helps with this. I use a spring form cake tin which makes this very simple.

Enjoy! If you do get any left over, it tastes just as lovely the next day with a cuppa.

Hint: I've been known to prepare the pineapple layer, and make the cake batter, a couple of hours before dinner. Then as I serve up our main course, I fix the two pudding layers together and slip into the oven. 

Quick Roasted New Potatoes

Just a quick post for today about a handy side dish of Roasted New Potatoes. Now normally these can take about 40 minutes to roast, or might involve some par boiling, but I've happened on a way to get it done faster and to fit in alongside your dinner. I hate it when it take longer to cook the potatoes than whatever it is I want to eat with them!

First - have a handy route inside your store cupboard/fridge. Have some oil? Good! Now, what do you like to have your new potatoes with? A bit of garlic? Lemon? Herbs? Bacon? (Again with the bacon I know... I'm obsessed.) Use whatever you have or like.

Add 500g new potatoes to a microwavable bowl with a lid. Add a couple of tablespoons of cold water.

On a high heat cook them for around 5 minutes till they go soft. Then add them to a baking tray of olive oil, and whatever additions you fancy.  I've used some chopped garlic and rosemary here - but you could easily try some lemon zest, or something a bit spicier. 

Add your potatoes and give it a good shake to mix it all up and coat well.

Cook for around  10-15 minutes in a hot oven (maybe 180C - whatever suits) till they go crispy.

Enjoy! Will put on a much more exciting (and deliciously simple) Pineapple Upside Down cake tomorrow.

Potato Cakes

This recipe is another from the book, the British Food Bible. Potato Cakes are delicious for a snack, with bacon for breakfast, or as a nice change with dinner, served with some lamb. It's also a handy way of using left over mash from the night before. According to the book, for a truly perfect potato cake you must use fresh, piping hot mash, but I've done otherwise and it still tastes gorgeous to me!

Ingredients:

550g mashed potato
25g butter
Seasoning
1 egg (optional)
115g plain flour

Instructions:

Whip your mash (either hot or cold) with the egg, butter and seasoning.

Mix together with the flour.  Add 100g of flour at first and keep adding flour when necessary going till you get a good doughy texture.

You could take an opportunity now to mix in an optional extra or two - such as small bits of crispy bacon or some spring onion. I've used some tiny bits of chopped leeks here to match in with the rest of our dinner.

When it has all formed a dough, place onto your work top, which should be well dusted with flour, and sprinkling the rolling pin with flour to give you a helping hand - roll out till the dough is 2cm thick.

Use a pastry cutter to cut into the sizes you desire - larger for a snack on their own, smaller if you wish to serve them breakfast or dinner. If you are preparing these for a dinner party you can make them in advance, dust them well with flour, and place them in between sheets of baking paper. Leave in the fridge till you're ready to cook & eat them.

To cook (from freshly made or chilled and waiting) -  oh a high heat, preheat a griddle (or a frying pan) and sizzle off a small dash of butter.

Cook each potato cake for 2 minutes on both sides, till they turn golden brown. Serve straight away.

Sugar Crusted Lamb

This recipe is delicious and quick to prepare for a dinner party - and pretty unique too. This lamb generally comes out pink > a teeny bit undercooked so be cautious if you're thinking of serving it to a fussy eater. And a small advanced warning about getting an urge to sprinkle sugar on all your dinner - I'm sure it wont taste as good!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 lamb cutlets - 700g

Seasoning

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 large sprigs of rosemary

2 tbsp demerara sugar

A smearing of olive oil

Instructions:

• Preheat the grill to high, and place a baking tray underneath it to heat up
• Prepare the lamb by seasoning with salt and pepper
• Strip the rosemary sprigs by stripping the leaves off and discarding the stalk
• Mix the lamb with the rosemary and mustard - ensuring it's well coated
• On a separate plate, spread out the sugar and dip each side of the lamb cutlets onto the sugar
• Take out the baking tray from under the grill, quickly place the cutlets on and return to the grill for 10-12 minutes. Or as long as you can stand the smoking! The sugar does burn - but don't worry, it does not taste burnt.

Recipe is adapted from BBC Good Food, which is a fantastic resource.

Egg Bread

Making egg bread (or French Toast as some call it) is hardly baking; and neither is it something that most people would need a recipe for - but I love it. When you're looking for something satisfying to make, often you need to look no further than simple, buttery, egg bread.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
3 large eggs (If you're only making this for one person, use 2 eggs)
4 slices of thick bread
Splash of milk
2 pinches of salt
Butter, to suit
Dash of oil

Instructions:

• In a wide, shallow bowl, with a fork beat together the 2 eggs, add a small splash of milk and a sprinkling of salt
• In a frying pan, melt together a knob of butter on a medium - high heat, and a tiny bit of oil. The butter browns your bread, and the oil stops it burning
• Halve your bread, and soak each half in the egg mixture for a few seconds, turning over and coating thoroughly before transferring it to the hot pan 
• When the bottom of the slices turn golden brown, turn the heat down, turn the slices over and add a few more dots of butter throughout the pan.
• Plate up, and sprinkle over a little more salt, and to be extra sinful, a little bit more butter.

The richer the butter, the thicker the bread and the longer you soak it - the nicer you make it. Enjoy!

Celebration Cupcakes

What makes them celebration cupcakes? Cupcakes are perfect for every occasion - and if you don't have a special occasion to make them for... Bake them anyway and celebrate the fact that you have cupcakes! 

The recipe is from this book and very easy to make and adapt for different flavours.

Ingredients:

150g softened butter

150g caster sugar

175g self raising flour

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Fill cupcake tin with with 12 cupcake cases
• Mix all the ingredients together, with an electric hand whisk if possible
• Divide equally among the cases and bake for 18- 20 minutes
• Cupcakes are done when they are firm to touch, and a knife/skewer inserted comes out clean

See Also: Icing