Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My first thought of this morning was Advanced Cardiac Life Support Revision versus Baking a Pineapple upside down cake. And you can all guess what one won. Instead of thinking adrenalin intravenous injections I was wanting a hit of sugar for a boost....and boy did I get one. This recipe has enough sugar to rot anyone's teeth!!!

I never really grew up eating this cake so I don't really know why I thought of it. It may have been because I had bought a huge can of pineapple rings but only really needed two rings to make the Hawaiian pizza we were having tonight.

I think I have missed out. This cake had a buttery sponge and was topped of with a gorgeous caramel flavored fruity topping. Yum. Perfect with a huge mug of tea whilst watching Emmerdale.

Some people use cherries as well as pineapple. I decided not too

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter

1 Cup Brown Sugar

6 Pineapple Rings

1 Cup Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

3 Eggs seperated

5 Tbsp Pineapple Juice

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter to a nine inch baking pan and put in oven until it melts (approx 5 minutes). Once melted sprinkle the brown sugar over evenly and place the pineapple rings on top. Leave to one side whilst you prepare the other ingredients.. In a medium bowl sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Then in another bowl whisk the egg whites until they become fluffy. In a third bowl whisk the granulated sugar and egg yolks together until they become creamy. Add the vanilla extract and pineapple juice to this and combine. Mix in the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture until incorporated, then fold in the egg whites. Pour this over the top of the pineapples and bake on the middle shelve for approx 30-35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with a blob of cream or a dollop of creme fraiche.

Gooey Chocolate fudge cake

We all need chocolate and some of us who are impulsive need it straight away. This cake is for those impulsive ones. It takes 5 minutes to cook and less than 5 minutes to devour. It comes out as a light chocolate sponge with a gooey chocolate sauce hidden around the bottom. Yum yum.

This recipe cooks the cake in the microwave but for those of you who don't possess a microwave you can bake it in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. I think I will play around with this recipe at a later date to make treacle sponge and sticky toffee pudding.

Funny looking hey...but oh so tasty

Gooey Chocolate fudge cake
110g All purpose flour
1tsp Baking powder
110g Brown Sugar
55g Melted Butter
1 Egg
4 Tbsp Milk
30g Cocoa powder
Pinch Salt
1Tbsp Vanilla extract
For the sauce
110g Brown Sugar
30g Cocoa Powder
125 mls Hot Water

In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, milk and egg to the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a microwavable bowl. The sides should be about 5 cm high as the cake will rise. Mix the remaining sugar and cocoa powder together and sprinkle over the dough. Pour the hot water over top of the cake gently. Cook in the microwave on a high heat for 5 mins. The cake will rise and there will be a lovely sticky chocolate sauce seeping down towards the bottom.  Best served with ice cream.

Marmalade Cake

The weather is warm, the sun is shining and I have been happily having fun times in the kitchen making salsa verde, caramelized onion tart and marmalade cake. My house smells gorgeous, the aroma of a cake baking cannot be beat. I sit here with a cup of tea not only wishing I was having a huge slice of my marmalade cake but thinking about lighter menus for this spring season. Salads, tarts and lighter dishes will be replacing the stews and soups which have been abundant this winter. I can picture Ian and I sipping on ice cold white wine tucking into seasonal dishes.

Anyway enough of my day dreaming. I was lucky in inheriting a work colleagues cookery book collection, mainly a collection of Nigel Slater's cook books. Although I knew of him I can't say that he would be a cook/chef I would automatically think of if I had to relay who inspired me. Having spend some time reading through his books I can say that I love his ideas and style of cooking. He like me wants to use fresh seasonal ingredients and believes that less is more. The only one thing I prefer to do is make some things from scratch but this is only because I like to experiment, but if in a hurry I would definitely buy pre-made items.

There were quite a few recipes that I wanted to try and today I wanted to make cake. I really am not much of a cake baker. I can make one chocolate sponge cake and a variety of muffins and thats about it, so I chose a marmalade cake from Nigel Slater. Like him I used his recipe as a guide and added a few different ingredients. The cake turned out awesome, light and airy with some yummy chewy pieces of marmalade dotted throughout. Mmm mmm, I was impressed with my creation.

Marmalade Cake

(Adapted from Nigel Slater|)

11/2 Sticks Butter

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 1/2 Cups All purpose flour

3 large Eggs

1/2 Cup Chunky Marmalade

1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 Cup Orange Juice plus extra for icing

Icing sugar

Firstly grease a loaf tin or line it with parchment and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile using an electric mixer cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. In another small bowl break the eggs and whisk with a fork lightly. Once done add in stages to the creamed sugar/butter mixture and mix well on a medium speed between each addition. Then add the marmalade and mix to combine. Fold the flour, baking powder and soda in using a spatula until no flour can be seen, then fold in the Orange Juice and vanilla. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for approx 30 -40 minutes. Check the cake after 30 minutes of baking by poking a scewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean it is cooked. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool then turn it out of loaf tin. When fully cooled make the glaze by combining some Orange Juice into some icing sugar. The icing should fall into ribbons when lifted up with a spoon. Spoon the icing over the cake allowing it to drip down the sides. Once set cut and serve.

I got to eat this cake with a cup of tea and it was superb.