Pineapple Buckle

This Pineapple Buckle is a yellow cake with chunks of pineapple mixed in and hints of lime zest and juice, and after some time in the oven slices of pineapple are arranged on top.  Because the batter has been partially cooked, the slices won't sink in and will sit on top, pretty as a picture. That's what the recipe said, anyway.  What happened is another matter.

Update: This post made the Foodbuzz Top 9!

Vanilla Bean-Pineapple Tart

The smells of pineapple, vanilla, and rum flooding my house when I baked this tart made me think of umbrella drinks and tropical vacations.   These ingredients are topped off by a beautiful, intricate lattice crust.  It may look complicated, but the only difficult part of this recipe was keeping the dough cold during the summer heat.  It kept getting melty and sticking to my board and tearing, and it took a few return trips to the fridge and a bunch of patience I was running out of.

But the smell of pineapple and rum instantly restored my mood.  And in the end the crust looked great and it's always fun to weave a lattice.  The filling tasted like the top of an upside-down pineapple cake (or the bottom, if you haven't up-ended it yet).

Half your dough is used for the tart bottom, but the other half is cut into strips for your lattice top.  The lattice is woven on parchment paper (or waxed paper, in this case), frozen until ready to use, and then carefully slid on top of the tart.

Fresh pineapple is simmered with rum, sugars, and vanilla bean.  The cooked and cooled chunks are added to the tart shell.  This tart is in the very sweet category, so next time I would personally halve the sugars.  If you enjoy sugar rush, follow the recipe.

The taste of rum is faint in the final product, if that's a concern of yours.  I'm not sure if this is because I used whatever rum was in the house instead of the dark rum that was called for, or if the alcohol simply cooked off.

The tart is then chilled with the lattice, which is brushed with egg wash before going in the oven.

And since I made this recipe in a square pan, having no rectangular tart pan, there was some filling and dough left over for a mini.  Isn't it cute?

This post was submitted to Sweets for a Saturday.

Easter Ham and Pineapple Pizza ... a.k.a. "The Debby"

When my friend Debby and I were college roommates, we'd wake up hungry after the occasional (or semi-frequent?) night of too much drinking.  Debby would phone in a Hawaiian pizza for delivery.  A short time ago, she said I should create a dish for her on the blog, something salty and sweet.

So this one's for Debby: on this Easter Sunday I skipped roasting a whole ham and made a Hawaiian pizza, which is topped with ham and pineapple.  I threw on some grape tomatoes for a quick roast on top because Debby loves tomatoes, and a few pepperoni strips for good measure.  Have a slice with some beer!

The dough recipe makes 6 small pizzas.  Not feeding a frat party?  Throw some dough balls in the freezer for when the next craving hits.  That's 4 pizzas in the making in my freezer.

Flour's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I had previously made an easier Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, but this recipe from Flour proves that a little more trouble can really make it worth your while.  A homemade caramel takes some time but isn't hard to do, and fresh pineapple soaks up the caramel.  The cake is rich and moist but crisp at the edges.

If I had one complaint, it's that the caramel was just a tad too sweet.  Just a tad.  But my preference for sweets isn't the same as everyone else's, and Joe said the cake and level of sweetness were perfect.

I get intimidated by caramels because of how easily those damned crystals form, but this one was simple enough.  The sugar-water mixture starts out clear, then develops a golden tinge.  At bottom-left, you can see the outer ring is still clear and the pot needs to be swirled before the whole mixture becomes golden brown.

I'm glad Joe helped make this, not least because it's really hard to snap photos while whisking burning-hot caramel!  Butter is whisked in, making the caramel steam and froth; pineapple is added and cooked in the caramel, then removed to a plate before being placed in the cake pan.

The caramel is poured over the pineapple, and then topped with the cake batter.  After the cake is baked and cooled, it gets up-ended onto a serving platter.  Each bite gives you a little burst of juice from the caramelized pineapple, and cake that's rich and moist.

Happy Blog Birthday Pineapple Cake

A year has passed since my first blog entry! So I'm commemorating it with a lighter Pineapple Upside-down Cake. I like the lightness of oil-based cakes as opposed to most butter-based cakes, but I tinkered with this recipe to make that caramelized sauce richer. Isn't that the whole point of Pinapple Upside-down Cake? The finished product was a light but moist cake topped with juicy pineapple that mellowed out in caramelized brown sugar and butter.

Adapted from Everyday Food's Light Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tbs butter, softened at room temperature

1 ripe firm pineapple (skin removed), cored and cut into 16 thin wedges

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 square baking dish with parchment and then lightly grease the parchment.

Beat the butter and half of the brown sugar in a mixing bowl, then spread it evenly on the parchment. Top the mixture with 4- to 5-inch spears of pineapple in alternating directions.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, oil, and the other half of the sugar. Add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Pour the batter over the pineapple and smooth the top.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The top may get a little dark, but don't worry. Cool the cake 20 minutes in the pan, then invert it onto a plate and peel off the paper.