Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Today we have a guest blogger from our Friends team, affectionately known to us as Topaz.  She and her sister have two Etsy shops: TopazTurtle and TwoCrackedJars.






This beast of a stove and oven in my new house had me pulling out baking tins packed away for the move .


With limited pantry options (until I do my next grocery shopping trip), I settled on this easy pineapple upside cake to put this oven through its paces. I never have been a fan of this cake, being more pudding in consistency rather than cake in my previous attempts to make it. However, this time it turned out as a soft and fluffy cake delicately balancing moist pieces of pineapple. I am definitely making this cake again.



Brown Sugar Pineapple Upside Down Cake

20g (4 tsp) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
440g (15 oz) pineapple rings in natural juice
90 g (6 tbsp) butter
125g (1/2 c.)soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
125g (1/2 c.) self raising flour


Preheat oven to 180C (350F/Gas Mark4)
Grease a 20cm (8 in) round ring tin
Pour the melted butter into the tin and tip to coat evenly
Sprinkle with brown sugar
Drain the pineapple rings and reserve the juice
Cut the pineapple rings in half and arrange in the tin

Beat the extra butter and sugar until light and creamy
Gradually add each egg, beating well after each addition
Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
Fold in the flour alternately with 1/3 cup of the reserved juice

Spoon the mixture evenly over the pineapple and smooth the surface
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted into cake
Leave in tin for 10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

Carrot Cake Recipe

by RobinsFlight

I have a confession to make: I love carrot cake.  I've even been known to eat it for breakfast.  Actually, what I think I really love is the cream cheese frosting it generally comes with.  But cream cheese frosting tastes best on carrot cake...though a good red velvet cake might come in a close second.  And apparently I've stumbled onto the best carrot cake recipe around, or so I'm told.  I've even converted carrot cake haters into aficionados with one bite.  Now this cake is the favorite in our house- even beating out the ever popular marble cake with chocolate frosting.  I'm not sure where the recipe came from.  I think it started out from one of those popular cookbooks like Betty Crocker or Better Homes and Gardens, and then I tweaked it a bit here and there.  Feel free to do some tweaking of your own, and let me know if you find an improvement!


Carrot Cake

1 c. white (granulated) sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 lb. bag carrots, peeled and finely shredded
1 c. finely chopped nuts

Note: I use my food processor to quickly chop the nuts, then switch to the shredder and shred the carrot in the same bowl.  It saves a lot of time, compared to hand grating, and you don't get orange hands either!






Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease 9"x13"x2" pan, grease and flour two 8" round cake tins, or grease or line 18 muffin tins. 
In a large bowl, mix sugars, oil, and eggs.  Beat by hand one minute. 
Stir in other ingredients, except carrots and nuts, until moistened, beat one minute by hand.  (No need for that upper arm workout after this step!) 
Stir in carrots and nuts until well mixed. 
Bake 40-44 min. (9x13 pan), 45-50 min. (rounds) or 25-30 min. (cupcakes) until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool 10 minutes before removing from round pans, if necessary.  Allow to cool completely before frosting with cream cheese frosting (see below).  Enjoy!!


Cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
4 c. powdered (confectioners) sugar

With an electric mixer, cream butter, cream cheese, milk and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.  Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until spreadable.  If frosting is too soft, chill before frosting or add powdered sugar until desired stiffness.  Store in refrigerator.

Sweet ideas for Valentine's Day- or any other day

Valentine's day seems to be a day for sweets- heart shaped boxes of chocolates and candy hearts seem to be timeless ways that we celebrate this holiday. Personally, I'd prefer something homemade- nothing says "from the heart" than dessert fresh from the oven. And so, we have a few sweet recipes for you this Valentine's season.

The first recipe here is one of my family's favorites, both to make and to eat! My little helper was making these with me the other day, so he took some pictures to help you see how to make them.



Banana Cocoa Bars

1 1/2 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Grease a 9"x 13"x 2" pan.
2. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy, about 30 sec. Add egg and vanilla, beat until well combined. Stir in bananas.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and soda and salt. Add banana mixture and stir just until combined.
4. Remove half of the batter to the banana bowl. Add cocoa to one half of the batter, mix well. Spread cocoa mixture into pan. Spoon banana mixture over the top and swirl with a knife to marble.
5. Bake 25-30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Yield: 24 bars


This next recipe is a unique cookie made with corn flakes, which gives them a wonderful crunch. This is a family favorite from Nancy of NancyEllenStudios and DesignsStainedGlass.

Cornflake Cookies

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. cornflakes

1. Preheat oven to 375* F.
2. In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until softened. Add sugars, beat until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well.
3. In a different bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Add gradually to butter mixture. Beat well.
4. Fold in cornflakes with a wooden spoon. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cool 30 seconds before removing from sheets.

Yield: approx. 36 cookies


Maybe you're looking for something a bit fancier than just a cookie. The other day I tried my hand at flan, and discovered it's not as hard as you'd think! And with only four ingredients, you may not even have to run to the store in order to make it.


Classic Flan

2/3 c. sugar, separated
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk or half and half
1 t. vanilla

1. To caramelize sugar, in a heavy saucepan, cook 1/3 c. sugar over medium heat until it begins to melt, shaking pot occasionally but not stirring. Once it starts to melt, reduce heat to low and cook about 5 minutes until all of sugar is golden, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Immediately pour sugar into bottom of a 9" round baking pan and tilt to coat. (The sugar hardens quickly, so act fast!) Allow to cool 10 minutes.
2. In large bowl, beat eggs well. Add milk, vanilla, and remaining 1/3 c. sugar. Beat until well combined but not frothy. Pour into sugar-coated baking pan. Place pan into larger baking pan. Pour very hot to boiling water into larger pan to a depth of at least 1", or halfway up the flan pan.
3. Bake at 325* F. approx. 1 hour, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove pan from water bath. Cool at least 1 h.
4. To unmold, loosen edges with a sharp knife. Cover with serving platter and invert pans together. (This is the second tricky part!). Cover and chill overnight before serving for best flavor.

Yield: 8 slices


From Robin's kitchen to yours, have a sweet Valentine's Day!