Seems it\u2019s been quite a while since I\u2019ve written about the pleasures of partaking in cake.<\/p>\n
How remiss of me especially as I do confess to having a small piece of some sort of cake with my morning coffee! As they say, everything in moderation.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a new twist on a very old fashioned recipe. I\u2019ve decided that upsidedown cakes deserve an outing.<\/p>\n
An upside-down cake is basically a cake that is baked with the toppings \u2013 generally fruit \u2013 at the bottom of the cake tin, which once baked, is turned out and presented \u2018upside down\u2019.<\/p>\n
Apples, berries, bananas can all be used in this manner and indeed some classic or \u2018traditional\u2019 upside down cakes include the American pineapple upside-down cake, the famous French Tarte Tatin and a Brazilian variety using bananas, Bolo de ananas.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you just love that name! Lately I\u2019ve found myself routinely checking out the range of the not-quiteright fruit and vegetables on offer.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all been made much more aware of warring against waste on so many levels \u2013 and quite right too. As customers we can send a message by purchasing blemished, undersized, oversized or not quite the right \u2018crescent\u2019 shaped bananas \u2013 thus alerting supermarket giants to a niche market. I\u2019m pleased to see that small inroads are being tread by the major supermarkets in their recent practice of bagging up ugly pears, or individual cloves of garlic and offering them at reduced prices. I needed some garlic the other day and was certainly not going to buy the imported whole heads of garlic on offer and was a trifle bothered until luckily, I spotted the loose, Australian grown cloves in small bags further along the shelf. Bingo\u2013 they\u2019ll do me very nicely thank you.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m yet to try the Bolo de ananas cake which incorporates bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, butter, brown sugar and vanilla to spice up the segments of banana baked in the bottom of the cake tin, underneath the cake batter. Sounds scrummy doesn\u2019t it? For now I\u2019ll share my version of a spiced pear upside-down cake that is delicious for morning or afternoon tea or coffee, or could equally be served warm with cream, ice cream, yoghurt or custard as a dessert for dinner. So, from the not quite right corner I purchased a bag of pears \u2013 a thrifty starting point for my upside-down cake adventure!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seems it\u2019s been quite a while since I\u2019ve written about the pleasures of partaking in cake. How remiss of me especially as I do confess to having a small piece of some sort of cake with my morning coffee! As they say, everything in moderation. Here\u2019s a new twist on a very old fashioned recipe. […]<\/p>\n