Pineapple Upside Down Cake

When I was a kid, my Mom would make us Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I really liked it with the syrupy top. I forgot the cake is really sweet. The kids thought it was neat how the cake is made. It is a really simple cake to make. I tried very hard to it all the items blended but the butter still had pieced in it. When I cooked it, the cake had came together so I shouldn't have worried. My son helped me flip the cake and ta-da! The cake stayed whole. The kids loved it. My husband loved it. I thought it was a great way to bring me back to my childhood.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
1/4 & 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened and divided
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
9 slices of pineapples, drained
9 maraschino cherries, drained
1 1/3 cup all prupose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a 9x9 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Evenly coat the bottom of the pan with 1/4 cup of melted butter.
4. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the melted butter.
5. Arrange the pineapple pieces in an even row over the brown sugar.
6. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice. Set aside.
7. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, 1/3 cup softened butter, baking powder, salt, milk, egg, and vanilla. 
8. Beat on low with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.
9. Turn the mixer to high speed and allow to mix for 3 minutes. 
10. Pour the batter over the pineapples and cherries in the baking dish.
11. Bake the cake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
12. Immediately, take a heatproof plate and place it upside down over the pan.
13. Turn the plate and pan over quickly.
14. Allow the cake to sit for a minute so the brown sugar mixture can drizzle over the cake.
15. Remove the pan and serve warm.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.

Two years ago.................................I made Roasted Apple Bread. 
Three years ago...............................I made Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies.

Did you already know............................
-In 1901, James Dole formed the Hawaiian Pineapple Company.
-By 1923, the Hawaiian Pineapple Company was the largest pineapple packer in the world.
-In 1925, Dole sponsored a recipe contest  with many entries for Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Spumoni

Have you ever had spumoni ice cream? It is three ice creams to make one great dessert. My friend told me how to make this dessert. It is like Neapolitan ice cream but with cherry, pistachio, and chocolate ice cream. The ice cream has candied cherries with nuts throughout it. It is easier to make this dessert with ice cream slightly softened or freshly homemade. This is the perfect dessert to serve on a hot day.

Spumoni 
1 pint of chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup hazelnuts, roasted
1 pint of cherry ice cream
1/2 cup candied cherries
1 pint of pistachio ice cream
1/2 cup pistachio, roasted

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the chocolate ice cream with the hazelnuts.
2. Evenly spread the ice cream into a 13x10 baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, mix the pistachio ice cream with the roasted pistachio.
4. Evenly spread on top of the chocolate ice cream layer.
5. In a large bowl, combine the cherry ice cream with the candied cherries.
6. Evenly spread the cherry ice cram over the pistachio ice cream layer.
7. Place plastic wrap on top of the ice cream and wrap well.
8. Wrap a second time with aluminum foil.
9. Place in the freezer.
10. Serve once the ice cream has refrozen overnight.
11. Serve in slices. 

One year ago...................................................Sunflower frosting.
Two years ago................................................Peach and Pluot Cobbler.

Did you already know....................................
-Spumoni originates from Italy.
-Vanilla ice cream can be substituted for the chocolate layer.
-Sometimes whip cream is folded into the ice cream.

Tri-berry Pancakes

Oh, I love berries. I love them so much that my husband was willing to go with me to pick some raspberry and blueberries. The kids elected to head to camp since they were going to the beach. I'm not saying I blamed them but when they arrived home they thought I was going to share my berries. (I did tell my husband this was the first time I actually made it home with 3 containers still full of berries.) I did reluctantly shared my berries and I mean reluctantly. Then I was nice and made tri-berry pancakes for supper. I even shared with my Mom and sister. My Mom and I were unsure how the combination would go with cherries but I loved them.

Tri-berry Pancakes
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup chopped cherries
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in a large bowl. 
2. Whisk in the baking soda until combined.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk until incorporated.
4. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla.
5. Heat a frying pan over medium heat.
6. Add a little oil to the pan and wait about 30 seconds.
7. Pour 1/2 cup of the batter into the frying pan. 
8. Top the pancakes in the pan with some of each berry. 
9. When bubbles form on top of the pancake, flip the pancake over.
10. Cook the pancake until the bottom is golden brown.
11. Use any remaining berries for topping. 

Recipe adapted from here.

One year ago.........................I made Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies.
Two years ago.......................I made Raspberry Cream Cheese Scones.

He is trying to make his teeth blue!

Did you already know............
-It is believed red raspberries originated from Turkey.
-Black raspberries are native to America.
-Black raspberries are different from blackberries.

Cherry Muffins

We went camping this past weekend. We cooked supper over the camp fire and swam in a lake. We even took the kids kayaking. Most of us slept in a tent with sleeping bags. My husband gave up in the middle night and slept in the truck. He said it was more comfortable. Don't worry about the children since my sister and I were the children's pillow. We both woke up a little sore. To make breakfast easy, I made cherry muffins. They were easy to transport and the kids liked them. Since cherries are in season, I thought this would perfect for our trip.

Cherry Muffins
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar plus additional for the top
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, gently toss the cherries with 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
5. Add the milk and butter to the flour mixture. Stir until just incorporated.
6. Add the two eggs and mix until just incorporated.
7. Gently fold in the cherries.
8. Evenly fill the 12 muffin tins about 3/4 full.
9. Sprinkle a little sugar over the tops of the batter. 
10. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
11. Remove from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago...........................I made Blueberry Pie Bars.

Did you already know.............
-The first known kayaks were built over 2,000 years ago by North American Indians and Eskimos.
-If kayaking in navigating waters, the U.S. Coast Guard requires life preservers and noise making devices like a whistle.
-There are tandem kayaks. (It doesn't guarantee both kayakers will paddle.)

Black Forest Cherry Torte

My children like to help in the kitchen. They also like to help me take my pictures. So, today I continued with my Halloween menu. I took a Black Forest Cake and added spiders. Don't worry the spiders are fake. My children (except the oldest) wanted to be in the photos. So, I told them they should act scared. Here are the results:

Isn't he convincing?

I think we know who the actress will be!

It took me several days to make this cake. So, I will tell you the steps on how I made it.

Black Forest Cherry Torte (Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte)
Day One:  Make the chocolate cookie bottom
Day Two:  Make the cake and assemble
Day Three: It will taste better after sitting a day.

See the Chocolate Cookie Bottom? Yum

Day One:
Chocolate Cookie Bottom:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.
5. Add the vanilla to the butter and mix until combined.
6. Add the flour mixture in batches to the butter mixture.
7. The dough is thick so mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
8. Press the dough evenly onto the bottom of the spring-form pan.
9. Bake for 17 minutes.
10. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.
11. Wrap and store until tomorrow. If longer time is needed, freeze.

The Assembly

Day Two:
Devil's Food Cake:
Makes two 9-inch cakes or three 8-inch cakes
2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup salted butter
2 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate,
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans.
2. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper circles, and spray them with nonstick spray.
3. In a large bowl, whisk  the flour, baking soda and salt together.
4. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well.
6. Melt the chocolate in a microwave for about 1 minute. Stir and if needed another ten seconds.
7. Stir in the melted chocolate into the butter mixture.
8. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the butter mixture a little at a time until incorporated.
9. Add the vanilla and boiling water. Mix well, but don’t overmix.
10. The mixture will appear thin.
11. Pour about 1 cup and 1/8 cup of batter into each greased pan. 
12. Bake for 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
13. Place the pans on a wire rack, and let the cakes cool completely in the pans before removing.
14. Let cool completely before removing from the pans.
15. Assemble or wrap in plastic wrap then aluminum foil and freeze until ready to assemble.

Day 2 
Assembly:
1/4 cup of cherry preserves
1 14.5 ounce can of cherry pie filling
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup powder sugar
Chocolate Cookie Bottom
Devil’s Food Cake
Maraschino cherries
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, at room temperature

1. Mix the cherry preserves and the cherry pie filling together. Set aside.
2. If no juice is desired, pat dry the maraschino cherries on paper towels and set aside to dry.
3. With a hand mixer, mix the heavy cream with the powder sugar to make whip cream.
4. Place the chocolate cookie bottom on the bottom of your cake stand or plate.
5. Spread 1/3 of the cherry mixture on the top of the cookie bottom.
6. Spread a little less than 1 cup of the whip cream on top of the cherry mixture.
7. Place one of the cakes on top of the whip cream.
8. Spread 1/3 of the cherry mixture on the top of the cake.
9. Spread about 1 cup of the whip cream on top of the cherry mixture.
10. Place the second cake on top of the whip cream cake base.
11. Spread the rest of the cherry mixture on the top of the cake.
12. Spread the rest of the whip cream on the top and sides of the cake.
13. Decorate the top of the cake with the maraschino cherries.
14. Take the semisweet chocolate and with a vegetable peeler, shave the chocolate over the cake.
15. Store the cake in the refrigerate until ready to use. It does taste better the next day.

Makes one 12- to 16-slice cake.
Black Forest Cherry Torte adapted from Ezra Pound Cake
Orginally adopted from Margit Stoll Dutton’s “The German Pastry Bakebook”,
Chocolate Cookie Bottom Adapted from Elisa Strauss’ “The Confetti Cakes Cookbook”
Devil's Food Cake: Adapted from Kathleen King’s “Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook”

He helped decorate the cake.

He still isn't scared.

Did you already know.................  
Oktoberfest Facts:
-Oktoberfest began with a marriage. On October 12th, 1810, the festivities were to honor the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig's marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildurghausen.
-At the time of the wedding, Bavaria was its own kingdom.
-Munich is located in the German state of Bavaria.
-The festivities now begin in the middle of September in Munich, Germany.

Germany