Pineapple Upside Down Cake....almost Step-by-Step Recipe!!

I had made this cake 2 weeks ago for my husband's birthday but I could not post it immediately.My husband does not prefer pastries or the chocolate based cakes though I prepare them often and I feel sad if he just eats a couple of pieces when I make them.So this time I thought I should make something exclusively something to suit his taste buds to make the birthday boy happy.
I have been thinking of making this pine apple upside down cake from such a long time and when I went for grocery shopping a week before his birthday I picked up a tinned pineapple to make this cake. I do not like pineapple and hence I never brought the fresh one but I like few preparations with it like pineapple kesari or as a pizza topping or in a curry or in a drink but I never liked to eat fresh pine apple.The real question for me was I was not sure whether he likes pine apple or not but still thought of proceeding with the cake as I thought it is just a topping and if he does not like it he can always remove it and eat the rest.
When I googled for the recipe I landed upon N number of recipes and this post of Mrignayani has bowled me completely and gave me the comfort to proceed with the recipe.I just loved the caramel oozing out from the cake in her picture and went ahead to check the original recipe in Joy of Baking site.I just followed the recipe blindly and I must say that this is a keeper recipe and is must try for all pineapple lovers.The more interesting part of the recipe is the caramel crust which is just 'to die for' and even the cake is so soft,light and fluffy,I just loved it very much and I really mean it.My husband thoroughly enjoyed the cake and I was happy for my decision to bake this cake as he did not mind eating large portions which is not usual.
I generally take few photographs of the steps in between when a recipe is complex and needs an explanation with photo tutorial.Inspired by many fellow bloggers I gave an attempt to take step-by-step pictures and later realized I missed few steps but not bad,so excuse me for that!!I agree that it is really difficult to take the step-by-step photos handling camera in one hand while cooking or baking and I really appreciate all those who do step by step for every post.

Ingredients:
(Recipe source:Joy of Baking)

for Cake Batter:
1 1/2 cups(195 grams) all purpose flour/maida
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large or 3 small eggs, separated
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar( I did not use,so optional)

for Caramel Pineapple topping:
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup)(55 grams) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces( I used salted one)
3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar
7-8 pieces of tinned pineapple
Candied cherries (optional)
Method:
Oven pre-heating and preparing the tin:

• Preheat oven to 350 deg F (180 deg C) and place rack in the center of the oven.
• Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan with three inch (7.5 cm) sides.
  

for Caramel Pineapple Topping:

• Drain the pineapple pieces from the tin and pat dry the pineapple pieces to remove extra moisture.

• Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
• Continue cooking, without stirring, for a few more minutes or until bubbles just start to appear around the outside edges of the mixture (the sugar starts to caramelize). Then remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan.

• Evenly arrange the fresh pineapple slices on top of the sugar mixture.Place the candied cherries in the gaps of pineapple or arrange according to your wish.

for Cake Batter:

• In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.do it for a couple of times which helps in getting a evenly mixed flour.
• Separate the yolks from the whites and place the whites in a wide bowl.
• In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites(with the cream of tartar if you are using) just until the whites hold a firm peak.

• In another bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a hand mixer.Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract.
• Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture in three additions and then add milk in two additions.

• With a large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two additions.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.Tap the tin twice,this helps in removing the air bubbles formation in the batter.

• Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.A toothpick inserted into the cake (not the pineapple) should come out clean.
• Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 2-3 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate.

Serve with softly whipped cream or Ice cream.

Notes:

1. You can even use fresh pineapple as I don't like working with fresh pineapple I preferred a canned one.
2. The original recipe asked to rest the cake for 10 mins after baking and I followed it.But I felt whatever the sugar caramel which melted has got crystallized by then.So I suggest you not to rest the cake for long time once it is out of the oven.And I missed the beautiful caramel sauce flowing out of my cake.Bit I rolled the crystallized sugar into small pieces of candies and thoroughly enjoyed it.
   

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Besan ka Cheela ..aka...Vegetarian Omelet...FFF#5

I have successfully entered 5th week of my 'Family Food Friday 'series and still few more exciting entries are already waiting for its turn in my drafts.If you have missed any of the previous posts in this series check them here.

This time I do not need to introduce the author of this recipe as you all know her now,this entry is sent by Chaitra who has sent Savory Cornmeal Muffins.Thanks a lot Chaitra for sending another entry for my event.

Besan ka Cheela is also called Puda or Vegetarian Omelet.Though I make egg omelet for my husband I do not prefer eating it and in fact the only way I eat eggs is in cakes.It is a great alternative for vegetarians for egg omelet as the texture,color and look of this is very much similar to egg omelet and of course there is a lot of difference in taste.It is very easy to prepare and it hardly takes anytime and can be prepared as a breakfast or evening snack.I also make it regularly and hence when she has sent this recipe to me I wanted to add few more photos to the recipe as she has sent just a couple of photos.More number of photos in the post makes it look more interesting right?I make it almost similar and also depends on the availability of ingredients at that time in my pantry.But this time I have exactly followed her recipe as I am featuring her recipe here.

Let us see what Chaitra says about this recipe in her own words.'During pregnancy days I was constantly looking for food with high protein content. Being a vegetarian I wanted to make sure to have a balanced diet and always tried to avoid high fat food. So I was stuck with tofu for the most part as I love tofu and believe me I have eaten Tofu in all forms. But during those days Tofu use to give me morning sickness,So, one of my friends taught me this and I am hooked on to it. It is a regular breakfast at our house now and especially for my daughter. It is very filling breakfast and my friend even serves up this in between bread like a regular omelet,it tastes good too. You can add all kinds of vegetables too to make a healthier version.I am big fan of ajwain so I add it,you can omit it if you don't like the flavor of ajwain.'

Ingredients:

1 cup Besan/chickpea flour

1 onion,finely chopped

1 tomato,finely chopped
2 tbsp cilantro chopped
1 tsp green chilli paste or 1 tsp finely chopped green chili
1/2 tsp ajwain/carom seeds
a pinch of hing
water as needed
Salt to taste

Method:

• Put the besan into a bowl,it is always to sift besan which avoid the formation of lumps while mixing with water and make into a smooth and thick batter.Use a wire whisk to do this process which eases the formation of smooth and even batter.The consistency should be slightly thinner than the regular dosa batter.
  
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Take a small omelet pan and add about a tsp of oil and pour the about half a cup of batter and turn the pan so that the batter covers the entire pan.If you do not have omelet pan you can do this on regular non stick tawa,just spread the batter lightly with the back of the ladle.Pour some oil around the edges.
  
• You can cover the pan or leave it as it is ,but I prefer it covered.
• Once it is fried you can see the golden color around the edges and flip them when they are ready and let it roast on the other side for a few seconds.It is very important to fry the besan omelet on both the sides as uncooked besan causes indigestion.

Serve them with green chutney/tamarind chutney/onion chutney/tomato sauce.

Other serving suggestions:

1. You can even make small besan omelets and stuff in between two slightly warmed bread slices and can eat as bread omelet sandwich.
2. You can make the batter bit thick and you can even dip the bread triangles and fry on tawa like how you do for french toast.It gives an eggless version of french toast.

Notes:

1. Addition of hing or ajwian is recommended to besan omelet as it helps in easy digestion.
2. It is very important to fry the besan omelet on both the sides as uncooked besan causes indigestion.
3. You can even add finely chopped bell peppers or grated vegetables of your choice to the batter to make it healthy.
4. You can avoid ajwain and add cumin seeds instead to the batter,it gives a different flavor.

Note:
Photos embedded in the recipe part are from my cousin chaitra,rest of them are added by me.

I am sending these two entries to Nayna's 'ONLY'-Coolers and Mocktails series which is originally started by Pari of Foodelicious.
1. Oats and Fruits Smoothie
2.Butterfruit/Avocado Milkshake

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