I got home from Monterey and I crashed. Seriously. Within 15 minutes of setting foot in my apartment I was asleep on the couch. An hour or so later I woke up in a fog and would have stayed glued to the sofa if it were not for the Craving. The Craving said “Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Now.” And I said, “But I’m out of sugar and I don’t need cake.” But the Craving would not be denied. So I headed to Trader Joe’s and attempted to collect what I needed to satisfy this bully. I could not find canned pineapple and did not have the energy to even consider using a fresh pineapple (all that peeling and coring). Of course, in my fog I did not think about checking for pineapple rings or chunks in the refrigerated case. hmm. Next time.
So I got home sans pineapple. But the Craving would not be quieted by lack of ingredients or lack of energy. Here is the result of my attempt:
It’s a pear upside down cake. Even without pineapple, I needed an upside down cake for some reason. I used a fresh Bosc pear, and (sort of) the Busy Day Cake recipe from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook. (The result was good. It needed a little more tartness, but maybe I’m just saying that because I wanted pineapple… ). Most of the online recipes and “baking” cookbooks I checked for “upside down cake” recipes were too complicated for my tired brain (5 eggs, separated… most days ok. But tonight I wanted easy, but not out of of a box). The Busy Day Cake turned out to be just that and it has a nice light texture.
Pear Upside down cake:
1 pear, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
a splash of lemon juice
Butter a 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Arrange pear slices in the cake pan. In a pan, melt butter and sugar and add the lemon juice. [** If I make this again I think I will add more lemon juice for tartness or maybe add lemon juice to the cake batter. hmm.]
Top this with:
Busy-Day Cake (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook)
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
[** Note: I used 2/3 cup Silk Very Vanilla soy milk instead of the milk + vanilla]
Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Add milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
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