Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My first attempt. Waiting for the moment of truth.

We've been back from a weeklong vacation for about a day and, of course, Chris didn't fail to remind me that there's no dessert in the house. I wanted to make something quick and easy, but I wasn't sure what that should be. I'm not a big fan of cake, but Chris is so I thought I'd make him one.

I found a recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake in my "Betty Crocker's Cookbook" (published 1989) and thought that might be a good way to use up some canned pineapple in the frig. Chris had never had Pineapple Upside Down Cake, but he was game to try it.

The recipe calls for buttermilk baking mix, but I don't keep that on hand. So I subbed 1 1/2 cups cake flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp. salt for the baking mix. I wasn't sure about the proportions or the substitution, but I thought I'd give it a try. To give the cake a buttermilk flavor, I added a squirt or two of lemon juice to 1/2 cups of milk.

As you can see in the picture above, the bottom of the cake didn't turn out too bad. I baked it for 30 minutes instead of 35.

Here's the cake flipped right side up:

Chris' description: That's the sorriest excuse for a cake ever.

I'm proud of it, but Chris didn't know what to think. His description, "That's the sorriest excuse for a cake ever. I hope it tastes better than it looks." He wanted to know if it was supposed to look that way. And, in case you don't know, it is. :)

He was also hoping it was a cake that requires icing. He likes eating icing and graham crackers. Many times I only making icing for him to eat as dessert. :)

Anyway. Though the cake was falling apart, it was tasty!

Cake mix (from scratch)

Many of the cook books I have unfortunately include cake recipes that call for a cake mix. I don't really like mixes because they always seem to get a funky taste after a couple days. They also don't stay as fresh as from-scratch cakes.

Last night, as I was flipping through some recipes, I came across a chocolate cherry cake that I really wanted to try, but it called for a Swiss chocolate cake mix.

I was not going to give up! So I googled for "homemade cake mix." I found a couple of good sites, including yellow and white cake mix over at Chickens in the Road.

For chocolate cake mix I found and tried Shirley's recipe posted on her blog, Choosing Voluntary Simplicity. Here's the results:


I made a chocolate butter cream frosting that has coffee in it. I think it'll be a great complement to the chocolate-cherry cake.

Happy early birthday to me! (Just 12 days early.)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sweet goodness

Several years ago I had a subscription service to Easy Everyday Cooking, a service that mailed recipe cards to subscribers every few weeks. After a few months I cancelled the service, but I had already built up quite a collection.

Every once in awhile I get in the mood to flip through the various categories, 19 in all, including from "Snacks and Appetizers," "Soups and Stews," "Chicken from the Oven," "Beef from the Stove," "Pasta" and "Cookies for all Occasions."

This weekend the mood striked and I picked "Crumb-Topped Peach Pie" from "Pies, Cakes and Tarts" and "Thumbprint Cookies" from "Cookies for all Occasions."

I made the pie from six juicy peaches my dad bought from a local produce stand. He left them for Chris and I when he and my mom visited last weekend. I liked making this recipe because I didn't need to make or buy pie dough and it was a quick and easy way to use up fresh fruit.

The flavors were perfect. The use of almond extract complemented the peaches. The recipe also calls for brown sugar instead of regular granulated sugar in the crumb topping. It was an interesting and delicious change.

The filling, however, was a little runny. I don't know if I used too many peaches or not enough cornstarch. But, overall, the pie was wonderful, especially with ice cream.

The cookies were by far my favorite. I used real butter and almond extract and vanilla flavoring. Mmmmmmm, I was in dessert heaven!

Although the recipe called for raspberry preserves for the filling, I used a blackberry jelly a local woman gave Chris and I and blackberry jam that my grandmother gave us. Nothing like homemade jellies and jams. Much better than those store bought fruits loaded with sugar!

I can't wait to eat those cookies with a new hot mug of tea.