Download more awesome themes for your blogger platform #templatetrackers Follow us @ Google+ and get weekly updates of new templates we release regularly
Usually, when I hear the word "coffee cake" I think of a sweet treat that is only "at it's best" right out of the oven and it usually needs either a cup of coffee, tea or glass of milk to wash it down. Well, dear friends, this coffee cake IS the exception to that rule. My husband and I finished this cake in a single day with NO trouble (a cake this size usually lasts us several days). We just couldn't stop snacking on it!
I used all strawberries, this time, which added to the sweetness of this buttery cake, but we seriously enjoy this recipe with a raspberry filling as well. I sure hope you give it a try, you will NOT be disappointed.
Make the fruit filling first and let it cool a little.
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, mix:
12 ounces of frozen strawberries (I used 12 ounces of frozen strawberries that I chopped finely in my food processor).
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Heat the above ingredients, over medium heat, stirring until it is thick and bubbling. Set aside while you make the batter.
Cake Batter
2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup COLD butter sliced in to thin pats
Put the flour, sugar and butter in your food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs. Remove 1/2 cup of these fine crumbs and set them aside for later in the recipe.
NEXT:
To the remaining crumbs in the food processor, add:
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (no substitutions)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pulse a few times until everything is good and moist (but don't over-mix).
Preheat your oven to 350 and grease and flour a (2 piece) 10" round tart pan. Using your fingers, press 2/3 of the batter into the prepared tart pan, pushing the batter evenly across the bottom and one inch up the sides of the pan (flouring your finger tips helps here).
Once you have the batter spread out and pushed up on the edges, gently pour in the fruit filling and spread it around the bottom.
With the reserved 1/3 of the batter, place small pieces in an irregular pattern on top of the fruit (I used a one teaspoon measure to get the right size). Be very careful not to push the batter pieces down into the fruit, you want them to float on top of it as much as possible. Finally, sprinkle the reserved crumbs over everything.
Bake in a 350 oven (Important tip; place a cookie sheet under the tart pan) for 30 to 35 minutes (my electric oven takes 35 minutes).
The finished cake will be golden brown and smell heavenly!! I am certain that just about any fruit would work with this coffee cake.
When the cake is done baking, place it on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before you take it out of the pan.
I'm not sure WHY I've never thought of making a pineapple upside-down cake with FRESH pineapple before. Maybe it is because ALL of my cookbooks suggest canned pineapple? Maybe it is because canned pineapple is always in the pantry? Maybe it is because I'm not very adventurous?
Well, this cake came about due to the rare combination of... "I want to bake something" + "what can I do with this very ripe pineapple?" + "the perfect window of time".
The end result was this pineapple upside-down cake made with FRESH pineapple and it was delicious!! The difference is like night and day!!
FRESH PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Preheat your oven to 350 and cut a parchment paper liner for the bottom of a 9" round cake pan. Spray the pan and parchment paper with a light coating of cooking spray. The parchment paper is not absolutely necessary, but it helps if you have a "sticking" issue with the sweet pineapple glaze (you can use waxed paper in a pinch).
5 tablespoons of melted butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
3 cups fresh pineapple cut into 1" cubes (see note)
maraschino cherries cut in half
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup pineapple juice (or milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter extract
1/2 cup pecans chopped medium-small
Mix melted butter with brown sugar and spread evenly in prepared 9" round cake pan. Set aside.
Cut pineapple into 1" chunks and blot them dry between several thicknesses of paper towel (press on them a little to extract excess juice).
For the batter, cream the butter and sugar until it is really fluffy. Under-beating the butter at this stage will give you a poor quality cake. After it is nice and fluffy, add the eggs (one at a time) and extracts and beat until its fluffy again.
Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl and add it to the butter mixture in three parts, alternately with the pineapple juice (or milk) starting and ending with the flour. Set aside.
Assembly: Nestle the pineapple, pecans and cherry pieces down into the brown sugar mixture in the cake pan (arrange in pretty fashion because this will show). Pour the cake batter over the top and (very gently) spread it out.
Bake in 350 oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean (my electric oven takes exactly 45 minutes). Remove from oven and sit pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a serving plate and peel off the parchment paper. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.
NOTE: Traditionally, pineapple upside-down cake has pretty rings of pineapple with red cherries in the center of each ring. However, when the cake is baked like that, it is hard to eat. You either get a big unmanageable hunk of pineapple on your piece of cake or no pineapple at all (does that make sense?). Instead, I cut the pineapple into very small pieces (almost a dice) and arrange the cherries randomly over the cake. It is much easier to cut, serve and eat (even if it ISN'T traditional). If you use this diced pineapple style, it only takes two cups of diced fruit instead of three.
ENJOY !!!
This recipe produces a light, flaky and delicious pastry. There are several steps to this, but they are ALL EASY to do and I've included lots of extra photos to (hopefully) convince you to try it. It really IS tasty and impressive to serve !!
Bottom Layer
1/2 cup of COLD butter cut into cubes
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup COLD water
If you've ever made a pie crust, this step will be a cinch. Using a pastry cutter, cut the COLD butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly and you can see small pieces of butter in the flour, like this:
Add the cold water and work it into the flour-butter mixture with a spoon or fork (your hands are too warm for this step). The mixture will all come together, but it will not be smooth. It should look like this:
Divide dough in half and roll into two log shapes. Transfer the logs to a parchment lined cookie sheet, then pat-roll them into 10" x 3" rectangles (I trim mine to the right shape). Make sure you leave plenty of room between these rectangles, since they puff a little while baking. They should look like this:
SECOND LAYER
This second layer will be spread on top of the unbaked rectangles:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium size saucepan, bring the water and butter to a boil. Stir until the butter is melted. Add the flour and salt (all at once) and immediately stir like crazy. The mixture will almost instantly thicken and will leave the sides of the pan in a lump. The first time I did this step, I was SURE I had ruined it, but never fear, this is what it is SUPPOSED to do. It will look like this:
Put the HOT mixture into an electric mixer and beat on medium high for about a minute to cool it down a little.
Next, add the three eggs, one at a time, mixing well (on medium high) in between each egg. When you first put the egg in, it will make the dough look sort of "slimy", never fear, that is what is supposed to look like. Beat it a little longer and the "slime" will disappear (repeat with the other two eggs, mixing in the vanilla with the last egg). After you beat in all 3 eggs, it will look like this:
Divide the dough in half and using DAMP fingers, press it onto the unbaked rectangles you made earlier. It will look like this:
Bake in a PRE-HEATED 350°F oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until they are a deep golden color. My electric oven takes 55 minutes and looks like this after it is cooked:
Stir 2/3 cup of jam (your favorite flavor) until it is lump free and spread half of it onto each warm pastry, like this:
Drizzle frosting over jam. Frosting is made of 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + about 4 teaspoons of milk. Sprinkle with your favorite nuts.
I tried to get a good picture of the INSIDE of this pastry, but it is hard to see. Trust me, it is light as air and flaky!!
NOTE: If you forget to take the eggs out of the fridge (so they can come to room temperature) just put them in a bowl of hot tap water for about 10 minutes.
This quick and easy recipe comes from bettycrocker.com. It is an excellent recipe to have in your "Company is coming last minute" recipe file. Served warm with ice cream, it is always a hit for breakfast OR dinner.
The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of fresh raspberries. Well, I don't know about you, but I seldom have fresh raspberries laying around my house, but I DO have frozen raspberries, so when I make this, I use a whole 12 ounce bag of frozen red raspberries in this recipe.
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar (I use 1/3 cup)
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (I use 12 ounce frozen raspberries)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds (I leave out)
1 1/2 cups original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (I use 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350°. Line the bottom of a 9" round cake pan with parchment paper and then spray the pan and parchment with cooking spray.
Mix 1/4 cup sugar (I use 1/3 cup sugar here) with 1/4 cup melted butter and pour over the parchment paper.
Next arrange the raspberries evenly over the butter-sugar mixture. Sprinkle with almonds if you are using them.
In medium mixing bowl, beat the Bisquick mix + 1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup milk + vegetable oil + extracts + egg, with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl.
Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping sides of bowl. Pour over berries.
Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick in center tests clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate, upside down over baked cake; turn plate and pan over.
Important: leave pan over cake for several minutes so that the sweetened berry layer can drizzle over cake.
Remove pan and cool at least ten minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Store cake loosely covered.
NOTE: If you are using frozen raspberries, do NOT thaw them out, just put them in the microwave for about 15 seconds or so, so that they will be loose and workable, then proceed as if you were using fresh raspberries.
NOTE: I drizzle a light vanilla frosting glaze over the berries, but that is completely optional. I don't have a recipe for the glaze, I just mix a little melted butter, a little powdered sugar, a little vanilla and a little milk, then whisk it together and drizzle over top.
