Have you ever done any fruit picking? My husband and I went apple and
pear picking to a place called Julian in Southern California. While researching
about the place, I read numerous comments about how people had loved the
place and the experience and went back every year. The fruit picking part was definitely fun,
since this was our first time…but I doubt if we would go back every year!
The town of Julian itself is this quaint little place, with just one
main road where life happens. Every other place is filled with orchards and
homes. This road is flanked by cozy restaurants and cafes, each serving their
version of apple pie. I was, however, adamant that I would rather pick the
fruit and make my own pie (I haven't gotten around to that…let's see.) Maybe I
missed out on some awesome pie!!!
Well, anyway, we picked four varieties of pears and two varieties of
apples (some others didn't taste that great) and had a total of 4.5 kgs of
fruit by the end of an hour and a half stroll. What I liked most about the picking was that we were allowed to taste the fruit before deciding whether
to pick more or not.
Our recommendation would be to go there at least once…just for the
experience of picking your own fruit. It does have its own charm compared to buying
fruits from neatly packed displays in the store.
Coming to today's recipe, it is an upside down apple cake that I made
for some friends whom we met for dinner a few weeks ago. I made a small version
to see how it would turn out, and when that tasted great, I confidently baked a
bigger one. So here's to making new
friends and cherishing old ones.
Ingredients
Cake Batter
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Honey – ¼ cup
Milk – ¾ cup
Oil - 3 tbsps (I used
olive oil)
Nutmeg – a pinch
Cinnamon – ½ tsp
For Upside Down Apples
Sliced apples –
depending on the size and shape of the baking dish
Light/dark brown sugar
– ½- ¾ cup
Butter – 2-3 tbsps
Cinnamon – a pinch
(optional)
Method
Upside Down Apples
Heat together the butter and sugar, one low heat. Once the sugar and
butter have melted completely, allow the mixture to simmer for about 3-4
minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile grease your baking dish and keep ready.
Slice the apples into rings/semi circles and place at the bottom of
your greased baking dish. Make sure you cover the entire bottom and if you like
even the sides. Take the butter-sugar mixture and pour over the apples, to
cover completely.
Cake Batter
In a bowl, mix all the wet
ingredients. In a different bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Add the wet
ingredients to the dry and mix well. Pour onto the prepared apples and make
sure the batter covers the apple slices well. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. I
would recommend checking after about 20 minutes. If a toothpick or knife comes
out clean, then your cake is done.
The Sample Version |
Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and allow it to cool for
15 minutes. The cake should slide out easily, because the dish has been greased
but you can run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Take the platter
onto which you wish to remove the cake, place it on the baking dish and
carefully turn it around.. Bon Appétit.
Note: The only upside down
cake I was familiar with was a pineapple cake, but after coming to this
country, I realized that upside down cakes could be made with practically any
fruit, plums, pears, bananas, cherries…the list goes on.
Ummm yummy! Yes this cake was truly awesome. Thanks a bunch for the recipe! Hope I'll try it soon. Thank goodness my kids can't read this yet or that day will have to be today!)
ReplyDeleteShruti, you should definitely try it and let me know how it turns out! And it was a lot of fun meeting all of you :-)
ReplyDelete