Let Them Eat...PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE!

Ingredients

Topping and Filling:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 (8 ounce) can sliced pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained, with juice reserved
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved

Cake:
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup mixture of pineapple juice and maraschino cherry juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat the bottoms and sides of 2-9 inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle the bottom of each pan with 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

In one of the pans, Lay pineapple rings in a single layer on top of coconut. Place a cherry in the center of each ring. In the other pan, sprinkle coconut over the brown sugar and spread the drained crushed pineapple over the coconut.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until completely combined. Add vanilla, and beat for 1 minute.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Add flour mixture alternately with juice combo, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Divide batter between the 2 pans. Remember which pan has the pineapple rings in it.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 20 minutes.

While the bottoms of the cake pans are still warm to the touch, invert the layer with the crushed pineapple out onto a serving dish, then gently invert the layer with the pineapple rings on top of it for a dazzling two layer pineapple upside down cake.

To prevent cracking, after layering the cakes, place the pan, upside-down, back onto the top layer. Remove it after about half an hour.

Bread Pudding: Kremas Bread Pudding

Ingredients

1/2 cup raisins
Haitian Rum, enough to submerge and soak the raisins

Day old loaf of french bread
1 stick unsalted butter

Kremas Custard:
4 egg yolks
8 oz heavy whipping cream
8 oz cans of sweetened condensed milk
8 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
8 oz can cream of coconut
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 star anise, ground
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 lime, zest and juice
pinch salt

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 lime, juiced
3 tablespoon water, plus extra, as needed

Directions

In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the dark rum.

Coat baking pan using the stick of butter.

Melt the remaining stick of butter in a sauce pan.

While the butter is melting cut the loaf of bread into 1 inch chunks. Transfer bread into a bowl, and pour melted butter over the bread.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs until just broken.

Strain and reserve the rum from the raisins.  Mix together 1/2 of the raisins, all of the rum, and all of the remaining ingredients through the pinch of salt.

Pour the custard mixture over the bread. Make sure that every piece of bread is crushed, coated, and submerged in the custard.

Pour this mixture into the buttered baking pan.  Top with the remaining raisins. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 to 12 hours to allow the bread to fully absorb the custard.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges pull away from the pan.  Allow to cool about 10 minutes. Custard will completely set during cooling.

While the bread pudding is baking prepare the icing.

In a food processor, combine All of the ingredients except the water.  Process until smooth, adding more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the icing is pourable. Pour the icing over the bread pudding and allow to set for 20 minutes or more before slicing.

Muffin Top: Stuffed Carrot Cake Muffins

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups Old Fashion oatmeal, chopped in a food processor
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 cups match stick carrots
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, with juice reserved for filling
2 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar (Feel free to adjust the sugar to your taste!)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Reserved pineapple juice
1 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to  375 degrees F.  Lightly grease muffin pans with butter flavored cooking spray, or use paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine the coconut milk with the oats; let soak for 30 minutes.

In a food processor pulse the carrot and coconut until finely chopped. Skip this step if you don't mind big hunks of carrot and coconut in your muffin.

In a large bowl sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Whisk in the brown sugar.  Add the carrots and coconut to the flour mixture and toss well. 

In a bowl whisk together milk-oat mixture, eggs, oil, pineapple (juice reserved), and vanilla. Make a well in dry ingredients, and add wet ingredients.  Mix until batter is just moistened. Do not over mix or else you'll have tough muffins.

Optional Filling: In a bowl, cream together the sugar and cream cheese. Add the pineapple juice and vanilla until completely combined.  Adjust sugar to desired sweetness.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full with the muffin batter.  Spoon approximately 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into the muffin cups. Top with remaining batter, so that each muffin cup is about 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center (away from the filling) of a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 8 large muffins

Muffin Top: Tropical Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups Old Fashion oatmeal, chopped in a food processor
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (I don't like my breakfast muffins too sweet. Feel free to add more sugar!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 mashed banana

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups with butter flavored cooking spray or line with paper muffin liners.

In a blender combine the milk and coconut flakes and pulse until pureed. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine puree and oats; let soak for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in puree-oatmeal mixture.

In a third bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients. Add mashed bananas to batter and stir just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes (22 minutes works perfectly in my oven), until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Serves 8 large muffins

This weekend's baking plans...

I'm feeling a bit ambitious this weekend!  I need to borrow a camera so I can document each step and show you what these look like, from batter, to frosting, through to topping, and all!  So here's the schedule:

1.  Banana loaf w/ peanut butter frosting

2.  Banana loaf w/ walnut & peanut butter filling

3.  Apple spice loaf w/ lemon frosting

4.  Apple spice loaf w/ walnut streusel topping

5.  Carrot loaf w/ walnut streusel topping

6.  Carrot loaf w/ no frosting

7.  Coconut loaf plain

8.  Coconut loaf w/ coconut cinnamon-sugar filling

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

All kind of test tasting is going to happen this weekend!