Translate

Showing posts with label yogurt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yogurt. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Magnificent Appetizer for a Formal Dinner

menu
Birthday Dinner Menu
This past weekend was my son's 47th birthday, and as usual I made a dinner. It was a fancier type of dinner, with a lovely table setting, three kinds of wine and four courses. And a menu, shown here. 

My son loves fine food, as do I, along with loving to make it. It is a true labor of love, at times, to put together this type of meal, but once it is done and we are enjoying, and everything tastes SO GOOD, then it truly doesn't matter how long it took to prepare, or how many backaches went into the mix. We all enjoyed the meal, which thankfully all turned out great.

My idea for the savory cheesecake tarts I made as part of the appetizer were based on the recipe for little individual Savory Brie & Rosemary Cheesecakes. I made the original recipe in mini cheesecake pans, but for our birthday dinner I wanted something a little bigger than "mini," plus I wanted them in a different shape configuration; wider and less tall. I have some 3½-inch diameter metal rings, originally bought for making English muffins, but to date, I still haven't made any that way! I have used the rings to make buns, keeping them in shape while they bake. This time it seemed they would be the ideal size for my appetizer cheesecakes. 

rosemary, brie, chevre, cheesecake, savory
Rosemary, Brie & Goat Cheese Tarts with Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables


One thing I had trouble with was the crust. When I made the original recipe, I used all-purpose flour. This time I wanted to try out a gluten free option and something did not work quite properly. I had to add, and revise as I went along. My suggestion would be to use the original recipe, cut in half.

As for the filling for these savory cheesecakes, I altered the original recipe by using Brie, Chevre and cream cheeses, with some Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. This worked out just amazingly good. To top off these appetizers, I made some Oven Roasted Root Vegetables, making about half the amount, more or less. To make them work with the smaller size of Cheesecake, I cut all the vegetable pieces into ¼-inch cubes. The shallots were cut into chunks about the same size as the golden beet, butternut squash, parsnip, and red bell pepper (not a root veg, but added for color). In keeping with the rosemary theme, I added some rosemary to the original balsamic mixture.

brie, chevre, cheesecake, tart, rosemary
Rosemary, Brie & Goat Cheese Tarts with Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables

Topped off with a rosemary sprig and a large caper berry, these were not only gorgeous, but they tasted as good as they looked. I served a NV Mionetto Prosecco Extra Dry, which paired wonderfully.

The crusts can be made ahead, formed and frozen. The cheesecakes can be made and baked 1 to 2 days ahead with no perceptible deterioration in quality.


Rosemary, Brie & Goat Cheese Tarts

Serves 6

brie, chevre, rosemary, tart, cheesecake

CRUST:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅓ cup almond meal
½ cup +2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary

Cut all ingredients together, form into a ball, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough to slightly under a quarter-inch thickness. Whatever size diameter container you will use for baking the cheesecakes is the size you will need to cut out the tart bases. I used 3½-inch rings with no bottoms, using the ring to cut out the base. Set them onto a parchment lined tray or baking sheet and freeze until quite firm, covered well if leaving for more than an hour.

When ready to bake, set the same rings or the tart shells onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cut pieces of parchment that will line the wall of the ring and extend a bit above the top of the ring. Set the frozen crust inside the parchment. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 12 to 13 minutes, or until set and just starting to turn golden. Set aside to cool slightly. Leave oven on.

CHEESECAKE FILLING:
6 ounces Brie cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces Chevre cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces plain Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon sugar
2 pinches salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
Pinch Aleppo pepper or other chili flakes, optional
½ teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper

Most small Brie rounds come in 8-ounce packages. I remove much of the outer coating of the Brie, leaving about 6 ounces, after trimming.

Using a hand mixer on low speed, beat together the Brie, Chevre, cream cheese and yogurt, just to combine. Add in the sugar, salt, rosemary Aleppo pepper and black pepper, then add in the eggs and yolks. Again, beat on low speed, for as little time as possible, just to make sure all ingredients are properly distributed.

Scoop equal portions of the Brie mixture into the pre-baked tart shells, lined with the parchment. The parchment will allow for easier removal later. Once filled, rap the baking sheet sharply onto a counter surface to eliminate any air bubbles from the filling. Bake the cheese tarts for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheesecakes are mostly set, with just a tiny bit of jiggle in their centers. Set aside to cool. Once baked and cooled, they can be covered and refrigerated until needed, 1 to 2 days.

When serving, preheat oven to 350, uncover the cheesecakes and set the baking sheet in the oven to warm for about 10 minutes or less. If using the rings with no bottoms, use a spatula to lift the entire cheesecake with its ring onto a plate for serving, then lift off the ring and peel away and discard the parchment, leaving a clean outer edge. Top with any garnish desired, although the little cubed vegetables baked in the Balsamic mixture paired heavenly well.


Oven Roasted Root Vegetables


Makes 4.5 to 6 cups, depending on vegetable amounts.
roasted vegetables, shallot, squash, parsnip, beet
Oven Roasted Root Vegetables



2 to 4 shallots, 3/4 to 1 cup depending on size, cut into small chunks
1¼ cups butternut squash, in ¼-inch dice
1 large parsnip, peeled, cut in ¼-inch dice
1 medium to large golden beet, cut in ¼-inch dice
1 red bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice

DRESSING:
⅓ cup Balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced finely
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Zahtar, optional
2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Mix all dressing ingredients in a small saucepan to melt and meld flavors. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and add in all the prepped vegetables, then pour in the dressing. Stir well to coat, then bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until they can be easily pierced with the tip pf a knife. These can be made ahead and reheated just before using.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Going South Indian Without the Heat

I love Indian food. The flavors just absolutely do it for me. My husband enjoys the flavors as well, though he will not tolerate the heat. While I don't mind some heat to my food, I also do not want so much chili that I can't even taste the food for the spice. So, generally, I either eliminate or cut waaayyyy back on the chili called for in a recipe. I add only enough to make it piquant, without the fire. 
 
South Indian, Lamb, Curry, ethnic, recipe
South Indian Lamb Curry

Indian restaurants, much like many other ethnic restaurants with fiery foods, often offer the heat in gradations. And still, "mild" is often too hot for my husband. I can normally tolerate medium. I know full well that learning to tolerate the heat of chilies and fiery spices is something that happens over time. Since I normally cook for my husband, I don't use a lot of chili. Therefore, my mouth hasn't been accustomed to the heat. 

South Indian, Lamb, Curry, ethnic, stew, recipe
South Indian Lamb Curry
All this is in preface to the fact that south Indian foods are known to be highly spiced and outright HOT. Yet my recipes are NOT. So this is a caveat: if you want the heat, please feel free to add as much or as little of either a chili powder (such as cayenne, or a Kashmiri pure chili powder, Resham Patti or other) or of hot green and/or red fresh chilies of your choice to any recipe. This recipe I am writing about today is one from the southeastern part of India; the state called Tamil Nadu.

Things that I have found to be more commonly found in southern Indian foods, aside from hot chilies, are things like tamarind, mustard oil, Panch Phoron (a mix of cumin, mustard, nigella, fennel and fenugreek seeds, most of which are in this recipe), coconut, and more fish and other seafood among many other items. Yogurt, termed "curd," is commonly used in many applications, from eating it plain or mixed with spices as a side to a dish, to using it as a marinade base. Yogurt seems ubiquitous all over India, but with these spicy dishes, yogurt is helpful. My recipe here below uses yogurt, hot chilies, tamarind, mustard oil and lots of brown mustard seeds. It is a lamb curry, and since our local Walmart store has started carrying a few cuts of lamb, this has facilitated my love of lamb curries. I used two lamb "steaks" for this recipe. In summer, one of these lamb steaks is enough to serve both my husband and myself, for dinner. I used two of them in this recipe, so we would have enough of the dish for another meal, tonight.

South Indian Lamb Curry


Serves 4 

1½ to 2 pounds lamb stew meat cut in 1-inch chunks, or may use beef
----- 
South Indian, Lamb, Curry, ethnic, dinner
South Indian Lamb Curry

MARINADE:
⅔ cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons white poppy seeds, optional
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
4 whole cloves
3-inches true cinnamon stick, crumbled
1 (or up to 4) dried red chili, seeds removed, crumbled

---- TO MAKE THE DISH:
1 tablespoon mustard oil, or other cooking oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
2 medium onions, finely chopped
10 - 12 fresh curry leaves 
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh garlic
1 - 1½ teaspoons salt
(2 green chilies, minced finely)
(1 teaspoon pure red chili powder)
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
6-ounces water

Make the marinade: About two hours before making the dish, stir together the plain yogurt and turmeric in a medium bowl and set aside. Place the remaining marinade ingredients into a dry skillet over medium heat and stir or shake pan constantly until the spices are very fragrant. Pour onto a plate to cool, then grind the spices in a spice grinder and add to the yogurt in the bowl. Stir well, then add in the lamb pieces and stir to coat. Set aside for 2 hours.

To make the dish, if using mustard oil, first heat the oil to the smoke point, then remove pan from heat for a few seconds, before adding in the brown mustard seeds. If using other cooking oil, just heat as usual, then add the seeds. Allow the seeds to pop and splutter. This is easiest with a lid on, as they tend to fly out everywhere as they pop. Shake the pan constantly until the noise has slowed. 

Add in the onions and curry leaves and cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden. Add in the ginger, garlic salt, (and chilies and chili powder if using) and cook for about 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the tomato paste and water. Stir together to mix well, then add in the meat with its marinade and stir. Cover and bring to boil, then reduce heat to very low. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until the meat is tender, stirring often, and checking to see if the mixture needs more liquid. It should be on the dry side, but not burnt. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Making a Lamb Curry

It's been about 2½ weeks since I wrote. An unexpected trip came up, and unfortunately, the time and place I had intended to write had no wi-fi hookup. Then I was with my sisters and families and while I had an absolute ball seeing family again, there was no time at all left over to write a blog. But shopping - ahhhh. We Shopped. Capital "S".

I am home now, and just before we left on this trip I had received delivery of a whole, butchered lamb, much to my joy. Lamb here is extremely expensive, if one can even find it, so when I was at the Farmers' Market just over a month back, I was overjoyed to see a sign saying "Ask Me About Lamb!" I went to the woman and asked! She said they raise sheep and were looking to get into the market a bit more widely around here. I was overjoyed to tell her right there and then that I wanted a lamb. As I said, it was delivered just before our trip, so I had not had an opportunity to use it before we left. As soon as we got back I remedied that right away.

My husband and I love lamb, and one of my most favorite ways to make it is in something Indian. I had made Keema Matar (ground lamb with peas) in past, but since living up here, I have only been able to make it with beef hamburger meat. Our dinner was so delightful. Yesterday I wanted to try out the stew meat. In these parts they call it "chislic", and it is used most often to either fry or stew and often is served with toothpicks as an appetizer. Marie said she used hers most often to make her curries. I was a little dismayed to find out just how much fat was on these bits and pieces of meat. To use it as chislic would have been fine, as frying the meat would render a large portion of the fat away. To use in a curry type dish (without browning the meat), this was just far too much fat for my taste. I easily trimmed off ½ pound of fat from the 1½ pound package of chislic meat. Oh well.
Lamb Korma, rice, Chapatis, Indian Meal
Lamb Korma with rice and Chapatis

My Korma Konundrum

There is a recipe that is in all of my Indian cookbooks (about 6 or so), called Korma. Usually made with lamb, this dish has a sauce that is very pale and in some cases, bland. Surprising, when you think about Indian cooking to have a recipe come out so bland. I have tried various iterations of the recipe from many of these books and have never been quite satisfied. It is one thing to have a nice, light sauce with lots of flavor. I love my Chicken and Dumplings with its creamy-white sauce and great flavor. The Korma has mostly been, well, meh. I sat down yesterday with all my books laid open to the page with this recipe, to try and piece together what, exactly makes Korma. I created a recipe based on my findings. I am not Indian, though I just love all the flavors and spices. How much of what I did is genuinely authentic, I have no clue. All I can say for sure is that the result was most excellent.

From my study of all the recipes in all these books, there are some things that stand out as common parts of this recipe. One is the particular masala used. Masala is a mixture of spices; nothing more. In the case of a Korma, in every book these spices were at minimum coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom. I added a tiny bit of cloves and a small tej patta leaf, both found in one particular recipe. Another thing that is common to all the recipes is the use of plain yogurt for a marinade. A third thing common to all the recipes is the use of nuts to thicken the sauce. Most common (and according to one book's explanation, most authentic) is almonds, though cashews can be used. A fourth thing is that the sauce is created from pureeing together onions and garlic (at minimum), with the possible additions of fresh ginger root and green chiles to your tolerance lever. Some add in dried red chiles also. I do not mind some slightly hotter dishes, but my husband is a South Dakota boy, born and bred, and he jokes that ketchup is the hottest he can stand. 

One thing only differed in one of the recipes. When it came to making this pureed sauce, most books had one pureeing raw onion, garlic and ginger. One book only called for first sauteing the onions golden, adding the garlic and ginger to the pan to make them fragrant and then pureeing this combination into a sauce, along with the blanched almonds. This seemed to make more sense, as I have been looking for more flavor. 

One complaint about the Kormas I have made, aside from lack of flavor, is that the sauce always seems to be enough for 2 or 3 recipes worth of meat. If the almonds are supposed to thicken the sauce, there is just no way to thicken this much runny liquid, and the cooking time would have to double in order to cook out some of the liquid. By first sauteing the onions, garlic and ginger, and then pureeing with the almonds, the mixture was so thick I had to add far more than the ½ cup of water I had allotted to this task. Beef or lamb stock could (and perhaps should) be substituted for the water, but I hadn't enough time to accomplish the making of a stock beforehand. Water it was, then.

Blanching Almonds

Peeling almonds, Blanching Almonds
Peeling Blanched Almonds
Blanching almonds is an easy enough task. It can be a bit time-consuming, depending on how many almonds need to be used. When blanching and peeling a pound of them for making almond paste, it is time consuming indeed. For the purposes of this small recipe it was a snap. It is best to use whole, raw almonds, when blanching and peeling. Place the almonds into a saucepan and just cover with water. Bring the pan to a boil, remove from heat and let rest for a minute. Drain and rinse with cold water, then hold an almond in one hand and pinch the skin (which is now very loose) at the thicker end. The white almond will start to pop out of the pointed end. Once in a while, one almond will be contrary and pop out the blunt end, but not often. Do this with each almond, until they are all done.

If using for a sauce such as this Korma, they are now ready to use. If looking to process into a powder that will be stored, they will first need to be dried completely, so as not to rot.

Lamb Korma

Serves 2 to 3
Lamb, Korma, rice, chapatis, Indian meal
Lamb Korma with rice and chapatis


LAMB MARINADE:
1 pound lamb stew meat, in small chunks
½ cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoon rosewater (or plain water, if rosewater is not available)
1 teaspoon salt

SAUCE:
1 tablespoon ghee or cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 - 3 green chilies (serrano, jalapeno)
½ cup almonds, blanched and peeled
½ - ¾ cup water or stock

MASALA:
1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-inch true cinnamon stick, crumbled
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds (or remove the seeds from two green pods)
2 whole cloves
1 small tej patta (Indian Bay leaf), veins removed, crumbled

Make the marinade: Stir together the saffron threads with the rosewater or plain water and set aside for a few minutes while preparing the meat. In a bowl large enough to hold the meat and yogurt, mix together the yogurt with the saffron and its soaking liquid and the salt. Add in the meat and toss to coat completely with the marinade. Cover the container and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

 
Making Sauce, Korma, lamb, almonds
Sauteed onion mixture in blender  |  blanched almonds added     |     mixture pureed with water     |     finished sauce


Make the sauce: Set the almonds to blanch as described above. Heat a skillet and add in the ghee or oil with the onions and saute, stirring very often until the onions begin to turn golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. While onions are sauteing, prepare the green chilies. If you love the heat, remove the stems and chop them whole. For less heat, remove seeds and membranes also before chopping. Add in the garlic, ginger and chilies and saute for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the ginger and garlic become very fragrant. Pour the sauteed mixture into a blender. Add in the blanched and peeled almonds and some of the water or stock and blend until smooth, adding more water by small amounts, only as needed. If done earlier in the day, or even a day before, place this pureed mixture into a container with a lid and refrigerate until needed.
Masala Spices
Masala Spices
Make the Masala: Heat a dry skillet over medium heat until quite hot. Add in all the whole spices and stir constantly and shake the pan often until the spices are very fragrant and lightly toasted, about 1 or 2 minutes, depending on how hot the pan. Pour the toasted spices at once onto a plate to cool. Leaving them in the pan will overcook or burn them. Once cooled, grind them in a small spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Set aside until needed.

Make the Korma: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon more ghee or oil. Add in the sauce and the Masala mixture and stir well to combine. Add in the meat with its marinade and stir well. Cover and cook the mixture over low heat for about 45 minutes or an hour. Serve the Korma with rice. Chapatis make a nice accompaniment - recipe in next blog!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Upside Down Cake is an Old Standby

While upside down cakes have been around for what seems like forever, there are always new ways to combine flavors. Today I got an idea for a Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake.

Growing up, my Mom made peach or pineapple upside-down cakes. I loved both, but peach was my favorite. I have made them over the years, changing the type of cake I put into the pan as I discovered new recipes. Long ago I found a recipe for an upside-down cake that used spiced apples. You know those very red colored spicy rings in a jar? I loved those things - yum. I made the upside-down cake recipe with those spiced apple rings and I really liked it, but my husband was not as keen on it. I never made it again. Last Fall, my friend Deb brought me a little bag of Seckel pears. It was such a small amount, I was unsure what to do with them, but I cut them in quarters and cored them, and made a spicy vinegar-sugar mixture and pickled them. It was enough to fill one quart jar and a partial 1-cup jar. I opened and tasted the small jar, and they are really good. I think they would be excellent with prosciutto wrapped around them as an appetizer.

Spiced Pickled Pears


Makes about 1 quart, plus a little
Spices, Pickling, Pears, Seckel Pears
Spiced Pickled Pears

(Multiply the recipe as needed)

18 - 20 Seckel Pears, slightly under ripe
1 gallon water
juice of 1 lemon
1½ cups sugar
1 cup white or cider vinegar
2 (3-inch) cassia cinnamon sticks
6 allspice berries
10 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon canning salt or 1¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

Have a bowl with the gallon of water and lemon juice handy. Wash the pears, then quarter and core them. They may be peeled, but this is not necessary. Cut the quarters in half again, or thirds, if they are larger, and place them into the water so they will not turn brown.

Prepare the syrup by placing all the rest of the ingredients into a large, nonreactive pot (stainless or enamel) and bring to a boil until the sugar is completely dissolved. Have the canning jar at the ready in a boiling water bath, with lid and ring.

Drain the pears and add them to the syrup and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Pack the pears into the canning jar and top off with the syrup, ensuring that most of the spices have gone into the jar. Place the lid and ring and then put the jar into a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

 

spices, pickled pears, cake recipe, upside-down cake recipe
Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake
 Meanwhile, the larger jar of Spiced Pickled Pears was on a shelf in the basement storage room. As I pondered what to make for dessert today, I thought of those apple rings and that upside-down cake and wondered why not try this with the pickled pears? I made a spice cake recipe for the cake part of the mix and it just came out of the oven. It came out of the pan perfectly and looks nice, if unexciting. The pears are a dull color and I added pistachios in between the pears and they, also green, don't exactly jump out at you. Color-wise, it is drab, but it came out whole and lovely regardless. Once the cake cools, I am going to drizzle a thin confectioners' sugar glaze over top. Maybe that will perk up the look. Hopefully the spice cake will be moist and tasty. I know the pears are good!

Not everyone will have spiced pickled Pears around the house, and while the spiced pears will lend a certain piquancy to this cake, they are not necessary. If you want, regular canned pears, peaches or pineapple will work just fine.

Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake


Makes one 8-inch square or 9-inch round cake

TOPPING:
¼ cup butter (1/2 stick)
½ cup brown sugar
1¼ to 1½ cup spiced pickled pears
¼ cup pistachios or other nuts

Prepare an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside. In a small saucepan combine the butter and brown sugar and heat until the butter is melted. Allow the mixture to boil until it thickens and starts bubbling up in the pan. Pour this mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread it to the edges of the pan. Place the pears or other fruit down into the butter & sugar mixture being mindful that the side that goes down will be the top when the cake is finished. Place fruit evenly all over the surface. Place nuts into spaces between, if desired. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


cake recipe, how to, making upside-down cake, caramel, pears, batter
Toppings in pan, left                                                Cake batter on top, right


CAKE:
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon cloves
5½ tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cup plain yogurt

In a bowl, sift or whisk together the first 7 ingredients and set aside. In a mixer bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and honey until soft and creamy. Add in the egg and the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Begin adding the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt, mixing well after each addition. Do not over beat. Place the batter is small dollops all over the surface of the pears (or other fruit) in the baking dish. Gently smooth the cake batter as much as possibly. Rap the pan sharply on the counter a few times to remove bubbles or large air pockets. Bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then set a plate over the top of the pan and invert the cake. Gently lift off the baking dish. If any fruit sticks, lift it with a spoon and invert back onto the cake. Do not wait longer than 5 minutes to turn out the cake; the brown sugar topping will ooze all over if less than 5 minutes, but longer can give the topping enough time to stick to the pan.

GLAZE:
⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons water or milk

Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl. Once cake is cooled, drizzle the topping over the cake artfully.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Disqus