Pina Colada Upside Down Cake

Was feeling inspired by my last post and decided to tackle a full on upside down cake, but with a TCC twist.  May I just say, "Mwah, delicious!"

Pina Colada Upside Down Cake

topping
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
6 pineapple rings (fresh or canned)
5-6 maraschino cherries
1 tbsp. Myers dark rum or rum flavoring

cake
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. coconut liqueur or extract
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup pecan bits (optional)

For the topping, melt butter over medium high heat in a small saucepan.  Add in the brown sugar and rum.  Continue heating until sugar melts.

Pour the sugared concoction in the bottom of a 9" cake pan (square or round, your choice).  Next place the pineapple slices in the bottom of the pan.  Add the maraschino cherries.  Set aside.

I chose a variation on the classic pineapple layout for my plan, but feel free to let your inner culinary artist run free and come up with your own pineapple design.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and coconut flakes.  Set aside.

Cream the softened butter, takes about a minute.  Gradually beat in the sugar.  Then add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each well.  Add in the vanilla.

Starting with the flour, alternate adding flour and coconut milk, blending well and making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.

Carefully spread the batter in the pan over the topping mixture.

Sprinkle the pecans on the top of the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  I would recommend placing the cake pan on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or foil to catch any spillovers (because there will more than likely be spillovers).  Bake until cake is golden or springs back to the touch when gently poked.

Remove cake from oven.  Run a knife along the inside edges of the pan.  Take your serving plate and put it upside down over the pan.

Using a thick towel or oven mitts, grab the edges and flip the pan and plate over and carefully lift the pan off the cake.  If any of the topping sticks to the pan, scoop it out and plop it on top.

Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes (so that you don't burn your face on the hot sugar topping).

Parsnips Frites

 

Success!  French-fried parsnips got a two forks up on the yummy new food scale.  I guess I had never noticed before since I've not done a lot with parsnips on their own, that they do sweeten up when cooked, which is why I chose to offset the sweetness with a sprinkling of chili powder and salt when they were done.  Mmm Mmm Mmm...

PARSNIPS FRITES
aka French-fried parsnips

parsnips, peeled and julienned large
canola (or vegetable) oil
chili powder
salt

You want to cut your parsnips into thick "French fry" length pieces.

You can do them thinner, but they may not hold up so well in the next step.

Place your parsnip fries in a large pot filled with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until parsnips are just fork-tender.

You want them parboiled so that they will cook faster once you fry them.  FYI, this photo was after I had already removed the bulk of them which is why it looks kind of dreggy.

Once parboiled, drain and complete dry your parsnip fries.

I put a towel underneath the paper towel to help pull away extra moisture without leaving little fuzzies on your fries.  You don't want any water on them when you put them in the oil or it could cause excessive popping and spattering of the oil.

In a deep pot, bring 1 to 1-1/2" of canola (or vegetable) oil to full heat over high setting.  Test the heat by carefully tossing in a parsnip fry.  You want it to bubble up as soon as it hits the heat.

By using a deep pot, you cut back on the spatter when cooking the parsnips.  If you don't have a deep pot, then using a screen to cover your pan will work too.

Once the oil is ready, cook the parsnip fries in batches until a deep golden brown.

Was busy cooking and forgot to take shot of batches in pot, sorry about that.

Once they are the color you want, using a slotted spoon or ladle, drain fries on a rack and sprinkle with chili powder and salt to your own taste.

Special for Mom and Dad, I cooked up some pepper-rubbed filet mignon for them to eat with their Parsnips Frites (because it seemed like the fancy thing to do if I was going to give the parsnips such a fancy name).  The sweetness of the fried parsnips made a nice complement to the spicy taste of the pepper rub.

NOTE

I used two large parsnips and the produced enough fries for all three of us to have decent portion of them.

I ended up using vegetable oil because I was out of canola.  They took a little longer to fry up than they would with canola, but the end result was the same.