BTW, all my friends in NJ – please vote today in the special Senate election!!!!!
Today’s lessons for me come from the inimitable Mr. Wm. Shakespeare. And, by the time you have read the title, you have already figured out where I am going with this – if you know me at all.
Comedy or Tragedy?? We all know that William Shakespeare so famously coined the phrase, “All the world’s a stage” in “As You Like It”. Now, it just seems that we are seeing the most obnoxious manifestation of this concept. This stage certainly has its downside, no? I’ve decided, in polite disagreement with Mr. Shakespeare, that, no, it is NOT how I like it………… Perhaps we need to drop the curtain on this one – at least until some sanity can return to the stage. But, Shakespeare had a lot of insanity going on too, didn’t he??? Oh…… how he captured so much of humanity’s terrible warts……. You know exactly what I am talking about, don’t you and, how I wish I could somehow see some element of comedy in this – perhaps sometime in the future, when things have improved……..
All the world of Washington politicians and many financial pundits have obviously suspended all rational thought and behavior haven’t they? — i.e, not knowing which side is UP these days. In concert with this, or more relevantly, considering that they can’t seem to move forward on ANYTHING……., I’m making an upside-down cake today – just to go through the motions myself of turning things right side up (don’t mistake that comment for partisan, ok??) and hoping that this makes me feel better. Just perhaps then, in some sort of psychic impulse, Congress will get going and do their job and, those select financial people who have lost their minds completely in their claims that a default is some miniscule technicality which won’t disturb the rotation of the earth, will step back from their insanity and take a reality pill .
Here, in a gesture to practice something rational, sure and lovely, is what’s came out of the oven today:
THE PEAR-UPSIDE DOWN CAKE – adapted from Fine Cooking
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
8 tblsp unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp pear brandy
2 ripe bosc pears, peeled, sliced in thin slices
butter for the pan
one recipe basic caramel – see below
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9″ round cake pan, insert a piece of parchment paper in bottom and butter the parchment. Arrange the cut pear slices around the edge with the pointed end toward the center. Arrange a few smaller pieces in the middle to fill the bottom. Pour caramel over the pears, making sure the entire bottom of the pan is covered and set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add the lemon zest and whisk together. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, almond extract and the pear brandy.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 2 minutes. Gradually add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl and paddle.
Lower the speed of the mixer to low. Add the dry and wet ingredients in 5 alternating additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add batter to the prepared pan, dolloping the batter around the pan and then smoothing out to cover the pears and the caramel. Bake for 45 minutes or until cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack and then invert onto serving plate. Cool completely.
Serve with a dollop of creme fråiche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired – or just dust lightly with powdered sugar.
BASIC CARAMEL – 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, strained 1/4 cup water In a heavy 2 qt saucepan bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Cook, drizzling water with a pastry brush around sides as needed, until the caramel begins to turn a light amber color. At this point watch it carefully. Cook till it becomes just a medium amber color. Remove from heat and whisk in 4 tblsp butter which has been cut into 4 pieces. Cool for 1 minute and gently pour over the prepared pan containing the pears.
I bid you all to take this step today – if for no other reason than to make yourself feel better – by getting something back on its beautiful, sane and functioning side! This cake will fill your kitchen with a lovely aroma and make you feel happy when you do the turn-over and see how pretty it is.
I am not sure I am a fan of this heavily lemon-laced caramel – I think I prefer the one I used for my Peach Cornmeal Upside Down Cake on August 31st.
Have a great day!