PINEAPPLE UPSIDE- DOWN CAKE

Here's the true story of a disaster named Pandan Cake........almost verbatim.......(typos, short forms n silly expressions included) but superfluous sentences omitted.

Hi Ju,

Remember my comment this morning about making the pandan cake for a lunch 2morrow? well It turned out beautifully BUT because I didvided the recipe mixture(wh I doubled) between 2 8" pans they turned out a little thin.

BUT I was prepared to use them anyway and decided to make 2 more thin layers so that I get 4 layers in all.

In the meantime b4 i made the 2 xtra layers I made a white choc buttercream to go with the cake (wh I got frm another blog) but it turned out a little on teh sweet side.

Because of that n the fac tthat the lunch is for ladies who, I think, do no tlike anything too sweet I then thought that a four layered cake with 3 layers of buttercream in between and all over the cake would be a little too much.

Even I shudder to think of the richness.

So I decided to make the same total amount of the recipe again BUT this time to divide them between just 2 pans.

In other words I will be sandwiching a 2 layer (albeit higher cake)...which means less buttercream than a 4 layer cake.

I hope Im not confusing you ....LOL


Anyway ....

So I baked just about an hour ago and I had one fiasco after another....I think my eggs were not fresh so they didnt beat up to the right consistency...that failure I then turned into a plain cake n I used oil instead of butter cos I did not want to waste butter or the mixture.(but lets not go into that)

Then I made the pandan flavoured again (a whole new batch of mixture) and while I was folding in the flour and pandan juice etc. ..etc.. the whole thing deflated right before my very eyes!!!!!!!!!! like a burst balloon but without the sound.

WAAAAHHHHH....!! I felt like dumping it all over my head! LOL

So now I ma left with no cake ready for tomorrow!

IM now thinking of making a pineapple upsidedown cake instead wh does nt need buttercream n is easy (I hope murphys law doesnt play with me here again)




So I just want to tell you what a day I had.The whole afternoon was wasted...I couldnt do anything too because the maids were here . when they come I become the third maid...I have to watch n supervise them d whole afternoon! Wasted time for me.

I have only a few hours to redeem myself n I hope I manage to make a decent cake...those ladies expect a lot from me cos Im known as teh CAKE MAKER LAdy ...wh stresses me out even more!!!

Anyway I'm just ranting and I couldnt think of anyone else who would be willing enough to listen so I thought of you :))))

I just wanted to get it out of my chest....phew!!!

Thanks for reading this JU..(I know you will) Youre the sweetest! :)))

hugs
zurin

PS Ill let u know what happens tomorrow :))


JU's reply................(.about 2 hours later...).


Oh Zurin!! No no no no!!! Oh why?! The whole thing deflating like a burst balloon?? OK, that part was sad but hilarious ;P

I was clutching my chest as I read your email, my eyes almost popping, and then I burst out laughing in between. Oh dear!

It's one of those days. I know the feeling, and it always happens when you need to deliver. If it makes you feel any better, my grandma came over to my place last week (she seldom comes, cos I go over to her place) and I said I MUST cook something nice for her since she is always cooking for me. And for some reason, of all days, my curry turned out terrible. It's a dish I am so confident of, but that day, all the chicken and potatoes disintegrated into mush. MUSH. Who wants mushy curry, raise your hand. Bones in every bite for crunch. My grandma must have thought, your poor kids. They have to eat this kind of food everyday. LOL! Thank goodness she doesn't know about my food blog or she'll shake her head in disbelief! In the end, she still ate quite a lot (I removed all the bones) :) She said the taste was nice, but "for heaven's sake, use bigger chicken parts lah".

So Zu, what I want to say is, it's OK. It's frustrating but it's OK. We all have our "off" days. And your friends are going to love what you bake anyway. We are our harshest critics.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for you that Murphy's Law has knocked off for the day already! Tell me how everything went!

Sending good luck straight into your kitchen and oven!

Ju


My next email to Ju.........(the following day)...

Dear Ju,

So what happened was.............I baked a pineapple upside down cake last nite...Hub was kind enoughto drive me to the minimarket for a can of pineapples. I bought 2 cans. Just in case. Duh.



I decided to go with my tried and tested recipe from teh mango cake I have made b4 only to replace the mango with pineapple.

No problem...everything was measured out and glared at twice...the ingredients, the measurements and teh mixing was impossible to screw up...although I faltered at the butter sugar topping. In teh end I melted the butter and poured it inot the pan and sprinkled the sugar on top.

I placed the pineapple rings on top and the red glaced cherries in their little holes and it looked so pretty that I said Yippity doo daa. poured teh batter over and pushed it into the oven.

I baked it. set the timer for 45 minutes.

Watched tv then I smelt something .

Well guess what. the top was ssooooooooooooo brown . like....... burgundy...like..... balsamic vinegar...like..... red wine...like ..I think you get it by now.

Gosh I felt so like..kena sumpah..you know...like ive been cursed by the cake goddess or something....and what was worse was that it wasnt even fully baked yet. I had to push it back into ....covered the top with foil and let it cook somemore.

In the meantime I took out teh butter..AGAIN.... ready to bake YET ANOTHER CAKE.. AGAIN.

ANyway..

to cut a ong story short............. It turned out ok ..the top was too brown but I told myself ..."waht the heck its an upsidedown cake!" THANK YOUUU CAKE GODdess.

so at the lunch today...everyone was happy an d as usual I got the nods of approval and little breaths of oohs and aahhs here and there :))))))) (ok maybe I imagined that)

actually I think they expected some fancy shcamancy buttercreamed decorated cake....wh was my intention BUT....

anyway, the platter was swiped clean Ju! not the best cake Ive made but quite beautiful ..saved me some butttercream (goingto use it for another cake) and I redeemed myself to myself. SIGH!:)))

Thank you Ju for listening...me and my rantings :))))

I'll spare you the next time :))

btw ur curry chicken mush story ...thank god ur grandma doesnt know u have a food blog...LOLOL ..if she knew she would think the world was coming to an end! lol

hugs
Zu

This is a true story. The names of people and places have not been changed because it's too silly. The protoganist now resides in Blogland to escape Reality.


The recipe is here...just replace the mango with pineapple rings and glaced cherries. I also brushed the top (after the cake was baked and cooled down) with some orange marmalade that has been warmed through to make it a little runny.

Moral of story.................Food bloggers make nice friends!

My very nice blogger friend is Ju, The Little Teochew