Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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

37 comments:

Quinn said...

Jeez....what a day you've been through Zurin. I salute you, you must be breathing a s big sigh of relief once the ladies left. I too hate it when pressures are all over me. You just screw things up and usually, they always screw when you need to deliver. It's been a long time since I last made a pineapple upside down cake. Maybe I should....someday

Angie's Recipes said...

This is exactly my type of coffee cake!

ClearTear said...

this is so beautiful... i think its takes so much talent and patience to make. And i will never be able too ehhe.

tracieMoo said...

Woah, what a day! haha.. I get these most of the time too when I'm trying a new cake and I tend to get everything wrong. Not forgetting the first time I made my sponge cake the egg whites batter deflated right before my eyes and I could do nothing to save it.. Gosh, I felt so bad then. But anyway, these pineapple up-side down cake looks beautiful. I hope your curse is done. hehe.. More good bake days to come!

La Table De Nana said...

Too cute.. Have you two ever met? You could be friends..I mean you are.. but in real life:)

Both stories of cooking for others made me smile..

Ju ..bigger chicken parts:) And Zurin..I can just imagine all the bowls etc too you have been cleaning..it's quite s port baking that way..I know:)


The upside down cake turned out well:) It was one of my mom's specialties!!

Anonymous said...

That looks really yummy. I just made a cranberry upside down cake today. I might post about it soon.

You have a very nice and friendly blog!

Astrid (Mrs.B) said...

wThat looks really yummy. I just made a cranberry upside down cake today. I might post about it soon.

You have a very nice and friendly blog!

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Zu, the cake looks gorgeous!!! What a funny post :) And it's my honour & pleasure to have been your listening ear in your time of "need" :) As for the cakes that didn't work out, c'est la vie! Let's just have a good laugh about it, shall we? ;)

Anonymous said...

This is such a cute post! Your pineapple upside down cake reminds me of a time I baked a peach cake, and the peach fell right to the bottom. I simply flipped it the other way round and named it upside down peach cake! :P

Muneeba said...

My mom used to make this cake when I was a kid ... you've revived some great memories for me! And you may think the top (or is it bottom?) looked too brown ... but the pineapple part looks perfect! (maybe the extra browning makes it extra delicious???)

KennyT said...

Oh my!!!!!!!!!!11111

Bren said...

Zurin, this is just too funny and I was grinning all the way reading your post. I like Ju's curry chicken story too.. haha.

Btw, the pineapple upside down cake looks good!

Anonymous said...

This post is hilarious but beautiful in a way. It's amazing the friendship we have formed with our blogs. It's wonderful and sweet.

Zurin said...

Ohh tq all! :)) ...make the best of a bad situation n what better way than to laugh about it ..... :))))

Ju and i have never met Monique...but I feel like I know her n you n all of you who have left comments here n all those who blog!

the world can be nice place sometimes.:)))))

Anonymous said...

zu! you and ju are so cute!
the emails made me laugh. hahaha!
heh. we all have "our days" dont we.
that cake looks gorgeous! :)

Barbara said...

I know it's not funny, Zurin, but I laughed anyway! We all have those days- absolutely NOTHING turns out right. I have a wild rice dish I have made 3 times. Still can't figure out why it won't work. It used to be a no fail recipe.

Anyway- I l.o.v.e. pineapple upside down cakes and yours turned out beautifully!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

sorry Zurin, I did not read the whole story, because it is quite late already and I feel sleepy liao, as a usual supporter, I must drop by your blog and say hi to you. I like this pineapple upside down cake, will try out when my new helper come, no time for now as I have to do all the houseworks..zzzzz..

Mano said...

Goodness.....did not realise what you had to endure to get that cake done. Was worth it anyway....was real tasty, as usual! Thanks & looking forward to more cakes.

mano

Cathy said...

This is one of my most favorite desserts which I haven't made in ages. Thanks for the reminder of how delicious it is.

And thank you also for stopping by my blog. I appreciate your comments. I can't wait to explore your posts. I love what I see.

Mary Bergfeld said...

I tried very hard not to smile as you recounted your disaster but I couldn't help myself. We've all had similar surprises and are very sympathetic. The upside down cake looks wonderful.

Nadia said...

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL...is this like the one you made when you were here?

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

That must be such a long day if you have to watch the cleaning ladies. Here often people get out of their house when they hire someone to clean. After all of this you made such an incredable cake.

3 hungry tummies said...

Oh everywhere I go there are cakes ! It's too hot to bake now but it sure looks good!!

Faida said...

The more I read your blog , the more I find you funny. Your story is hilarious.One thing I respect, you are a real baker, my dear aunty. You make do of the left overs. I would just throw all the extra cream or even flour after baking (if I ever do). My hubby would be lucky if I bake once a year.

Mari @ Once Upon a Plate said...

Oh Zurin, what a DAY it was for you. I'm glad it finally turned out well and that you were able to keep your sense of humor about it (afterwards, anyway!)

So sweet, the exchanges with Ju (I love Ju's blog so much, too!)

Your Pineapple-Upside-Down cake is beautiful, the photos make my mouth water. :) Very nice!

Marysol said...

Well then, I think it's time we lynched the Cake Goddess.

She also dropped by my house, uninvited, and wreacked havoc in my kitchen, during a baking bonanza this week.

But Zurin, admiring those results leads me to believe you showed her!
Your cake looks too delicious for words.

Unknown said...

J'ai du prendre mon dictionnaire car je ne comprenais pas tout, quelle journée tu as eu, mais ce gâteau est magnifique et plus qu'appétissant

Unknown said...

Hi Zurin !!
i love this kind of cakes bravo to you !!
and if you like mango come and visit me !! cheers Pierre from Paris in France

Unknown said...

Hi Zurin !!
i love this kind of cakes bravo to you !!
and if you like mango come and visit me !! cheers Pierre from Paris in France
http://pierre.cuisine.over-blog.com

GFAD said...

Hahahaha... Zurin, I can so totally relate!! Recently I promised a friend I'd bring a chiffon, but of all days, this had to be the one that did NOT turn out perfect! It was all senget one side, but luckily it tasted fine!

And what about the time I made banana muffins. Never failed before, but on the day I had to make them for my girl's gathering, they overflowed from their cases, looking like incubating eggpods from Godzilla!

Hahahaha... so many stories to share with blogfriends which we normally wouldn't share with our 'regular' friends. And I have received so much help from online friends. Isn't it just so heartwarming when you reach out to strangers and they reciprocate, being as friendly as possible? :)

KaT

Zurin said...

Tq everyone for your precious precious comments! it was my intention to make you laugh so please feel free to do so :D

Pierre, I cldnt get to your blog. Please do visit again so that I can. :))

Chapot, Im sorry you could not understand the story...I think it was because of all the short forms I used. I will write better next time. Promise.

yes lets all lynch the cake goddess! :))

Nazarina A said...

Take a deep breath, see you overcame all that was not right with the world! LOL
This upside down cake looks pretty delicious to me, YUM! it is time that I make one again!

Anonymous said...

I would want to try the mango version of this using err... china butter? heh ada ke? Mesti murah kan? hehe

Anyway, I saw the original mango version and it really looks YUMMM!

Karine said...

What a day!

Your cake sounds delicious :)

petite nyonya said...

Ohhh...gorgeous cake!

Kate at Serendipity said...

You know, I think this cake is waaaay too brown. Not at all up to your standard. You should send it to me and I'll take care of it for you!

LOL, what a wonderful story! I'm glad it turned out well. The cake looks amazing.

Anonymous said...

Hehe you are so funny! And what a day you poor thing! I think that that cake looks fabulous and not too brown at all, just perfect! :D

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