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I'm not sure I quite know what to say about this pudding cake... by anybody's reckoning it should have been a disaster, considering my mistakes - I cant blame the recipe, it was from "Gourmet July 2005", according to the printout. And yet it turned out to be a delicious cake.
In hindsight, I think the blueberries went in with too much liquid and the cake simply wouldnt set because the batter was so liquidy. The original recipe confidently said that the blueberries would sink to the bottom, so when I poured the blueberry mixture over the cake batter, I expected the blueberries to perform as per the recipe.
Although I waited expectantly, the blueberries didnt sink. They just pooled in the middle of the batter, creating a sunken effect, and didnt even bother to give an impression of being cooperative enough to do as the recipe indicated.
Right about then, while I gazed at my concave batter, I got that sinking feeling (I suppose I should have been glad that SOMEthing sank, even if it wasnt the darned blueberries) which precedes a culinary catastrophe. I did debate for a moment whether I should just throw it all in the bin and wash my hands of the whole thing - but I would have felt far too guilty throwing away perfectly fresh, lovely and expensive blueberries without even trying to salvage them!
Good thing, too. Like I said, the cake should have been a disaster but somehow it worked. I had to bake it for far, far longer than the recipe said, because the bloomin' blueberries simply wouldnt set in the centre! Not that I blame the blueberries... there was far too much liquid, so it took an extra long time. By which time, of course, the cake part was well cooked and somewhat crusty around the edges, although not burnt. I finally switched off the oven when the blueberries had a sort of jelly like texture in the centre - still not "set" but I hoped that (like with baked cheesecakes) the centre would firm up as it cooled.
It did set, but it was like a chewy jam/jelly in the middle with lots of fruit in every bite! Doesnt sound particularly appetising (nor does it look it in the photo above), but no amount of descriptions can do justification to the taste, which was just lovely - perhaps the extra long time in the oven concentrated the flavours of the blueberries, I dunno. But in any case, it disappeared like magic (it helps that there are two hungry teenagers here right now, but still), helped along by some thick fresh cream.
Next time I make this, I'll make sure that the blueberries are not poached in too much water - that, I think, was the main problem with what I did. The recipe below rectifies the things I think I did wrong. So, hopefully anybody who tries this recipe will have a more conventional looking cake that also tastes lovely!
Recipe for: Blueberry pudding cake
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
PLUS
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cornflour
1-1/2 cups blueberries
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter - melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp vanilla
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Spray an 8" round pan with Pam.
2. Stir together 1/3 cup sugar with water, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a
small saucepan, then stir in blueberries.
Bring to a simmer and let it cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a
medium bowl.
4. Whisk together egg, milk, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl.
Then add flour mixture, whisking until just combined.
5. Put batter in the baking pan.
Then pour blueberry mixture evenly over the batter (berries will sink - hopefully!).
6. Bake until a knife inserted into centre of cake portion (towards the side, not the centre of the cake) comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.
7. Cool in pan on a rack for five minutes, then remove to a serving plate.
Serve warm with fresh strawberries and cream or icecream.
Description:
"Plump blueberries, cooked until juicy and poured over a simple batter,
create a deliciously moist pudding cake bursting with summer fruit."
Source: "Gourmet July 2005"
Another of those long goods-train-like, really catchy names that I'm so good at manufacturing. But this time, consider ooey-gooey to be the adjective that qualifies the noun (hey, I did English Literature in college, can you tell?). The noun here being the actual title for this post (and the cake) - which is, of course, pineapple pudding cake. Not too bad, that. Straightforward and factual. With a bit of English grammar thrown in gratis.
Considering that I hadn't really had much faith in the outcome of the recipe (I'm a major Doubting Thomas, me!), I was rather pleased with the result. I got the recipe off a lycos food group that I subscribe to - that is to say, I subscribed looooong back and didnt get around to unsubscribing. Partly because I couldnt be bothered, and partly because once in a while, I manage to salvage a little drop from the massive waves of recipes that crash into my inbox every day.
Are you wondering if this pineapple pudding cake is one of those salvaged drops? Yes, sort of. Sometimes those drops of water turn out to be little sparkly gems, and sometimes they're just - well, a recipe that manages to work. This is one of the latter kind... not quite a gem, but not dross either. That's my opinion. My mother and Pete - especially Pete - thought it was incredibly good.
I had serious doubts about the glaze (for want of a better name) for the cake. The cake itself wasnt bad, for an eggless one, using the one-bowl method. But the recipe said the glaze had to be poured boiling hot over the hot cake. I had mental visions of the cake promptly disintegrating into a soggy mess, so I hesitated an awful lot before going ahead. My mother didnt help by peering at the contents of the saucepan - which was bubbling merrily, a mixture of evaporated milk, a bit of condensed milk, margarine, sugar and chopped nuts - and saying in an extremely doubtful tone: "Are you going to pour THAT over the cake?"
I suppose that did it. I consider myself at perfect liberty to second-guess instructions in other people's recipes and query methods given in cookery books - but to be second-guessed about something I'm making (even if from some unknown recipe) is not on.
So before anyone else could convey their doubtful disbelief, I promptly poured the hot glaze over the hot cake - but then I was too chicken to follow through on the consequences. Basically, after pouring the glaze, I turned my back on the cake, switched off the kitchen light and went off to watch a movie.
Did I think about the cake? Nope. Not at all.
A few hours later, I went to check on the cake somewhat fearfully, expecting to see a disintegrated mess on the plate - but to my surprise, the cake was still standing. All the excess glaze that had overflowed on the plate had been soaked up by the cake itself.
Thrilled to see the whole thing still in one piece, I let Pete cut himself a slice. It was ooey and gooey and more pudding than cake - he had it with honey vanilla icecream and pronounced the combination delectable. When I tried it, I found it rather too sweet for my liking - but my sweet tooth is very quickly satisfied, so I'm not the best judge.
The final verdict is: If you like gooey moist sweet cakes, this is the one for you. The glaze sort of caramelized (if that's the right term) to a darkly sweet texture - you could certainly say that the sum of the parts added to more than the whole! Or something like that, anyway.
Recipe for: Pineapple pudding cake
Ingredients:
For the cake:
1 cup crushed pineapple with juice (NOT syrup)
1/2 cup white sugar
1-1/2 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp demerara sugar (or use brown sugar)
For glaze or topping:
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 tbsp condensed milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Method:
1. In a large bowl, mix all the cake ingredients together (except the demerara/brown sugar) until the flour is incorporated. The batter will be quite thick.
2. Scrape batter into a greased 6" round cake pan. Even it out with the back of a wetted spoon.
3. Then sprinkle the demerara or brown sugar over the top.
4. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 45 mnutes or till the cake tests done and has pulled away slightly from the sides.
5. When the cake has been in the oven for about 35 minutes, make the glaze/topping. Put all the topping/glaze ingredients in a small pan.
6. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring till the butter/margarine has melted completely, and let it bubble gently for a couple of minutes.
7. When the cake is done, turn it out onto a serving plate.
8. While it is still hot, pour the hot topping on the cake.
9. Let it cool completely (preferably leave it overnight) before cutting. Serve with vanilla icecream.
