Receta I need a little sympathy
I really need to put a different CD or two into the stereo in the kitchen. I have been listening to so much Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac that I’m amazed I’m not running around in gypsy wear and platform boots.
(STAND BACK!)
I should probably say that I WOULD be running around in gypsy wear and platform boots but (1) I don’t have any gypsy wear; (2) I don’t have any platform boots; and (3) it’s a good thing I don’ t have any platform boots because I would have broken many body parts in the attempt to wear them. Graceful, I am not. Particularly in heels that are taller than the length of my foot. How the hell Stevie bops around in those things, I’ll never know.
(YOU’LL SEE YOUR GYPSY….)
The Man skipped off work last Thursday and Friday. Well, I have to admit that I thought he was skipping, but after my own little experience with this illness, I guess I can say that he wasn’t fakin’ it.
The flu sucks. Every joint aches. My allergy meds appear to be keeping my head clear for now (not that this will last), but my chest and throat are miserable – just in time for a big company meeting later this week, naturally. I love being around my co-workers while sporting a red nose and a box of tissues.
So, yes – I need a little sympathy from somewhere, cuz I sure ain’t getting none here LOL
Between loads of laundry and games of Wii bowling this weekend, I managed to crank out a wonderful cake that used up the cherries from the tree in our backyard. I actually ate this for dinner last night because I knew it tasted better than anything else I was going to come up with! I sent half the cake across the street with The Man when he was visiting friends/family and I hear that numerous forks dove in. Does a heart good, it does. Even The Man said it was good – and he doesn’t much like cherries (imagine that). I told him he had no choice but to try it – the fruit was off the tree we’d planted in his mother’s memory.
I came across this Vault recipe while digging through a wad of papers in our spare bedroom, looking for something that I never found and quite frankly, forgot all about after finding the recipe. I immediately thought of my first tart cherry crop, peacefully and patiently residing in my freezer until I found an appropriate us.
I personally am more of a sweet cherry lover, but this cake is pretty dang good – the cake is moist and sweet and the cherries put just enough pucker in your face that you can feel the back of your jaw tighten, just a bit (you know the feeling I’m talking about).
You know, I bet this would be good for breakfast tomorrow. There’s only a small slice left, so I guess I better put it where someone won’t eat it on me.
Cherry Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from the Vault
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 14 ounces cherries, pitted (original recipe calls for halved also, but I didn’t feel like it)
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk (I used skim, but use what you have)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 1/4 cup of the butter into a 9″ round cake pan (2″ sides preferred) and place it into the oven to melt; leave the remaining butter on the counter to come to room temperature.
When the butter in the cake pan has melted, remove the pan from the oven. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the inside walls of the pan with butter, then carefully stir in the brown sugar; spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Add in the cherries, patting them into an even layer across the brown sugar-butter mixture.
Combine the dry ingredients except white sugar and cream of tartar in a small bowl. Set aside. Separate the eggs into yolks and whites.
In a large mixer bowl, blend together the white sugar and remaining 1/2 cup butter until creamy. Add the yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
Add the bowl of dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. I did this by 1/2 of the dry mix, 1/2 of the milk and it worked well.
In a separate bowl with clean and dry beaters, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until the whites are stiff, but not dry. Scoop 1/3 of the beaten whites into the batter (mix ever so lightly to lighten it up a bit), then slowly and gently fold in the remaining whites.
Spoon the batter on top of the cherries in the prepared pan. Use a rubber spatula to slowly spread the batter evenly out to the edges. Place the cake in the oven and bake for 55 minutes (cake will be golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes or so before running a thin knife around the inside edges to loosen the cake from the pan. Invert on to a platter and allow to cool a little longer before cutting (you know I burned my mouth, right?)
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