Our week that was: Beans, berries and a birthday

We’ve spent a fair amount of time in the garden again this week, picking fruit, veg and flowers. We have little jugs and vases full of sweet peas dotted all around the house that are replenished daily; the house smells divine!

Runner beans

Our veg plot is beginning to offer up produce ready for harvest. So far, we’ve had a couple or three courgettes; nothing compared to previous years’ crops. We were given about a dozen runner bean seedlings by a neighbour a couple of months ago. These have been growing rampant, and I’ve picked the first couple of portions this week. I think we’re going to be inundated with them in the next few weeks and, as I’m the only one that will be eating them (Justin hates them!), I’m hunting for recipes for preserving them. If you can recommend any, please share!

Blackberry upside-down cake

Last week, I picked a couple of kilos of blackberries and have them stored in the freezer for use later in the year. It’s been such a bumper year for them that I picked another kilo or so yesterday and used most of them to make this upside down cake. It’s one of my favourite, quick, go to recipes where I use any kind of fruit in season or tinned in the pantry. Team it with pouring cream or vanilla ice cream.

Barley is two!

The blue birthday bandana was taken out of storage and dusted off. Barley turned two on Saturday – not that he realised that it was different to any other day… except that he was allowed two portions of buttered toast instead of one!

Cakes & Bakes: Rhubarb upside-down cake

We planted a rhubarb crown in a dolly tub in our garden about 3 years ago. Gardening/allotment experts say you should allow a young plant at least a year without harvesting to encourage vigour. We’ve finally felt able to pick a few stalks this year.

I’d normally use it to make a crumble however, I’ve never made a rhubarb upside-down cake before and thought it would go down a treat.

I tweaked a recipe I found on the Guardian website. The results were so delicious, I’m already planning on reusing the recipe to make a pear upside-down cake next week.

I love the pretty patterns that you can make with fruit on the ‘top’ of upside-down cakes.

The cake batter is one of the easiest I’ve ever thrown together. It calls for vegetable oil instead of butter, a couple of eggs, caster sugar, flour and baking powder – just mix the wet into the dry ingredients. It takes all of about 3 minutes!

The soft brown sugar and butter in the base of the skillet came together to form the most wonderful, chewy caramelised edges.

It was lovely with a little pouring cream but it would be equally good – hot or room temperature – with vanilla ice cream or on its own.

Save the recipe to Pinterest here!

Rhubarb upside-down cake

2017-07-05 11:29:27

Serves 8

Ingredients

80g/3oz diced unsalted butter and a bit more for greasing
140g/5oz soft brown sugar
4-5 stalks rhubarb
150g/5¼oz caster sugar
175g/6oz plain flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
150ml/5 fl oz sunflower oil
2 large eggs

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4
Grease a 30cm/12-inch cast iron skillet with a little butter
Scatter the brown sugar and butter over the bottom of the skillet and put it in the oven for 5 minutes
Remove the skillet from the oven and press the raw rhubarb into the melted butter and sugar
Mix the sugar, flour and baking powder in a large bowl
In a measuring jug, beat the vegetable oil and eggs together
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix well
Pour the batter over the rhubarb in the skillet and return the pan to the oven for about 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes away clean
Allow the cake to cool in the skillet on the top of the stove before running a sharp knife around the rim and carefully turning the pan upside down on to a plate

By Claire Thomson

Adapted from The Guardian

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Banana upside down cake

Cold, winter weather makes you crave hearty, warm, delicious puds. This easy to make banana upside down cake fulfils the criteria!

We’ve posted a few recipes that use bananas as an ingredient, they’re a daily staple in our diet chez H is for Home – even Fudge loves them!

This banana upside down cake is delicious served warm or at room temperature, with extra butterscotch and/or custard.

Banana upside down cake

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Ingredients

cake mix
3 large bananas
250 g/9oz plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
85 g/3oz butter
125 g/4½oz soft brown sugar
150 ml/5fl oz milk
1 capful dark rum
butterscotch sauce
100 g/3½oz soft brown sugar
150 ml/5fl oz double cream
½ tbs golden syrup
12 g/½oz butter
1 capful dark rum

Instructions

Peel & slice 2 of the bananas
Grease the base of an 18cm/7in loose-based, deep cake tin, line the base with the banana slices, overlapping slightly
Put all the butterscotch sauce ingredients into a small saucepan
Stir over a medium heat using a wooden spoon until the mixture is well combined and begins to bubble
Reduce the heat and simmer for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
Pour enough of the sauce into the cake tin to almost cover the bananas
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350°F/Gas mark 4
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until fluffy
In a small measuring jug, lightly whisk the eggs
Slowly add the eggs to the sugar & butter mixture, stirring continuously
Add the rum and vanilla essence and mix until combined
Sift the flour and baking powder into a small mixing bowl
Add the flour in 3 batches to the batter, alternating with adding the milk, stirring continuously, until well combined
Chop the last banana into cubes and gently fold into the batter
Pour the mixture carefully & evenly over the butterscotch-covered bananas
Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes away clean
Leave to rest for 10 minutes before running a sharp knife around the circumference of the cake tin and carefully flipping it over onto a plate
Lift off the cake tin outer rim, run the knife carefully across the tin bottom before lifting it off
Serve warm with the rest of the (reheated) butterscotch sauce

Cakes & Bakes: Persimmon & date upside-down cake

My friend Duncan came over to visit for my birthday last week and, along with birthday presents, he came bearing a gift of persimmons. I’m ashamed to say that in my nearly half a century on this earth, I’ve never tasted persimmon!

I scoured all my recipe books but couldn’t find a single recipe – I didn’t know what other kind of food they go with or anything. I hit t’internet and found a few recipes and decided I liked the sound of persimmon & date upside-down cake. Here’s my take…

Cakes & Bakes: Persimmon & date upside-down cake

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Ingredients

25 g/1oz butter
25 g/1oz granulated sugar or brown soft sugar
220 g/8oz brown soft sugar
55 g/2oz butter softened
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
120 ml/¼pt milk preferably whole milk
155 g/5½oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground all spice
3 persimmons (2 sliced into ½cm/¼'' slices and one chopped into cubes
12 dried dates dates pitted & chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4 (slightly lower if your oven is fan assisted)
In a cast-iron frying pan, heat the 25g/1oz butter until melted & bubbling
Add the 25g/1oz granulated sugar/brown soft sugar and caramelize (my caramel split TWICE - here are some good tips to to bring it back from the brink if it happens to you!)
Pour the caramelized mixture into a 20cm/8'' round spring form cake tin and spread it evenly across its base
Lay the persimmon slices flat on top
Beat the 220g/8oz brown soft sugar into the softened butter using an electric mixer or by hand until fluffy
In a small measuring jug, whisk together the egg and vanilla essence before slowly adding it to the sugar & butter mixture until fully incorporated
Add the milk, mixing well
In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice
Bit by bit, carefully fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture
Fold in the chopped dates and cubed persimmons until just combined
Pour the mixture onto the persimmon slices in the cake tin, taking care not to disturb the pattern
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes away clean
Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake tin before releasing the clasp
Lay a large, flat plate on top of the tin and, using oven gloves or a tea towel, flip the cake over onto the plate
Carefully run the sharp knife around the cake tin base easing it away and off of the cake
Ta da! ?