Tuesday, May 7, 2013

TWD -- Delicious but ungainly

The rhubarb upside down cake assignment for Tuesdays with Dorie couldn't have come at a better time for this Ohioan. Our rhubarb patch is at its peak, so there was no problem getting enough of the stuff for the upside down cake.

I debated whether to make this recipe using the baby cake pans, which my daughter kindly gave me for Christmas. However, I had four pans and the recipe called for eight cakes. The other option was to use the 12-inch skillet, which I happen to have and rarely use.

The recipe went together without a hitch. But getting the cake turned upside down using a 12-inch skillet was a feat that could only be accomplished with an assistant. Luckily, my husband was handy, and he helped me turn the ungainly pan upside down. However, with all our careful planning, the cake missed the mark by a couple of inches and some of the dessert was hanging over the edge of the plate and dangerously close to breaking off. By jerry-rigging a device using a spatula and two dough scrapers, I was able to prop up the cake until it cooled and I could gingerly shove it over until it rested securely on the cake plate. This took several attempts before I could manipulate the ungainly cake into a secure position.

The finished product after jerry-rigging and much manipulation
I will take this treat to the bakery where I volunteer and we'll serve it during our coffee break tomorrow. I must confess I snitched a wee bit of the cake and topping and it was delicious, perhaps the best yellow cake I have ever made. This will now be my go-to recipe for yellow cake, but when doing the upside down cake again, I would cut the recipe down by one-third and use a nine-inch skillet which would make it much, much easier to turn. Most of my recipes for pineapple upside down cake call for a nine or 10-inch skillet.

6 comments:

  1. I used a 12-inch pan and thought it to be too big as well. I agree this is a delicious cake - so tender and moist and the possibilities! I'm sure your co-volunteers/workers will love it!

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  2. Yes--flipping a large, heavy hot skillet is no easy task! But the end result looks great and it tastes wonderful. A winner for sure.

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  3. I used a cast iron skillet and flipping that heavy skillet fresh out of the oven was a bit harrowing.
    But that cake certainly made it all worth it! It was one of the best yellow cakes I have ever made.

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  4. The topping looks good. I can't wait to try it with rhubarb. It is a little too early here. And I do like the look of the skillet cake. Think I need to try that next time too!

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  5. A large, heavy, hot skillet sounds like a challenge. However, your resulting cake still looks amazing. Like you, we really liked this recipe and definitely plan on making it again in the future. Not having baby cake pans, or a cast iron skillet, we opted to use a 9" spring form pan lined with parchment paper and set on a heavy cookie sheet which worked out well.

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  6. I'm glad you managed to save the cake from disaster! It's a wonderful recipe and we'll be making just the cake on occasion, too.

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