heylucy

parfaits

I bought a giant cantaloupe this past weekend. It was one of the sweetest I have ever had, and it was only 50 cents. So I made some parfaits. One melon ball in the blender and one for me is about how it went while I was making them.  

 If you find yourself with a super sweet cantaloupe, I suggest you do the same.

In addition to my dessert of the week, I should probably also do a pizza of the week. For this week: drizzle the crust with olive oil, layer thinly sliced potatoes in concentric circles, top with gorgonzola crumbles, pile on some baby spinach, and crack an egg right in the middle. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until egg is set. I don't have a picture, I pulled it out of the oven and ate it straightaway.

Speaking of no pictures, Winston spent six hours at the groomer yesterday, getting his summer haircut and clean up. He was exhausted last night, and Bear didn't recognize him at first. He kept growling at him. Winston slept like a log last night, and is back to his chipper self this morning. I think he feels much better now. I'll try to take photos soon. 

plum upside-down cake

I made up a cake recipe. Well, I started with a recipe and tweaked it so that it now bears little resemblance to the original. I have a fruit dessert thing going on this summer, I think I'm on dessert four for four consecutive weekends. 

This week at the grocery store the plums looked especially nice. I love upside-down cakes. You don't have to frost them, and I love the caramel-ly, fruity goodness on top. I had some almond meal that needed using, and I figured that this is the kind of cake that could benefit from the dense, moist texture. I made two cakes, one for Independence Day and the second for a potluck at work. The first one (above) I made in a springform pan, which resulted in a big, sticky mess on the bottom of my oven despite the fact that I wrapped foil around the bottom and outside. Oops. The second time I made it in my cast iron skillet, and it was a tight fit, there was still a little bit of overflow. Luckily, I put a big roasting pan underneath to catch any drips. 

Plum Upside-down Cake

12 T. Butter (a stick and a half)

1 c. packed brown sugar

5 plums, cut in half, pit removed, and each half cut into wedges

1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. white whole wheat flour

1/2 c. almond flour

2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

1 c. sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a 9" cast iron skillet. Add the brown sugar, and stir until sugar is melted and syrupy. Arrange the plum wedges in concentric circles in the bottom of the pan (or transfer the butter/sugar mixture to a 9" cake pan). Set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the remaining 6 tablespoon butter with the sugar, until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth and fluffy. In a smaller bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk to combine. 

Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, alternating with the cream. Stir just to combine after each addition. Spread batter over plums, and bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes or so, then place an inverted plate on top and quickly flip it over. It should come out nice and cleanly. It's good slightly warm or at room temperature. Top with dollop of whipped cream, if you like, although we had it plain, and it was delicious!

Let me know if you try it, and what you think!