Pineapple Upside Down Cake

As I already discussed in a previous post, I am just starting out on my Paleo baking journey but I love cooking and baking so I am always trying out new recipes and variations. Here is a variation of the apple spice cake that actually turned out quite different in the end as a pineapple upside down cake. Again, I understand that a lot of people who eat a Paleo diet abstain from butter and other dairy products, but I do not. I stick to a high fat, low carb real-food inspired Primal/Paleo/Ancestral style of eating that allows for quality dairy. If you don't do well with dairy then you can go back to coconut oil in equal amounts as the butter and the consistency will work just fine.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon, plus some for dusting if desired
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 C Almond flour
1/4 C Coconut flour
2 Tbsp Arrowroot powder 
1/2 C raw honey, divided
1/4 C real maple syrup
2 tsp lemon juice
4 large eggs
1/4 C melted butter
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
4-6 slices of pineapple, plus 1/2 C crushed for topping if desired

PROCEDURE:
1. Core and slice your pineapple if you did not purchase it sliced. I used the Pineapple Corer I reviewed here.

2. Juice about half a lemon (again, I was making more in the photo than necessary as I was planning on using it for additional recipes... work smarter and not harder right?).

3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Mix all dry ingredients other than baking soda in a bowl.
5. Mix all other ingredients except the pineapples and syrup in a second bowl. You will only use half of the honey (1/2 C) at this time.

 

6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl slowly while combining. Mix until smooth and well combined.

*When I took the photos I added the spices after combining but realized this was unnecessary... so there is slight discrepancy here but it gives you an idea of the consistency. (I made both the apple cake and the pineapple cake on the same evening to take in to work for a treat so they have many of the same photos.)
7. Slightly oil the baking pan you are using. You can use butter, coconut oil, etc.
8.  Mix remaining syrup and honey together and spread in the bottom of the pan.

9. Place your pineapple into the bottom of the pan. I don't like cherries particularly well so did not use them but feel free to do so... or get creative in the design of your pineapple pieces even! I love cooking because it is creative and fun... have fun!

10. Bake in the oven for about 5-8 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and pour batter over the pineapple, smooth and return to the oven to bake for another 15-20 minutes. Depending on the dimensions of your pan you may need to adjust the cook time. Thicker cakes will take longer to cook through. The cake needs to be browned on the top and firm throughout or it will be too moist to eat as a cake once it cools.

12. Allow the cake to cool before removing and flipping the cake to make the pineapples right side up. 

I had a bit of a kitchen mishap when I flipped mine and it did not look very pretty as a result (people who are klutzy should not attempt to flip cakes, just sayin'... next time I'll take a photo of how it looks completed. Happy baking!

Apple Spice Cake

I'm not a huge bread/pasta/pastry eater anymore even when they are Paleo compliant. When I first started eating Paleo I tried out a lot of bread recipes and never really found anything that I just loved. That, plus the fact that I like easy in my normal day-to-day life since it's a little hectic most of the time led me to sticking with mostly meat and veggies 90% of the time... but sometimes you just need a cupcake. So I've been experimenting with Paleo baking again... it's a lot harder than normal baking. I'm actually fairly good at baking with wheat and sugar (my French bread gets rave reviews whenever I make it) but since I don't eat either wheat or processed white sugar now I need to learn a whole new science of how everything reacts (texture, rise, density) and learn how new flavors work with each other under heat. Nut flours, coconut flour, arrowroot powder, tapioca flour, honey, maple syrup, new oils... they just react differently that anything I am used to baking with so it will likely take some time but I like a challenge. I have a great respect for anyone who can rock an awesome wheat and white sugar free baking recipe but I'm not quite there yet. All that being said, I have a few sweet treat recipes that I'll be sharing over the next couple of days. They may not be perfect yet so if you have suggestions please leave a comment... I'm ALWAYS learning and LOVE cooking up a batch of goodies to share with my coworkers or friends.

When I made these I used coconut oil as the main baking oil but I realized that I wasn't a huge fan of how they turned out so I have adjusted the recipes to sub some of the coconut oil for butter... real, grass-fed butter... not margarine. I understand that a lot of people who eat a more Paleo diet abstain from butter and other dairy products but I do not. I stick to a high fat, low carb real-food inspired Primal/Paleo/Ancestral style of eating that allows for quality dairy. Just throwing that out there... if you don't do well with dairy then you can go back to coconut oil in equal amounts as the butter and the consistency will still work just fine.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp All-spice
1 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 C Almond flour
1/4 C Coconut flour
2 Tbsp Arrowroot powder 
1/4 C raw honey
2 tsp lemon juice
4 large eggs
1/4 C melted butter
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1 Granny Smith apple, skinned and diced

PROCEDURE:
1.Peel and chop your apples. I skinned the apples with a potato peeler and then just quickly diced them up... I did two apples and had about one whole one left so one large apple should be enough (I wanted some apples in a salad for lunch).

2. Juice about half a lemon (again, I was making more in the photo than necessary as I was planning on using it for additional recipes... work smarter and not harder right?).

3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Mix all dry ingredients other than baking soda in a bowl.
5. Mix all other ingredients except the apples in a second bowl.

6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl slowly while combining. Mix until smooth and well combined.

*When I took the photos I added the spices after combining but realized this was unnecessary... so there is slight discrepancy here but it gives you an idea of the consistency.
7. Once combined well mix in the apples.

8. Oil the baking pan you are using. You can use butter, coconut oil, etc.

9. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth top. You can sprinkle some additional apples and cinnamon on top if you would like.

10. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove when the center is firm and allow to cool before cutting.