Sticky Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

October 30, 2023 / Lyn Jones / 0 Comments

This cake can best be described as a sticky toffee pudding meets vanilla birthday cake meets apple pie meets a pancake with apples on top. It’s a soft cake without much texture (you bake it until the apples fall apart and become jammy), which is usually something I’m against but here, I’m actively seeking that custardy, soaked cake energy. (from Alison Norman)


Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)
Non-stick spray (optional)
⅔ cup light brown sugar, divided – plus walnuts
2 large, unpeeled apples, cored and sliced (not too thin- you want some texture here)
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon BP
½ teaspoon bicarb
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
8”–9” cake pan (springform or regular) or pie plate, 1.5qt/8 inch square baking dish
Whisk
Plate and clean Tea-towel – ready for turning cake

1. Preheat oven to 160°C FF. Melt butter in a small pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring or whisking occasionally until the butter starts to brown and foam – 2 to 3 mins, smelling like toasted nuts and caramel colour. Add vanilla bean if you’re using it and remove the pot from heat to cool.

2. Grease cake pan. If you are less confident in your upside-down cake flipping skills, line the cake pan with parchment (leaving some hanging out of the pan for easy lifting after).

3. Scatter half the brown sugar  walnuts on the bottom of cake pan. Top with apples; set aside.

4. Whisk flour,BP, bicarb, cinnamon, salt and remaining brown sugar together in a medium bowl.

5. Whisk eggs & buttermilk together in a small bowl or the measuring cup. Add vanilla extract, if using. Add buttermilk mixture to the drys, mixing just to blend. (Don’t overmix or tough cake)

6. Remove vanilla bean if it’s in the butter. Whisk in the vanilla-y browned butter until the batter is smooth and streak-free. (Again, don’t overmix it, just until everything is well blended.).

7. Pour batter over the apples, smooth the top (although the batter is pretty viscous, almost like pancake batter & should smooth itself). Bake until golden brown & pulls away from sides of pan, and springs back lightly when pressed in the centre: 25–30 minutes.

8. Almost immediately, place a plate on top of the cake pan. With a towel under the pan, flip it over (this isn’t as scary as you think it might be, I swear) and remove. Alternatively, if you’ve got parchment under it, lift the cake up and out of the pan and flip it onto a plate. Serve with cream?

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Burger (Aldi)

June 21, 2021 / Lyn Jones / 0 Comments

Ingredients

  • 4 brioche buns
  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 ½ cups plain flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 4 Tab spicy aioli
  • ¼ cup cabbage, finely shredded
  • ¼ cup carrot, finely sliced into very thin battons (or shredded)
  • 1 cooked baby beetroot, shredded
  • ¼ cup baby kale, (no stalks, florets only) very finely sliced
  • ¼ small red onion, very finely sliced
  • ¼ lemon, juiced
  • 2 Tab mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • vegetable oil for frying

    Clean and tenderise each chicken thigh.

  • Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan on medium-high heat, to fry the chicken thighs.
  • Pour buttermilk into a bowl. In a separate bowl, add in flour, salt, pepper and paprika.
  • Dredge thighs individually in the flour mixture, then into the buttermilk mixture and then back into the flour mixture.
  • Carefully add chicken thighs into the hot oil and fry for 10-12 minutes, or until crispy, golden and cooked through. Drain on a paper towel.
  • While chicken is cooking, mix cabbage, carrot, baby kale, red onion, beetroot and sesame seeds in a bowl. In a small separate bowl, mix lemon juice and mayonnaise. Add mayonnaise mix to vegetable mix and toss through to make coleslaw.
  • To assemble burgers – place 1 tablespoon of spicy aioli on the bottom of each bun, then top with a crispy thigh, a handful of coleslaw and bun lid.
  • Serve immediately.
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