I think it is safe to say that the Great British Baking Show is my very favorite show to watch. I love the things they bake, and every year it inspires me to try baking new things. This year, I've decided I will bake all the technical challenges from this season as it airs, aiming to bake them in the week after I watch the episode. I'm not giving myself a time limit or a paired down recipe, but the point is more to have fun and try new bakes than to be exactly like the show. The first episode was Cake Week, and the technical challenge was Paul's Pineapple Upside-down Cake. Nick and I both groaned at this; Nick because he dislikes pineapple and me because I have never successfully made caramel so of COURSE week one would already include something I struggle with.
I found the recipe online here. I decided to leave out the maraschino cherries because Nick and I don't like them, and they didn't seem like a crucial part of the bake. Paul's online recipe includes an optional custard that we decided to try as well.
Step one was making the dreaded caramel. And yes, my first try ended up like this. Down the drain, and time to start again!
Look! It's not crystallizing!
I managed to do the syrup on the second try. I don't know if I let it get quite as golden as Paul Hollywood would intend it to be, but I figured it was better to go under than to go over and end up with it burnt.
While the syrup sat simmering away, I cut up the pineapple. It was supposed to be in 1 cm slices, and I did the best I could whilst eyeballing it. It adds an extra layer of difficulty to cutting the pineapple when little toddler fingers are always reaching out to grab scraps of pineapple...
I had a donut cutter that was about the right size for the pineapple circles. However, it turns out that it's not very sharp and is slightly too big. So I ended up having to indent the pineapple with the donut cutter and then cut out the shape with a knife.
Add the syrup to the dishes...
Then the pineapple slices... (and the cherry in the middle if that's your thing)
Gwen and Pippa "helped" me whip up the sponge batter and then we added that on top, trying to put an equal amount in each, and then attempted to smooth it out.
Fresh from the oven! They cooked for 21 minutes and then cooled for five minutes in the dishes before I took them out to cool on the rack. I had forgotten to grease the dishes, so I was worried that they wouldn't come out, but they all came out perfectly. Nothing stuck!
We tried them after supper with the warm custard. They were very good! Nick liked them despite the pineapple, saying that the pineapple actually complemented the cake quite well. It was a denser cake than I usually like (not sure if it's supposed to be or if I could have baked it better), but it wasn't dry or heavy, and the syrup and pineapple infused it with a nice flavor. The custard that was also on the recipe was a very nice compliment to the cakes. While the cakes were not perfectly uniform, and I'm sure I could have improved in some areas, I would not have been embarrassed to present these as my technical bake on the show.
Overall, despite the opening disaster with the caramel, these were not terribly difficult to make, and I think I will make them again some day! If you've never had pineapple upside-down cake before, now's the time to try it!
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