AM BACK WITH A SUPER MOIST CHERRY CORNMEAL UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

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I am back after a forced ,[& sorry unannounced :-( ] ,hiatus.


Of course i missed blogging but have been cooking everyday and baking around too.

For someone who loves things mini, barring that heart shaped diamond(remember i collect cute kitchen stuff and nifty tools not diamonds though a solitaire would never harm :-)), though mom sure does love all things cute and small...lol ), i am in love with my brand new dell.:-)

I loved small laptops, but this 15" something screen proves me otherwise. And with an i5 processor , its so so good!!
Now only to have a 3G or broadband network and am set.

Ahh,it aint pink as everything , as far as possible, within my vicinity is, but red is pretty too.

The company delayed long long for the delivery, but did thrown in a cute free bie. . .

Am also gearing up for the blogomania giveaways, on 15th and 16th, you'll love to be here, though not confirmed yet, besides the giveaways for US/CANADA, will sure add in international , which sure includes Asia and India and Goa.

Am glad to be posting this delight of a recipe today and its specially for my pal Chaya, who writes 2 wonderfull blogs, Sweet and Savoury and Chaya's Comfy cook and has a very special place in my heart.

Whether she's baking strawberry pink cupcakes for her dearest grandchild, strawberry pairs well with chocolate she says and i agree with her, or creating a new salmon every week, which i look forward to,i love love her deliciousness.

Chaya here i am sharing my wonderful little hearts for you,just for u and ur little grandchildren............

 I settle in bed tonight very content.

With loads of cherry corn meal upside down cake in my belly.

 I mean it has been awhile since my taste buds have dribbled for this one, but i needed to find some good cherries and polenta . . .And i did . . .Deep jewel red bing cherries at that. . . .

Packed when at its ripest peak. . .One cherry in your mouth and you'll know it true.
Thats the Oregon Bing For u ...dark , juicy and red....

Its also the first time i am baking with my Rumford baking powder and i guess i will be able to use no other.:-)

Its so so good and rises so so beautiful.


If you lived in Goa, you'd be gushing too coz ingredients are hard to find.

I saw this at Elissa's blog and simply had to bake this asap.

Last night i dreamt of these tender, soft moist luscious bites . . .and asap i got down to baking today morning .
In the excitement i skipped breakfast but had tender hearts ready in awhile that delighted and satisfied.

The corn meal, polenta, adds a ever so slight texture that brings a slight crunch that you love. . .

It forms a almost crisp , yet soft, but definately melt in your mouth crust that is gorgeously loveable. .

After you are done baking , i had to slightly cut thru the crust , around , and yeah my cakes had risen well above the le crueset ceramic heart love pots.

I had around a cup of cherries but managed to get 3 hearts outa them.

Well i had 2 pineapple cakes too , but when you have bing cherries , the pineapple just didn hold anywhere close. . .but the next day is a wonderfully moist dessert cake with a blob of vanilla cream.

Or maybe this recipe is truly for cherries only, i thought...
But then next day d pineapple proved me wrong...it was absolutely buttery, and the flavor developed perfectly into the moistness....

But you take out the cherry love hearts and these are so good with a blob of vanilla cream or without.

For the topping i pretty much eye balled the tossing and coating. . .

Of course i had half a stick of butter and half a cup of brown sugar ready but only 1 cup bing cherries in syrup, so had 2 little dude's in pineapple.

Am so in love with these deep hue'd cherries that i sure want some more.

I have some blackberries too and if i dont make a berry crumble with 2 differently textured apple layers , id be suprised.:-)

Yeah i did bake a crumble a bit back that had the crunchiest topping ever , with a great addition you will love , and with 2 differently textured apples, peaches and more. . . .

And i want recreate that magic with bing cherries added in!

And blue berries that are on their way here .............

CHERRY CORNMEAL UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
thanxx to Elissa adapted from Bon Appétit

Bon Appétit- ''A little balsamic vinegar balances the sweetness of the cherries and enhances their flavor. Serve the cake with espresso or tea in the afternoon or with whipped cream or ice cream for dessert."


FOR THE TOPPING
# 1/4 CUP unsalted butter, room temperature [ used salted]
# 1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
# 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
# 3 cups whole pitted fresh Bing cherries or other dark sweet cherries (about 21 ounces whole unpitted cherries)

Now i had only 1 cup of bing Cherries, tinned and made 2 little cakes with pineapple and one plain with apricot glaze!

So though i had weighed the above butter and sugar i eyeballed the ingredients while tossing them in the pan...ah lusciously inviting .......and then lined them in my ramekins!

Combine 1/4 cup butter with brown sugar and vinegar in 10- to 11-inch ovenproof skillet with 2-inch-high sides.
Stir over medium heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
 Increase heat to high; add cherries and bring to boil.
 Remove from heat.

And if using ramekins, pour into ramekins as i did, 3 heart ramekins , 1 mini pie ceramic baker for the round pineapple and a rectangle mini baker for the long pineapple [le crueset and revol]


FOR THE CAKE BATTER

1/2 cup butter [salted]

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal [preferably stone-ground medium grind- i used polenta]

 2 teaspoons baking powder [i love Rumford]
1/4 teaspoon salt [only if using unsalted butter, if lightly salted add 1/8th tsp]
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, separated
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract [2 whole vanilla beans worked wonderful for me]
1/2 cup whole milk[ used saco buttermilk powder, add the powder with the dry ingrdnts and add warm water when milk is to be added]
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, buttermilk powder [if using] and salt [if using] in medium bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter in large bowl.

Add sugar; beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

Add flour mixture alternately with milk in 2 additions each, beating just until blended and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.

 Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until foamy.  [i used the whipping beater in a long beaker typa bowl]

Add cream of tartar and beat until whites are stiff but not dry.

 Using rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of whites into batter to lighten slightly.

 Fold in remaining whites in 3 additions (batter will be thick).

 Spoon batter over cherries in skillet, or ramekins then spread evenly with offset spatula to cover cherries.


Bake cake until top is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

 Cool in skillet on rack 5 minutes.

Run spatula around edges of cake to loosen.

 Place large serving platter upside down atop skillet/ramekins.

Using pot holders or oven mitts, firmly hold platter and skillet / ramekins together and invert.

Leave skillet atop cake 5 minutes. Remove skillet.

If necessary, rearrange any cherries that may have become dislodged.

Let cake cool at least 45 minutes.

Cut cake into wedges and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

The left over batter , after 3 hearts , a mini size pie and a rectangle got baked in 2 of these moulds , with some of the buttery juices from the topping and an apricot glaze.....
So so good right outs the oven and even later...

As i sign of on a happy note ,i have a little good news to share, Alice Medrich is on FB and blogs now and am sure all u fans will love this....BitterSweet is one of the most wonderfull books for a Chocolate lover and here below are her own words from my FB message box -
''Alice Medrich September 4 at 10:13pm

Thanks so much for your friend request! I am happy to confirm but also hoping all my FB friends will migrate over to my new page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alice-Medrich/141811455836663?ref=ts and click on the “like it” button! I will be posting everything of interest there, from now on…oh and I’ve just started blogging ''

http://alicemedrich.blogspot.com/

Am sending this Cherry Clafouti to the lovely host of this months Monthly Mingle, Deeba of Passionate about Baking , a truly delightfull blog filled with gorgeous bakes, and am delighted that this months theme is fruits, and fruity delights! Monthly Mingle was started by Meeta ,of another fantastic blog, What for Lunch Honey?