I help a group of Veterans with their health and it includes answering lots of nutrition questions and cooking them healthy foods-some ingredients are right out of the garden!
Tonight’s dinner was baked cod with lemon, brown rice pilaf and a green salad. I also made a strawberry/dark chocolate upside down cake. They kept coming into the kitchen asking about the great smell. They ended up having the cakes warm out of the oven a couple hours before dinner…:)
Strawberry Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
Topping:
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
-Sucanat or Rapadura
1/4 cup unrefined white sugar
2 cups sliced organic strawberries
Dark chocolate chips or pieces
Cake Batter:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup unrefined white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven.
Butter a 9-inch round cake pan.
Place the butter and white and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until the sugar starts to caramelize, but do not stir! Then remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan. Note here: Do what I do here if you like and simply melt the sugar and butter in the actual cake pan…
Evenly arrange the fresh strawberry slices and chocolate on the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture (in three additions), alternately with the milk (in two additions), ending with the dry ingredients.
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar just until the whites hold a firm peak. With a large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two additions. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 – 55 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan (a toothpick inserted into the cake – not the strawberries – will come out clean). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream.
