GUEST Daryl Wood Gerber Pineapple Upside Down Cake #recipe #giveaway

VMBURNS: I'm super excited to welcome Daryl Wood Gerber back to Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Daryl is sharing information on her newest book, along with a yummy recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake and a giveaway! 

DARYL: Thanks for having me back on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. I’m so excited to be here. As many of you know, I include recipes in many of my mysteries. Okay, in all of them. I do not in include them in my suspense novels, so don’t open one of those hoping for a sweet treat.

Whenever I compile the recipes for each novel, I like to share some that are easy and some that are difficult. This one, featured in my recent release, Murder by the Millions, the second in the Literary Dining Mystery series, is intensive. But not hard. You just have to be organized and follow the steps.

Why did I choose to include pineapple upside down cake in the book? Doesn’t it seem pedantic? Well, the theme for the literary dining party centers around The Great Gatsby, which is set during the Roaring 20’s. Did you know that pineapple upside down cake was big during the that era? Kid you not! Why? Around 1925 the Hawaiian Pineapple company held a contest, and many entries featured pineapple upside-down cake. Judges from Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery, Good Housekeeping, and McCall’s Magazine chose the winner.

I remember my mother trying to make one of these when I was a girl and it was really soggy. So I researched popular recipes online to figure out how to fix that aspect, and I did! It’s all about draining and blotting the pineapple slices.

Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

(Yield: 12 slices)

Note: this is an intensive recipe!

INGREDIENTS

Topping:
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
8–10 pineapple slices, in pure pineapple juice, drained
15–16 maraschino cherries, drained
Cake:
1 ½ cups cake flour, make sure it’s level
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, not melted
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large egg whites
⅓ cup sour cream, full fat
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup pineapple juice, you can use what’s in the can
2 tablespoons whole milk
*Note, all ingredients should be room temperature.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

First making the topping: Pour the melted butter in an ungreased 9” deep-dish pie dish or a 9” round cake pan. You don’t want an overflow, so make sure it’s deep enough. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter.

Drain the pineapple slices and blot with a paper towel. You don’t want wet fruit! 

Arrange 6–7 pineapple slices around the bottom. You will want to halve a few of the others so you can arrange them around the sides of the pan, if desired. Put the cherries in and around the pineapple slices, whole or halved. Whatever suits you. Put the pan in the refrigerator so the topping firms up.

Now make the batter. In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat the softened butter on high until smooth. Add the sugar and beat on high until mixed together. Scrape with a spatula to incorporate. Add the egg whites until combined. Then add the sour cream and vanilla on high. Beat 1 minute.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low. As the mixer swirls, add in the pineapple juice and milk. Beat just until combined. Use a spatula to make sure all ingredients are mixed. You don’t want any lumps. This will be a thick batter.

Remove the topping from the refrigerator and pour the batter over the pineapple.

Bake for 42–46 minutes. If necessary, tent foil on top halfway through so it doesn’t over-brown. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean. Don’t be surprised if your cake takes longer or even if it rises and sticks to the foil. It’s going to be flipped and all that will vanish.

Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Turn the cooled cake onto a serving plate. Best if served cooled completely.

Note: If you’d like to make this gluten-free, swap out the cake flour and include the following:
1 ½ cups sweet rice flour, make sure it’s level
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder

GIVEAWAY

To enter the GIVEAWAY, tell me, would you attend a literary dining party, and if so, which classic would you enjoy most? Please include your email address in the comments! US Only. 

MURDER BY THE MILLIONS

 Carmel-by-the-Sea garden shop owner Courtney Kelly sees things others can’t—like fairies, and hidden motives for murder . . .

 Courtney is delighted when her tiny friend Fiona returns from the fairy realm, appearing at the base of a Cypress tree. When her Ragdoll cat, Pixie, emerges from her own portal—aka the cat door—the three set off for a busy day. Busier than usual, since Courtney has rented a small plot of land at the Flower Farm, where she hopes to grow her own supplies for her fairy-garden business. Plus, the annual Summer Blooms Festival is coming up, and Courtney has booked a booth . . .

 But the murder of Courtney’s friend, Genevieve, casts a pall over the festival. Ever since Genevieve sold her floral business, she’d been building a career as an influencer. She was perennially opinionated—but in her new role she’d become surprisingly vicious, dissing local entrepreneurs with nasty posts and unwarranted bad reviews. That’s landed a couple of Courtney’s other friends on the suspect list—including Flower Farm owner Daphne Flores. And when a second victim is discovered, seeds of doubt about Daphne’s innocence sprout in Courtney’s mind. Working with only a germ of a clue, Courtney will have to overturn every rock to get the dirt on the real killer . . .

 

Daryl Wood Gerber Bio

Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning and nationally bestselling author of the Literary Dining Mysteries, Aroma Wellness Mysteries, Fairy Garden Mysteries and Cookbook Nook Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes suspense novels, including the well-received The Son’s Secret, Girl on the Run, and the popular Aspen Adams trilogy. Daryl has published a standalone Christmas romance, Hope for the Holidays, and her short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies. Fun Tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” She loves to cook, garden, read, and walk her frisky Goldendoodle. Also she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. You can learn more on her website: https://darylwoodgerber.com

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