Joe is a designer for Cuisine at Home magazine, and in his two or so years on the job, he’s turned into a bit of a chef. We eat more adventurously at our house. Mostly, he cooks. Sometimes when Joe brings home recipes he loves, I’ve attempted to branch out from my tried-and-true basics to expand my culinary repertoire.
This week, we wanted to have our neighbors over for dessert to “sweeten the deal” that we’ll be parking a dumpster in our shared driveway for a couple of weeks during the remodel that’s about to get underway. Joe had mentioned a pineapple upside-down carrot cake that is featured in the current issues of Cuisine is one of his all-time favorites. He was on shoveling duty, so it was up to me to recreate the deliciousness.
I think the secret to this cake is that you prep the skillet by melting a bunch of butter and brown sugar in it prior to laying down the pineapple slices and cherries and covering those with your carrot cake batter. You pop it in the oven and the outer edge caramelizes just so. Joe handled the skillet-to-platter flipping for me.
Cuisine doesn’t post their recipes online, and out of respect for the developer*, I’m not going to copy and paste the full thing here. You should be able to pick up a copy of Issue 98 at your local grocery store. Cuisine might not seem as newsstand sexy as some other cooking mags out there, but the way they showcase step-by-step directions really helps advance your skills in the kitchen. The fact that mine turned out pretty much like the picture is a testament to this! Also, they don’t print ads.
*This recipe was developed by Joe’s awesome co-worker, Haley, who happens to be married to recently James Beard-nominated Proof Chef Sean Wilson.
Side note: I also love this recipe because I’m obsessed with being able to use our OXO pineapple rachet. Fresh – and you can drink a fizzy beverage out of a hollowed-out pineapple like you’re on a tropical vacation!
