Eggless Birthday Cake!

Just the other day I was accused of rambling on and on in the post on baking and not posting any useful baked delight recipe. My rejoinder sounded lame but true - I blog here to treat both my passions - writing and cooking. They are my passions all right but I have a long and arduous way to go in both before I reach a milestone where I can take a rest break may be. Anyway it feels like some kind of festive event at home since the past two days. I have been on my toes in the kitchen so much that it elicited a remark from Appa, "Is Diwali coming in early this time around?" Well! It is Vee's first birthday after our wedding and this is the first birthday he gets to spend with his parents after 7 years. Predictably, we are excited! Try as much as I can, it never is possible to keep a surprise from Vee. Call me sloppy and or may be he is just too evil! He HAS to find out what I vainly plan as a mighty surprise. To him, it is some kind of a silly game to fumble all my covert plans. At the stroke of midnight, we had a small candles-blowing and cake-cutting sort of a family affair not-a-surprise-anymore-party. For the cake to soak up the flavors well, I had to bake it in the morning and I let it sit on the kitchen counter for about 11 hours. My insides were all queasy because this is the first time I baked this one the eggless way. When we did sit down to grab a bite in the middle of the night, the verdict was favorable. Vee, Appa and Amma - found it irresistible. I found it a tad too sweet but the texture was light and flaky which I loved. After slicing and storing the cake and licking away the dregs left behind in the pan, Vee and I comfortably settled in on the couch and watched two episodes of "Heroes" one after the other! :) (It was enjoyable and addictive that night but it sure did lead to me having to sacrifice my spin class in the morning and a lingering dull headache all through work the next day!) x-(

Here is the recipe which is now my version after scouring dozens on the internet.

Gooey Caramel Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Ingredients -

For the upside-down topping-
1) Dark Brown Sugar - 1 cup (tightly packed)
2) Pineapple slices - 8 oz. can
3) Maraschino cherries - 1 small can
4) Butter - 1/4 cup (No melting or softening required here.)

For the cake -

1) AP Flour - 3 cups

2) Baking Powder - 5 tspns

3) Softened Butter - 1/2 cup

4) Sugar - 1.5 cups (Can reduce this a bit.)

5) Vanilla extract - 1 tspn

6) Cinnamon Powder - 1/4th tspn

7) Milk - 1/2 cup

8) Pineapple juice (from the sliced pineapple can) - 1/2 cup

9) Crushed pineapple - 3/4th cup

10) Salt - 1/2 tspn

For the egg substitute -

1) Flax seeds - 2 tbspns

2) Water - 6 tbspns

Method -

Making the egg substitute-

1) Grind the flax seeds to a fine powder.

2) Mix the powder with the water without forming any lumps.

3) Simmer on a medium flame for 5 minutes - stirring often.

4) Let it cool down completely before using.

The topping -

1) Cut up the butter and sprinkle the bits around evenly on a 9X13" rectangular pan.

2) Preheat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes.

3) Remove and spread the now liquid butter and grease the sides of the pan too.

4) There will be a lot more butter than required for greasing though but that will be used for our topping. Stir in the brown sugar and spread evenly.

5) Return the pan to the oven for 5 more minutes.

6) Retrieve pan. The sugar must now be a semi-liquid caramel sort of consistency.

7) Arrange neatly the pineapple slices and cherries.

8) Important - Do not let the topping cool for too long before pouring in the cake batter. Adjust and plan the sequence of steps accordingly.

Baking the cake -

1) Mix the AP flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and keep aside.

2) Cream together the melted butter along with the sugar until light and fluffy. (A couple minutes of pulsing using a hand blender at this stage would be sufficient.)

3) Stir in the flax seed mixture a little at a time, while continuing to beat the mixture. Add the cinnamon powder and vanilla extract too. (This should be done within a couple more minutes of pulsing.)

4) The dry flour, the liquids (milk and pineapple juice) and crushed pineapple can be added in an alternating fashion.

5) Beat until everything is all mixed up well. (At the most, 3 more minutes of whirring the blender.)

6) Pour over the topping and pat to evenly spread the batter.

7) Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees F.

8) After the knife-test has been cleared, remove from oven and let it cool in pan for 15 minutes. (Take care not to leave in pan for long because there is the danger of the topping getting stuck to the pan.)

9) Turn over on a cookie sheet and let it sit for a few hours before devouring it!

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