A Taste of Canada

          Now that I'm married to a Canadian, every time I taste or smell pure maple syrup the Canadian maple leaf pops into my head. I have come to learn that those Canadians are sure proud of their maple leaf. Brandon of coarse LOVES maple-flavored almost anything, so I knew he would love this Maple Upside-Down Cake. You can have it prepped for the oven in just 20 minutes and it looks like you took a lot longer to make it than you really did (my kind of recipe!). As you can see, the very middle of my cake didn't release from the pan all that well when I flipped it over. But the rest came out beautifully! The pears were juicy and tender and the maple syrup caramelizes the top of the cake wonderfully. Try this cake for an extra-special breakfast or a dessert -- you won't be disappointed!

• Ingredients:
•      1/3 cup maple syrup
•      3 peeled Bartlett or Anjou pears, each cored and cut into 8 wedges 
•      1 cup all-purpose flour
•      3/4 teaspoon baking powder
•      1/4 teaspoon baking soda
•      1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
•      1/4 teaspoon salt
•      2/3 cup sugar 
•      1/3 cup butter, softened 
•      1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
•      2 large eggs
•      1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Directions:
•      1. Preheat oven to 350°.
•      2. Bring syrup to a boil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; arrange pears in pan in a spoke-like fashion. Place pan over medium-high heat, and cook until syrup thickens (about 4 minutes), gently shaking pan frequently.
•      3. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt); stirring well with a whisk. Place sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended (about 2 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
•      4. Pour batter evenly over pear mixture in prepared pan; wrap handle of skillet with foil. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Run a knife around outside edge. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Place a plate upside down on top of cake; invert onto plate. Serve warm.

Tips:

• Make sure to use real, pure maple syrup. That imitation stuff won't work well with this recipe (and it doesn't taste NEAR as good!).
• Watch the cake carefully while it bakes to avoid over-baking. I always set the timer for 10 minutes less than the recipe instructs, checking it every couple of minutes after that. I have saved quite a few baked goods from over-baking doing this!

Step Up Your Game

          
          My first post on this blog included my mom's awesome recipe for Homemade Bread, my go-to recipe for everyday sandwich bread. I am all about making and eating 100% whole-wheat bread over white because it's so much better for you and not to mention more filling. After much baking and research, I had come to accept the fact that the texture of 100% whole-wheat bread is not going to be as light and fluffy as its white-flour counterpart -- it's just a fact. But, there are several things you can do to close the gap between the two. The recipe I have been using already does a couple of those things: I use white-whole-wheat flour and add vital wheat gluten to the dough; they both lighten the bread up and accentuate the rising process, lessening your chances of baking up a loaf-shaped brick. I did some more research and found this website that lists and explains several natural dough enhancers, some of which you probably already have in your pantry. I decided to try a mixture of ground ginger and citric acid (you can sometimes find citric acid in its pure form at the store but I just finely crushed a vitamin C tablet). You just add in whichever dough-enhancing ingredients you decide to use along with your flour. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but it made a HUGE difference in my bread's texture. I mean, I liked my bread before, but now it's soooooo much lighter and fluffier. It just seems to have more bounce and acts more like a white bread would. Also, the ginger and citric acid are supposed to preserve the bread by deterring mold so it can stay fresh longer. I am so glad I tried this! It only took like two extra seconds and made the world of a difference! So, from now on, I am adding 1 teaspoon of ground ginger and 2 finely crushed vitamin C tablets to my homemade bread recipe. And don't worry, you don't taste either of those ingredients in the bread. Try some other combinations and let me know how it goes!