THE UPSIDE (down) TO GROWING YOUR OWN FRUIT

Aloha... We are hoping to get back to our regular blogging schedule after visiting with my family that were here for 23 days. Lots of sights were seen and miles logged. They had great weather with nearly no rain. In fact they left just in time since it has rained everyday since. We hope they had a great time... I guess they did because they said... "we'll be back".

So on to todays post.

With so many mangos on hand, I got bored of making jam and eating them whole so I sought out a new recipe for Mango Upside Down Cake. I of course could not leave well enough alone and had to tweak it a bit. I added a 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and used soy milk instead of half and half. I usually substitute all milk in my recipes with this and have never had any problems. I also used the lime juice from the zested lime and added it to the rum marinade. I think this was the first time I used cake flour and it was the lightest cake I have ever made.

And last week for breakfast, I made a giant baked banana pancake for my mom and grandma. It was amazing! The thing I like about making these is it is one step. There is no waiting for enough pancakes to be cooked for your guests and kept warm until there is an appropriate amount for everyone to sit and eat together. It is quite a conversation piece as well which makes it a great brunch dish. Since the bottom... which will be the top when served, is coated with all that brown sugar and butter mixture and gooey bananas, there is really no need for syrup or additional butter unless desired. Throw in some bacon on the side and coconut syrup and you are set! And yes... the 4 of us ate it all! YUM! Mom even took the recipe home to try out on a future brunch of her own.

*note: you can pretty much substitute any type of fruit here for the bananas.

mango, peach, apple, pear even berries.

Here is my recipe:

BAKED BANANA PANCAKE

4-6 Medium Bananas sliced lengthwise (enough to cover the bottom of your pan)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs
3/4 Soy Milk (or whole milk)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts


1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
ground nutmeg to taste

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss bananas slices with lemon juice in medium bowl.
Whisk eggs and milk in large bowl. Add flour, 1 tablespoon sugar and salt; whisk until batter is almost smooth.

Mix brown sugar, nutmeg and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in small bowl.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 12" ovenproof nonstick or iron skillet (or cake pan if you do not have a large skillet) over medium heat.
Arrange banana slices on top of sugar and butter mixture. Pour batter on top.

Place in oven and bake until pancake is set around edges but still wet in center, about 15-18 minutes. Pancake will rise and get a bit puffy. Edges should pull away from and resemble a think crust like a pizza. Remove from oven and invert onto plate. It will deflate quickly at this point. Serve warm with sliced mango or other fruit on the side. Syrup and butter are not really needed, but can be used if desired. Coconut syrup is really good on it.