Upside-down cakes are a major comfort food. They have been a mainstay over the years at church suppers and family picnics. When I was a kid, my mom’s Pineapple Upside-Down Cake was one of my favorites, partly because it was so mysterious and amazing to see it being put together with the pineapple in the bottom of the baking dish and then have the wonderfully gooey, caramelized pineapple slices end up on the top. Magical!

But hey, upside down cakes are not just for dessert. For a tasty wake-up variation I whipped up a Breakfast Oatmeal Apple Upside-Down Cake. This moist cake is not too sweet and is a real treat for a weekend brunch. My tasting team especially liked it topped with a pouf of yogurt.

Breakfast Oatmeal Apple Upside-Down Cake
Makes one 10-inch round cake, serving 8 to 10

Batter:
2/3 cup rolled oats
½ cup golden raisins
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup boiling water
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Apple layer:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup chopped pecans
1 Gala apple, cored, skin on, sliced in thin wedges
Vanilla yogurt (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-inch round cake pan with vegetable cooking spray and set aside.

To prepare batter: Mix oats, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg in a heat-proof container and pour measured boiling water over mixture. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the apple layer: In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and the pecans; pat out into the bottom of the cake pan. Then lay the apple slices out evenly on the brown sugar mixture. Set aside.

To finish batter: In a large bowl, combine the 2/3 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg and oil; mix well. In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, soda and salt, then add to sugar mixture. Add plumped oat mixture and stir well.

Without disturbing the apple layer, add batter to the cake pan carefully, and then lightly rap pan on counter to release any bubbles. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake tests done.

Let sit 5 minutes after coming out of the oven, loosen sides of cake from pan with a table knife, and then immediately invert cake onto a large plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with dollops of vanilla yogurt if desired.

Copywrite 2005 Kathy Casey Food Studios

This past week I attended a super fun event at Ivar’s Salmon House on Seattle’s Lake Union…. Cocktails and Crafts! It was a last minute fun thing consisting of making our own totem poles or Ivar’s Bobble Heads into crazy crafty works of … art?? At least I like to think so!
    
The table was laden with trinkets, glue guns and feathers. We were also encouraged to bring our own adornments. I eagerly dipped into my craft drawers pulling out pearls, found starfish, singing scallop shells and other goofy garnishments. As we created, we sipped wine and nibbled on Oysters on the Half Shell with Pink Peppercorn Mignonette and heard about the restaurants American Indian art collection and shared Ivar stories.
As the evening moved on and our glue guns were blaring we dined on lightly smoke-kissed, first of the season Spring Chinook Salmon and Asparagus served with Old School Maltaise Sauce. Yum! Maltaise sauce is an orange enhanced variation on hollandaise and is fantastic with asparagus … and salmon – rarely seen these days, I was thrilled to see it again in this perfect pairing!

And it’s not just cool cocktail party’s this Seattle Classics doing – they are also hosting “Salmon in the Classroom” — cultural storytelling of salmon in the NW for Washington kindergartners.  Wow — that would be a cool school day.

So if Ivar’s Salmon House has been off your radar – come give them a visit – it’s a Seattle Institution that serves salmon up …wild and proud.