Not the Cinderella that was all gussied up for the fancy ball...
all sparkling, shiny and new...
Today is more of the "morning after" Cinderella...
The Cinderella hanging onto her only remaining, less-shiny, very-recently
new glass slipper, remembering how
perfectly, perfect everything was just until 11:59...
Remember that same Cinderella
who was clearly warned by her fairy Godmother,
that she would go back to her former self at the stroke of midnight...??
Just like the hardwood flooring expert warned me... once the floors are in...
The furniture must be carefully placed...
carefully.... c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y
I was so careful...
Really, I was...
Until, at the stroke of midnight... this happened...
A scratch.
On my shiny new, less than two weeks old,
perfectly brand new hardwood. UGH.....
He warned me... He did.
The hardwood flooring Godfather expert told me
exactly what would happen....
exactly what would happen....
...and now, I feel really terrible about it.
The terrible, no good, feeling like getting the very first
door ding on a shiny
door ding on a shiny
brand new car...kind of terrible...
So... what's worse is I tried to fix it.
It wasn't enough to have the scratches...I made it worse.
It wasn't enough to have the scratches...I made it worse.
I'm no wood flooring expert....
as I so eloquently stated a post or two ago...
I wrote:
as I so eloquently stated a post or two ago...
I wrote:
"I know what my strengths are...
and hardwood flooring isn't one of those"...
(Remember that gem?? )
I'm pretty sure wiser words were never spoken
and this someone should have heeded her own advice.... for real.
Imagine Cinderella with a bottle of super glue...
putting her shattered glass slipper back together...
Bad idea lady...don't do it....
It just will not work...
(and this Cinderella (me) should have left it alone too... )
...and so, when my hardwood flooring expert in shining armor appears,
I hope I can get through the shameful explanation of how...
against all odds, a chair glide came off,
essentially creating a very sharp underside to the sofa leg....
We all know how the story ends...
I hope he doesn't roll his eyes...
or gasp...
or just turn and leave....
or gasp...
or just turn and leave....
all the the scenarios I have played out in my head...
(He's a super, beyond nice person...so I don't think we will have an issue...
but I just feel super irresponsible... mostly because I was warned...)
But things happen, such is life...
...I feel even worse that I have to show him my truly awful fix...
ahem, or rather my attempt at fixing it... (sigh)
It's one of those moments where I really needed,
wished for, hoped and hoped for a magic wand.
and I'm still counting on it.... the magic wand...
....but my magic wand will probably come in the form of utility van,
full of stains and potions... and maybe a magic wand or two... who knows.
Anyway... It was a full weekend,
full of unpacking the boxes we boxed up for the project.
We spent time carefully moving furniture into place,...
We spent time carefully moving furniture into place,...
except for the one incident...
and I procrastinated a lot --because unpacking is tedious work...
...hard work.
...hard work.
so I took a break to pick some of these... my favs.
I took another break to make one of these...
Pineapple upside down cake cannot fix scratches in new hardwood floors...
but a slice can improve your overall outlook on life
And...
And...
a hand full of flowers picked from your very own garden is a surefire
way to lift any ones spirits...
So until next time...I'll be painting and decorating for fall
and I will likely still be unpacking...
because I'm pretty sure there must be a magic wand
in one of these boxes...
P.S. Here's my recipe and tips for Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake
AND...
P.S.S....Speaking of time running out... Cinderella style...
You still have time to win the
Country Living Fair Tickets in Columbus Ohio!!
#CLFair
Sign up by leaving a comment here:
County Living Fair GIVEAWAY
The recipe...
PRINTABLE Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe HERE
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a 10 -12 inch cast iron skillet:
Goo:
1/4 cup butter melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 can of sliced pineapple you'll need 6-8 slices (reserve 1/4 cup juice for cake)
6-12 maraschino cherries
6-8 pecan halves
2 step Batter:
3 eggs separated
1 cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice
2 Tablespoons honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a 10-12 inch iron skillet melt the butter,
add the brown sugar on medium heat.
Let brown sugar become bubbly.
Stir to incorporate the butter.
Turn off heat, the pan will stay very warm.
Gently, lay in pineapple slices on top of the brown sugar.
Rest a cherry inside each pineapple ring.
If using, lay pecans in open spaces, face down.
For the batter:
Mix flour, salt and baking powder together
in a small bowl, set aside.
Beat 3 egg yolks with a mixer until light in color.
Add sugar and continue beating.
Add pineapple juice and honey and vanilla. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, whip 3 egg whites with an electric mixer
until fluffy soft peaks form (4-5 minutes).-set aside.
Add the flour/baking powder/salt mixture
to the egg yolk/sugar/pineapple juice mixture a little at a time.
Once all the flour is incorporated,
gently fold in the fluffy egg whites with a spatula.
Mix until no streaks of white are visible.
Pour batter into the warm skillet,
covering the pineapple, cherries and pecans.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven on the middle rack for about 20 minutes.
The cake will be light brown, check for done-ness with a toothpick.
Let finished cake rest in HOT skillet for 10-15 minutes.
CAREFULLY...
Using a larger plate than the skillet,
invert the warm cake onto the serving plate or platter.
Let cool and serve.
TIPS:
The cake can be made in a cake pan... if you don't own an iron skillet.
Adjust the baking times...because an iron skillet gets very warm
and bakes the cake faster than a traditional cake pan might.
Let the hot-out-of the-oven cake rest 10-15 minutes... but not longer than 20 before inverting. The key here is to let the cake be solid enough and cool enough to flip, without being dangerous...BUT...if you leave the cake in the pan too long, (longer than 20 minutes or so) it won't come out at all, when the sugar and yummy pineapple goodness cool off and firm up...
Be sure your cake or platter is larger than the skillet.
Using a cake plate or platter the same shape as the skillet is helpful.
If this is your fist time inverting the cake, get a helper.
...the iron skillet can be heavy... but you can do it!!
P.S. Here's my recipe and tips for Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake
AND...
P.S.S....Speaking of time running out... Cinderella style...
You still have time to win the
Country Living Fair Tickets in Columbus Ohio!!
#CLFair
Sign up by leaving a comment here:
County Living Fair GIVEAWAY
On to the dessert of the hour...
The recipe...
PRINTABLE Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe HERE
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a 10 -12 inch cast iron skillet:
Goo:
1/4 cup butter melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 can of sliced pineapple you'll need 6-8 slices (reserve 1/4 cup juice for cake)
6-12 maraschino cherries
6-8 pecan halves
2 step Batter:
3 eggs separated
1 cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice
2 Tablespoons honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a 10-12 inch iron skillet melt the butter,
add the brown sugar on medium heat.
Let brown sugar become bubbly.
Stir to incorporate the butter.
Turn off heat, the pan will stay very warm.
Gently, lay in pineapple slices on top of the brown sugar.
Rest a cherry inside each pineapple ring.
If using, lay pecans in open spaces, face down.
For the batter:
Mix flour, salt and baking powder together
in a small bowl, set aside.
Beat 3 egg yolks with a mixer until light in color.
Add sugar and continue beating.
Add pineapple juice and honey and vanilla. Mix well.
In a separate bowl, whip 3 egg whites with an electric mixer
until fluffy soft peaks form (4-5 minutes).-set aside.
Add the flour/baking powder/salt mixture
to the egg yolk/sugar/pineapple juice mixture a little at a time.
Once all the flour is incorporated,
gently fold in the fluffy egg whites with a spatula.
Mix until no streaks of white are visible.
Pour batter into the warm skillet,
covering the pineapple, cherries and pecans.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven on the middle rack for about 20 minutes.
The cake will be light brown, check for done-ness with a toothpick.
Let finished cake rest in HOT skillet for 10-15 minutes.
CAREFULLY...
Using a larger plate than the skillet,
invert the warm cake onto the serving plate or platter.
Let cool and serve.
TIPS:
The cake can be made in a cake pan... if you don't own an iron skillet.
Adjust the baking times...because an iron skillet gets very warm
and bakes the cake faster than a traditional cake pan might.
Let the hot-out-of the-oven cake rest 10-15 minutes... but not longer than 20 before inverting. The key here is to let the cake be solid enough and cool enough to flip, without being dangerous...BUT...if you leave the cake in the pan too long, (longer than 20 minutes or so) it won't come out at all, when the sugar and yummy pineapple goodness cool off and firm up...
Be sure your cake or platter is larger than the skillet.
Using a cake plate or platter the same shape as the skillet is helpful.
If this is your fist time inverting the cake, get a helper.
...the iron skillet can be heavy... but you can do it!!
This cake was absolutely the best! It was light and moist! Folding in the egg whites might be the difference.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful!! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!! Pineapple upside down cake is a favorite of mine... :)
DeleteI cannot locate a print button. How is this recipe printed please?
DeleteI didn't add a printable recipe to this post... but I can later today... I'm super busy and will try to get to it this evening. In the meantime, you can copy the recipe and paste it to word and print it that way. Thanks so much for the interest in the recipe.
DeleteHows the print button coming along. Its not easy copying and pasting on a Tablet.
ReplyDeleteHi Walter!! You'll be happy to know there is a printable recipe available on the page just at the start of where the original recipe is listed on the blog. It's a clickable link in red, that will take you to a document for printing. Thanks so much for the friendly reminder. Happy Baking!!!
DeleteThank You.
ReplyDeleteWhat benefit over a cake pan does a cast iron skillet have? I have a large enamel coated cast iron dutch oven. Would you recommend I use a cake pan or my dutch oven?
ReplyDeleteHi! Use the cake pan... if baked in a Dutch oven you would have a very hard time getting the cake out of the pan. ... unless it’s a very shallow Dutch oven... in that case it may work... most Dutch ovens I’ve worked with are deep... cake pan will be perfect.
Delete