Kitchen Project #138: A Summery Pineapple Pudding
AND SOME EXCITING NEWS!!!
Hello and welcome to today’s edition of Kitchen Projects. Thank you SO much for being here.
Whilst I am still observing Siftmas (happy Siftmas for all those that celebrate), I hope you’ll give me a little grace for the newsletter being a little out of whack.
I plan to return to our regularly scheduled Kitchen Projects programming soon and have lots of brilliant guest writers, columnists, and deep dives and spotlights on the way. But I also realise that I’ve *just* released a cookbook (SIFT: The Elements of Great Baking, available now!) with 100+ recipes and PLENTY of reading to do.
So, this week, I’m keeping the newsletter light in all senses of the word. I’ve got a couple of exciting book announcements and updates, so first we’ll do that. Then, we'll finish off with a little foray into the world of pineapple, with a recipe for a simple, summery and ultra light pineapple pudding for my KP+ subscribers..
Love
Nicola
ps. Don’t forget there are 300+ fully researched, photographed + tested recipes in the Kitchen Projects archive - which is constantly growing - for you to browse :)
A bit of SIFT news…
Right, the news. *breathes in* I’m really, really happy to share the news - and you guys are the first to know, except my publishers, family and a few friends - that SIFT has made it onto the Sunday Times Bestseller list. *screams*
I’m actually still in shock about it! On Thursday, I was walking around my local park when my editor, Nell, rang to share the news: “SIFT IS A SUNDAY TIMES BEST SELLER!” I still can’t believe it!
So, now, the really important bit: A huge, huge thank you to everyone who has supported SIFT and gone on this journey with me. I feel so incredibly lucky! And it really means the world to know that the book is resonating - I wrote it for you! It blows my mind that a book about all the nerdy bits of baking, complete with butter temperature charts, diagrams of eggs and recipes that can take up to THREE DAYS to make, has found a place on the Sunday Times bestseller chart. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
A note to my readers abroad: I know so many of you have ordered UK editions of SIFT (and amazingly, I’ve heard that any orders shipped abroad don’t actually count toward the Sunday Times list?! Book world is so wacky). I want to thank you sincerely for shouldering what presumably was a hefty chunk of postage change—seeing copies arrive in different countries makes my heart explode!
I am so thrilled to continue developing recipes for you and learning along the way.
BTW… I hope to have news about international availability and editions soon. In the meantime, I have a very exciting update on my UK book tour.
SIFT ON TOUR
Over the coming months, I’ll be bopping around bookshops, bakeries, and festivals across the country, and I am so excited to meet as many of you as possible! I am also so happy to announce menu collaborations with some incredible bakeries: I’ll be at Lannan Bakery, Edinburgh, on Thursday 30th May and Farro Bakery, Bristol, on Tuesday 18th May!
More details on those are coming soon, but it’s actually a dream come true. I am working on adding dates and events (if you live in London, I’d keep Saturday 15th June free)... and if there’s a city you think I am missing, please drop it in the comments!
And if I’m coming to your city, let’s do it!!! Reserve your spot now!
Details below:
Saturday 18th May, Toklas Bakery Cookbook Fair, London - book signing/treats - https://www.instagram.com/toklas_bakery
Wednesday 29th May, Edinburgh, Topping & Co - reserve your spot here
Thursday 30th May - Sift x Lannan menu collaboration - No reservations required
Thursday, 30th May, St Andrews, Topping & Co - reserve your spot here!
Tuesday 18th June, Sift x Farro menu collaboration -No reservations required
Tuesday 18th June, Bristol, Waterstones - Reserve your spot here!
Wednesday 19th June, Bath, Topping & Co - reserve your spot here!
Saturday 27th July, Latitude Festival, Suffolk - www.latitudefestival.com
21st/22nd September, Abergavenny Food Festival - www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com
See you soon!
Alright, let’s dive into this week’s newsletter, a journey of joy and pain, ft pineapples!
Thoughts On Pineapples
I don't have a lot of controversial food opinions other than these:
I think truffle oil is delicious (I think this is only controversial among chefs, to be honest)
I don’t like doughnuts… sorry! We just don’t vibe okay.
Upside-down cakes are almost always a huge disappointment.
While I’m sure we’ll discuss points 1 and 2 in future newsletters, but today, I want to address point three.
I’m not a fan of upside-down cakes because there are barely any fruits I’d willingly cook / steam for 30-40 minutes at 170c, with zero venting for the liquid to escape, and still expect them to be at their best. I find it close to criminal, for example, to use RHUBARB in upside-down cake, as well as any sensitive stone fruit, like apricots, peaches or plums. I’ve always strongly felt that most upside-down cakes would be better if the batter and fruit were prepared separately and joined together on the plate.
You see, cooking the fruit in butter and sugar is a great idea, but you need the moisture from the fruit to escape and meld with the other ingredients. After this, it needs to be allowed to evaporate, leaving behind a rich, intensified sauce that joins the juices, fat, and sugar.
In upside-down cakes, tins are generally lined with butter and sugar and the fruit is nestled into this mixture. The problem is that the fruit is being suffocated by cake, and there’s nowhere for the moisture to go. Bad news for everyone - the fruit and the cake! The attempt to shorten the process of adjoining fruit and cake together leaves both worse off, in my opinion. Why do we get all Dr Frankenstein about adjoining the two? At least when the fruit is on top, moisture can evaporate.
Like all great rules, there are some exceptions:
Hot puddings
Tarte tatins (if they are not upside-down cakes, they are at least adjacent - let’s discuss)
In the first case, I can fully accept variations on hot upside-down cakes - steamed, etc In SIFT, I have a gorgeous, perfect post-Sunday lunch recipe for an upside-down sticky pear and walnut cake. I do love this recipe, but (and there IS a but)... it’s incredibly wintery. There’s also a buttermilk steamed pudding with plums… gorgeous, but it is crying out for hot custard. Not great for May.
In the second case, tarte tatin is successful because the pasty, usually with vent holes, evaporates moisture, and the butter/sugar/juices concentrate pleasingly underneath. While I’m hoping to bring you an exciting Tarte Tatin guest post soon, and I completely adore the fennel & tomato tart tatin in SIFT (pg. 167)
I’m not going to stop you from making a hot, steamy, rich pudding, but looking out the window today at the surprisingly blue skies—London is really surpassing expectations for May so far—I started thinking about a bit of an alternative for this time of year.
A simple pudding for summer
Of course, all these thoughts about upside-down cakes were triggered by thoughts of pineapples.
We are in such an in-between-y seasonal moment right now. Because the UK isn’t flourishing with berries yet, this is the time of year that I look to imported fruits. We’re never going to be able to grow pineapples, mangoes or passion fruits here (hopefully), so as our fruit and veg season takes a breath, I make the most of the outrageous network of international importation/trading routes that our supermarkets and groceries benefit from.
We’re lucky to have a recipe for a gorgeous classic Upside Down Pineapple Cake here in the newsletter - it’s a recipe from the lovely Tarunima Sinha, aka My Little Cake Tin (whose book of the same name was released this week - congratulations Tarunima!). I love having guest writers who foray into subjects I don’t feel I can do justice or with honour.
This week’s recipe
I was very excited to return to the kitchen this week to develop a May-appropriate pineapple recipe. With the ever-changing weather, I wanted to share a simple recipe for lazy summer lunches and dinners. Please meet my super soft, light, pineapple pudding. This recipe works warm or cold and borrows the best bits from my upside-down cake exceptions, tarte tatin, and hot puddings. More than anything, I wanted something SIMPLE. The good thing about this recipe, too, if that if its HOT, you can serve it cold, and if the weather fakes out on us, you can serve it warm!
The last ten days have been a bit of a blur and I wanted to share a grounding recipe, one that you can knock up without much effort. And other than the pineapple, I bet you have all the ingredients already. Alright, let’s get into it.
The trials and tribulations of pineapple
My mind went on super speed, and I started whipping up a bunch of pineapple bakes. What about a clafoutis? What about a straight pineapple tart tatin? What about if there was a pineapple salsa with it? What about a pudding? What about harking back to a recipe for Pineapple foster I developed a few years ago? I’ve always loved the flavours… That plus pastry is a win, right? Before I knew it, I was surrounded by pineapple bakes, and I’d eaten more pineapple in the space of a few hours than I’d ever anticipated was possible. At first, I noticed no ill effect. A few hours later, after I’d started work on the newsletter, I decided to re-taste the tests.
Everything tasted AWFUL. Not just bad, but overly acidic, freakishly tangy and actually… bordering on painful?! What had I done to these bakes? I was horrified.
Pineapple… more like PAIN-APPLE!!!
I don’t know the last time you guys ate probably 1.5 pineapples in just a few hours, but let me tell you: it’s not *great* for you. You see, pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme which breaks down protein. This is why pineapple is no friend to gelatin - you’ll struggle to get it to set!
You might have experienced a bit of tingling when eating pineapple in the past - that’s the bromelain at work. Unfortunately, my extreme self-inflicted exposure to the enzyme meant that my tongue was sensitised to the max; Even PLAIN RICE tasted spicy and acidic. Fortunately, the effects are temporary! And I could return to testing to get this final recipe for you today.
Note: You’re unlikely to get this reaction if you eat or use tinned pineapple. Since tinned pineapple has been cooked / heat treated, the enzymes have mostly been denatured.
The final recipe
Though I loved the tatin, the final recipe for this week is an ultra-light, fluffy pudding that can be spooned into bowls and enjoyed no matter the weather. If you’re nervous about making tarte tatin, this is a great first step - the cooking stage of the pineapples is EXACTLY the same, but rather than plonking a piece of pastry on top, we use a light fluffy cake batter that is mostly eggs and creme fraiche.
I tested this recipe in both an 8-inch pie tin and a 9-inch cast iron - the 9-inch cast iron has a richer texture, while the 8-inch is fluffier and lighter. While I’ve left this recipe relatively plain, there’s a whole world of adaptions. Adding spices - Star anise! Szechuan peppercorns! Bay! Cinnamon! - to the pineapple cooking process will help you guide this recipe in your desired direction. Just remove any chunky ones before eating, with lots of cold cream or ice cream.
Ok, let’s make it
Pineapple Pudding
Serves at least 4
Equipment: Fry pan, 8—or 9-inch dish, round or square! If you have an oven-proof / hob-friendly dish, you can do everything in there. I think this could also be a gorgeous filling in a buttery tart case - like a frangipane tart, but lighter!
Ingredients
1 medium pineapple, once prepared about 400-500g chunks
50g Butter
80g Light Brown Sugar
1 tbsp rum (optional)
Pinch of Flaky Salt
½ lime, squeezed (optional)
Your choice of spices, vanilla, star anise etc.
2 eggs, about 110g
80g Light Brown Sugar
120g Creme Fraiche
60g Plain Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
10g Rum (optional)
Demerara sugar to sprinkle, optional
Method
Cut pineapple into large chunks, 4-5cm. You can make pineapple syrup from the offcuts and skin (wash it first) by simmering for 30 minutes in a 1:1 sugar/water syrup.
Heat a frying pan (oven-proof, if you have one, works well here; then you don’t have to transfer the dish) on medium high heat. Add the butter and cook until foamy and slightly browning in places, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, followed by the pineapple. If your pineapple is very underripe, you might need to add 1-2 tbsp of water to prevent the fruit and sugar from scorching. You can add spices etc. at this point if desired.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the pineapple for about 15-20 minutes, flipping regularly, until it is tender and beautifully golden and the pineapple has released its juices. The pieces will shrink.
Finally, add the rum if using - flambe it if you feel brave! - and let salt and lime juice bubble away to combine for 10-20 seconds.
If you are using the oven-proof dish, remove 4-5 tablespoons of the sauce and keep it aside for dressing the pudding later. If you are transferring to a different dish, spoon half of the pineapple into an oven-safe dish lined with greaseproof paper (the other half we will put on top of the pudding mix) Pour over most of the sauce, reserving 4-5 tablespoons for dressing the pudding.
Pre-heat the oven to 170c fan
For the pudding, separate the eggs. Whisk the egg yolks with the creme fraiche and half the sugar until well combined, then whisk in the flour, baking powder and rum.
Whisk the other half of the sugar and the egg whites into a meringue and gently fold it into the yolk batter until well combined. Gently spoon this or pour over the pineapple in your prepared baking dish, adding the rest of the pineapple (see previous steps, this is dependent on your baking dish) and sprinkle with demerara, if desired.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pudding is puffed and golden and a skewer inserted into the thickest part comes out clean. Drizzle with the reserved sauce (and let down with 1-2tsp water to make it a touch flowier!) You can serve warm or leave to cool. Enjoy with ice cream, or cream
Amazing news!!!
Super cool, congrats! we love our copy of sift :)