Upside down pineapple muffins

Upside down pineapple muffins

Upside down pineapple muffins

We are lucky that in London, pineapples seem to be now in season, hence the supermarkets offering great offers on pineapples. It is always a bit daunting to buy a pineapple at first if you are not sure whether it is ripe or not. There is nothing worse than fruit that is not ripe, since it seems to detract from the magical taste of fruit.

One rough guide is to try to pull one of the leaves on top of a pineapple, if it comes out easily it is a sign of ripeness. However, this must also be matched with the colour of the skin. It should be clear of any green and should be a golden colour. Sometimes it is a question of judgment. The pineapple that I used for this recipe was a week old, golden in colour, but the leaves did not come out easily. I could tell though from its smell that it was ready and sure enough it proved to be very juicy.

This is a quick and easy recipe that will fit very well in a lunchbox, perhaps introducing fruit to a young person.

Ripe pineapple!

 

Ingredients:

150g dairy free margarine

2 eggs

100g light muscovado sugar

100g ground almonds

100g plain gluten free flour

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

1/2 pineapple peeled and cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 180C. In a mixing bowl cream the margarine and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time to mix. Add the flours and baking powder until combined. In a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases, divide the mixture evenly (just over 1 tablespoon.

Three's a crowd?

Divide the pineapple pieces on top of the mixture. Pop into the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes.

Golden delicious

You should be left with a lovely light, moist muffin with juicy pineapple pieces to enjoy at lunch or on a picnic.

Juicy muffins

So, how do you test the ripeness of a pineapple?

Golden Fruit Salad

Golden Fruit Salad

Golden Fruit Salad

This fruit salad is inspired by the golden lusciousness of pineapple, and combines more of the juicier fruits out there. I had originally wanted to use kiwi fruit but discovered upon cutting the fruit that it was not ripe so I made an executive decision not to use it. Which is a shame but did not distract from the juiciness.

Fruit galore!

Ingredients:

1/2 pineapple

1/2 cantaloupe melon

1/2 honeydew melon

2 plums

1 lime

Wash the plums and chop together with the other fruit into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large container and grate some lime peel over the fruit before squeezing the lime over. 

Lovely Lime

 Put the lid on and shake the fruit around. It tastes best after a few hours in the container.

Lusciously Golden

So, how do you test the ripeness of kiwi fruit?

Tropical Pineapple Cake with Cognac

Tropical Pineapple Cake with Cognac

The upside down pineapple cake is a classic which sadly says too much about the quality of fresh fruit that some parts of the world have to make do with. Who would be happy with pineapple slices from a tin. On top of it all you have to add more sugar in order to sweeten the pineapple base! I was fortunate enough to come across some tropical pineapples that smelt so gorgeous and tasted so sweet that there was no need for added sugar. There was also no need to turn the cake upside down!

Ingredients:

150g dairy free margarine

2 eggs

100g light muscovado sugar

2 tbsp cognac

100g ground almonds

100g plain gluten free flour

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

1 pineapple peeled and cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 200C and put a sheet of baking paper into a cake tin - you can lightly grease the baking paper.

Melt the margarine and whisk in the eggs, cognac and sugar. The muscovado sugar helps to keep the cake moist.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds, flour and baking powder and then mix in the liquid mixture. Once combined, pour into the prepared tin. Add the pineapple pieces on top.

Place in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden on top.

I like this cake as it is wonderfully moist whilst celebrating the natural beauty of pineapple.

So, what other fruits would you prefer not to eat from a can?