Individual Desserts

I lived in Alabama for 4 1/2 years and while I was there one of my part-time jobs was working as a Pastry Chef at Tria Market (which, sadly, no longer exists). One of the things we specialized in was taking full sized desserts and making them into single serve, individual desserts. At first I found this process really, really tedious and kind of annoying. But, as time when on and the more I made these desserts the more I started liking them. Yes, they were still tedious and time consuming but I got to put my own spin on a few of the recipes and making them 'my own' really added another aspect to my passion. We did many types of individual desserts from gourmet tarts and creme brulee' to home-style pound cake and rice pudding. After a while making individual desserts became fun and I looked forward to making them and discovering ways to change certain things.

One dessert we didn't make was the pineapple upsidedown cake. This cake has always been a favorite of mine. It's something about the tender cake and the sweet pineapple together that makes this dessert absolutely delicious.

The pictures below show my attempt at making individual pineapple upsidedown cakes. I made them in a regular muffin tin using a fraction of the total ingredients per cake since they were so small. I used crushed pineapple instead of a pineapple slice, a tablespoon of brown sugar and half a pat of butter and no cherry (although I will include cherries in the future). I made my butter cake recipe for the cake part and I filled the muffin cups almost to the top since the cakes don't rise much. The only changes I would make would be to lessen the toppings a little more because the cakes turned out a little unbalanced and too sweet. All in all they were good.

Buttery Toffee

I've been looking for a really good toffee recipe for a while now. When I first started looking was about 3 years ago and I must have just given up because I never made any until this month. I was suprised at how simple the recipe was and how quickly it turned out. Basically 4-6 ingredients and thats it. Oh, and I love almonds will put them in almost anything sweet.

The only special equipment you'll need is a candy thermometer. If you are experienced in candy making and can do the 'ice water' test or you can judge by the color then you don't necessarily need one. If you are a newbie then I would definitely get one.

Butter Toffee Recipe
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 cups butter (1 pound, 4 sticks)
1/3 cup water
4 tbs. light corn syrup
1-2 tsp. vanilla (optional)

variation:

1 1/2 cups toasted, chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts or pecans)
and/or
1 cup (six ounces) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Butter 2 1/2 sheet pans or cookie sheets, set aside. As you can see, I used Silpats on my sheet pans instead of butter. Either method works well.

Combine all ingredients except the nuts and chocolate in a heavy 4 quart sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium low, stirring occasionally, until mixture turns a tan color or the candy thermometer registers 300 degrees, about 40-45 minutes. Stir in chopped nuts and vanilla (if using until well coated.

Pour mixture into pans, distributing mixture evenly between both pans and spread to desired thickness. If using chocolate, sprinkle chips over toffee mixuture while hot and spread to coat.

Let toffee cool and harden for at least 2 hours before breaking into pieces. Toffee can be stored covered in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.