Stealing from Dana again: strawberry upside down cake

I have written before about one of my favoritististist cooks in the world: Dana Tommasino, who cooks at Woodward's Garden, the restaurant she co-owns with her partner, Margey. The relationship that Guy and I have with the ladies goes back a long time. Through some very bad times, through some very good times. And through it all, I've never found them anything but cheerful, friendly and delightful. Dana's taste in music can run a bit too wild for my taste (A mixed tape of Yma Sumac was not really the best help to eating a pork chop one visit, but I did learn about Gladys Knight's version of Joe Cocker's "Feelin alright," from Dana).
If you asked Dana to describe her style of cooking, she probably would tell you that she cooks what she would like to eat. I would describe it as inspired high heat (temperature), cooking, with an emphasis on big, bold flavors. If you ask about her influences, Dana will go on for a while on who she's learned from, who she's learning from and so forth.
And you know what? We're learning from her. The recipe I'm giving here is hers. Sort of. I made a few marginal changes. The basic cake recipe is one that Dana found in Lindsey Shere's incredible "Chez Panisse Desserts." Interestingly, I found the same recipe, but in the also indispensable "Room for Dessert" by David Lebovitz - who cooked under Lindsey Shere's supervision. So the cake recipe is out there. Dana's use of strawberries, to me, is brilliant. I had always assumed that anything with strawberries baked into it, would lose the evanescent flavor of strawberries. WRONG. This cake was like eating a wonderful piece of almond bread with fresh strawberry jam on it. Now that strawberries are either peaking or waning, depending on your point of view, if you've had enough of them fresh, make this cake. It is, I promise you, absurdly easy.
I made it at a dinner party for some of the people I love most in the world. It was a big hit. Perhaps too big a hit, even with me. When you serve it, I suggest you start with small portions, especially if you do what I did and serve it with three different ice creams (strawberry, kumquat and noyau). I can see Dana now, laughing and saying "good for you," when I tell her about it. She knows how to make all of the ice creams. And she'll probably come up with some lovely combination in each of them, to make them better.

So, this is for Dana. And it's also for Guy, Keith, David, Anthony, James, Michael and Matt. Love you all? NO. I ADORE you all. Every single one of you.

Let's start with the topping. If you make things like pineapple upside down cake, this is going to sound very familiar, except for the strawberries. You will need a LOT of them - perhaps as many as a quart and a half. The reason for this, is that during the baking process, strawberries shrink. You can get away with a quart of them, if you don't mind a cake that looks a little "bare" before you cut it. The flavor is just as good: the strawberries basically dissolve into the cake, but if you want "purty," use more of them. Prep the berries by stemming them, and then cutting them in halves. You want to use bigger berries here. Don't bother with quartering them. Put them aside for a few minutes (remember that if you have too many, strawberries are incredibly good for you ). Get your pan ready. A springform is really good for this. Nine inches is a good size (in pans too), but ten will work (in pans too), as will eight (yes, in pans, too). In a small saucepan, combine three tablespoons of butter and 3/4 cup of brown sugar - light or dark, don't much matter. Melt them together, and stir to make sure that the sugar is all broken up and smooth. Then, put some parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. It may help if you spray some cooking spray down before you put down the paper, solely to hold it in place. Now, pour the butter sugar mixture on the paper, and swirl the pan to distribute it as evenly as possible. Don't kill yourself about this. The heat will distribute it too. Then lay down the strawberries, in concentric circles, cut side up. Fill the pan really well, and don't be afraid to start a second layer of berries. Put that aside .

The cake portion is absurdly easy. You will need 1.25 cups of sugar , an 8 ounce can of almond paste (this is not marzipan, which has much more sugar in it than the paste), a stick of softened, unsalted butter, a pinch of vanilla, six large eggs, a cup of flour, 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder and a big pinch of salt.

Now, this is gonna be the ultimate in easy for you food processor owners (and the cake is worth buying a food processor for). Put the sugar and almond paste in the processor and pulse it until the stuff is really broken up and crumbly looking. Keep the processor going, and add the butter through the feed tube. Then the vanilla. Then the eggs, one at a time.
When you get to the dry stuff, you can either add it directly to the food processor, or you can dump everything out into a bowl and fold it in. The advantage of doing the latter is that you avoid any issues with a gummy batter. The disadvantage is, you dirty more dishes. Your call.

Now, pour that cake batter (it will be wet), over the strawberries, and park the whole thing on a baking sheet. Put it into a preheated, 325 degree oven, for - ready for this - 1.5 hours. It needs that time, trust me. It is going to look darker than you think it should, but don't fret. You'll be glad you let it go for the full length of time.

When you take it out of the oven, you should immediately run a knife around the perimeter, and then let it sit for longer than you think it should - it should sit for at least an hour, two hours is better. This is why you run the knife around the edge. If you don't, the sugar will harden, carmelize, and you won't get the cake out.

After the cooling period is over, release the sides on the pan. Put a big plate over the cake, and then with two hands and a very firm grip, flip it over. Pull away the parchment, and look at the ruby like production you have in front of you. A beautiful, lovely red cake. Some prefer it warm, I prefer it at room temperature.

Let me just comment on the cake for a minute. I have made this cake with plums as the fruit, with spiced quinces, and just plain. It's the perfect cake to have around for "unexpected company" or to treat yourself to something tasty. If you have a food processor, it takes all of five minutes to put together.

Make yourself one. And maybe try some different flavors? I'm waiting for sour cherry season to start, and do another one. Any other ideas? I think peaches would be swell, too.

Thanks Dana, and thanks boys. Let's do it again.