What with Thanksgiving coming up, I figured that it was time for something tart and loaded with cranberries. I’ve made this particular upside-cake before, though always in a regular 9–inch cake pan. The recipe I found today (courtesy of David Leibowitz)_is virtually the same as the others I’ve tried, with one exception: he specifies making this in a cast iron skillet. (Though, to be fair, he also says that doing this in a cake pan is perfectly fine, too.)
I’ll be honest: I balked at that. My experience with cast iron baking has been that the less acidic something is, the better it turns out. There’s just something about baking (or stewing) acidic ingredients in cast iron that, I think, taints food a bit. At least, I taste and smell the difference. Food smells vaguely . . . like iron.
So I was really worried when I turned this out . . . because I smelled that iron and tasted it in the glaze, too.
Now, the husband doesn’t smell or taste that at all. He was wowed. So . . . I dunno. I think I’ll have to wait until his lab people weigh in to know for sure.
But I honestly think that, no matter what, I won’t be making this in cast iron again. Something to be said for following your gut.
And the question is do you like Brussel Sprouts?
I ask because there’s a specific gene expression which means that some people find that sprouts taste bad, while other people like the taste.
Perhaps it’s the same for iron too.
Heh. Ironically enough, I love Brussels Sprouts. It’s the geneticist husband who can do without them 😉