I’LL LET YOU IN ON A LITTLE SECRET

Do you like to bake? If you don’t but would like to and feel intimidated by baking, I’ll let you in on a little secret: you don’t have to be an amazing baker to gain a reputation for being one. You just have to know how to bake one or two things besides chocolate-chip cookies well. My late sister Patty didn’t bake, really, but for parties and potlucks, she’d make her “signature” dessert: seedless-grape chiffon pie. Everyone who tasted it raved about it and thought she was an incredible baker (you can find the recipe in my cookbook, and it IS scrumptious). Little did they know it was the one thing she ever baked.

Years ago, when I was on a book tour with my cookbook, SOMETHING WARM FROM THE OVEN, I learned to spot what I came to think of as the “wannabakers” from the wistful looks on their faces. Mostly women, they would sidle up to my table where I was signing copies of my cookbook, and confess, “I’ve always wanted to bake but don’t know how, and there’s so much to learn.” I loved seeing their faces light up when I shared my “secret” with them, like I’d given them the secret formula for solving the mysteries of the universe. “All you need to do is learn to bake two things well: a cake and a pie,” I would tell them. I would then suggest they try the recipes for my blue-ribbon chocolate cake and apple pie, and make them a few times until they had it down. With friends and neighbors, I would invite them over to my house and teach them how. And, oh, the looks on their faces when they left carrying the finished products! One of those friends reports he’s now known for his chocolate cake, and everyone who’s tasted it thinks he’s a master baker. Little do they know it’s the one dessert he makes.

One of the best things about my cookbook, SOMETHING WARM FROM THE OVEN, is that I get to share my recipes with other people. I love sharing my recipes and having other people share their recipes with me. My cookbook is the gift that keeps on giving. Which reminds me of a cute story. My husband, Sandy Kenyon, the former entertainment reporter for WABC-TV in New York City, recently interviewed Robert Zerilli, who manages his family-owned bakery, Veniero’s, in the East Village. The bakery, which has been in business since the horse-and-buggy era, had been a favorite of Frank Sinatra and other luminaries. It’s a popular tourist destination and local institution to this day. Robert confessed that, although he oversees the busy kitchen at Veniero’s, he isn’t much of a baker himself. So Sandy gave him a signed copy of my cookbook. You can see from the smile on Robert’s face that he was pleased with his gift. Who knows? Maybe he’s whipping up a batch of something at home as we speak.

If you don’t fancy yourself a baker but would like to learn, here’s an easy recipe to start with. It was my mom’s recipe. I loved her pineapple-upside down cake as a child and still do. It’s ooey-gooey good. Whenever I’ve made it, the guests at my table have been wild about it.

See the recipe below:

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 20-ounce can pineapple slices

12-13 maraschino cherries, halved

14-18 walnut halves
2/3 cup dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You will need a 9-inch cake pan for this recipe.

Topping: Place 3 tablespoons of the butter in the cake pan, and heat in the oven just until the butter is melted. Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup of the juice or syrup. Place a whole pineapple slice in the center of the pan, and halve the remaining slices. Arrange the halves in a pinwheel pattern around the whole slice at the center. Fill in the spaces in between with walnut and maraschino cherry halves (you can substitute cranberries for the cherries if you like your desserts on the tart side.) Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top.

Cake: Cream together the remaining butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the reserved pineapple juice, beating after each addition just until combined. Spoon the batter over the pineapple-sugar mixture in the pan, and carefully spread so that it evenly covers the mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature.