Blueberry Upside Down Cake | Kenji’s Cooking Show

[@emergmd]

This video is partially why I love Kenji’s channel. Most other cooks would reshoot the video after undercooking it the first time around. Kenji shows how things don’t always work as planned, and how to not stress and fix it. I love this video, blueberry stains and all…. Thanks for keeping things real, Kenji.

[@teresameske2769]

My sentiments exactly because we’ve all been there!!

[@nikosfilipino]

what's even more endearing is that Kenji is up there as one of the most influential persons to contribute to modern cooking and just like every scientist, artist and craftsman he makes mistakes but owns up to them and views them not as a bad thing necessarily

[@georgewalford7027]

THIS is exactly why Kenji's videos are the best. It shows real cooking - and how to fix it when you make a mistake which I often do because I am human. The ability to recover after an error is the hallmark of good cooking; it means you fully understand the why of what you are doing.

[@Plarzay]

"This is foreshadowing" Hahaha Kenji for sure keeping it real and just tossing it back when it's not done! So chill, looked delicious in the end!

[@daphnepearce9411]

I love this! A pro chef not having a meltdown over what could have been a total kitchen disaster. Kenji, with aplomb, calmly saved the day by gently blooping everything back in the cast iron skillet, threw it back in the oven an it came out awesomely. I'm definitely making this! Thanks!

[@CookinWithBiscuits]

Yay! New Kenji!!!! Thanks for being amazing and making me want to work to be a more competent home cook! The skills involved in pivoting when something unexpected happens and rolling with punches are so helpful. Love your positivity.

[@tybellsprout]

The device kenji mentions early on is called a Otoshibuta (Drop Lid).

[@casualalligator1692]

Awesome that you show your mistakes and kept pushing through. I think a lot of beginning cooks think everything always has to be perfect. Great video!

[@SaoirseDotCom]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate you showing us the mess up. When I mess up in the kitchen I always feel bad, so seeing professionals make the same/similar mistakes is really nice

[@alysoffoxdale]

It is so reassuring to see pro cooks making average-cook mistakes like this! I wish more presenters would show the errors and _especially_ the rescues!

[@1519Spring]

Rescues are key!

[@wastrelway3226]

I agree. Presented warts and all, but without whipped cream!

[@dennisholton9640]

He is over confident

[@sammyboy96]

was just gonna comment this!! i can't think of many "online" chefs who would show any level of mistake in their cooking, even a pretty minor one like this

[@Cweets]

@@dennisholton9640 he made a mistake.. so you’ve never messed up anything in the kitchen right?😂😂

[@peteradaniel]

Nice to see a man as professional and brilliant as Kenji still making mistakes like the rest of us! I might not be able to eat everything you make, but you still provide tips, tricks and mistakes that we can all learn from. So I’m here for every vid because you make me want to be a better cook. Toi, toi, chapeau and thank you.

[@TheRationalPi]

I'm really glad he posted this instead of just restarting from scratch or ditching the footage! "Of course, what we can always do is change our minds."

[@777Sneek777]

9:43 love the dog swap

[@ashenshanuka5453]

Lmao. That was great. J. Kenji Hoodini.

[@erikjohnson29]

Kenji, you’re the chillest dude ever. Very inspiring.

[@janette9185]

So glad to see that- I made this about 2 weeks ago and it was raw in the center too. I didn’t try to attempt flipping back in the pan- just ate the outer ring…

[@annieward8170]

AMAZing that kenji doesn't panic when the cake comes out undercooked.... this has happened to me before and i always freak out. wow

[@davidanderson4335]

I love how you have the humility to post these videos still even though things didn't go as intended, a lot of other KZbinrs wouldn't have. You're awesome Kenji

[@kaiquebrasil1031]

This is the first recipe I did after watching you make it! As I live in Brazil it's a little harder to get my hands on blueberrys so I did it with grapes, and it worked very well, it was delicious! :)

[@danilo6217]

Bro, com jabuticaba fica bom d+

[@heksogen4788]

Always use cornstarch when you do pies with a wet fruits, just throw a tablespoon of cornstarch, mix it with blueberries[coat them] and then as they cook the starch will absorb the juices.

[@goldencalf5144]

Thank you for saying it's ok to use artificial vanilla. Too many people get hung up on using genuine vanilla when it's not even the dominant flavor in the recipe.

[@justalilguyyourhonor]

Gotta love the calmness when things went south, if it were me 50/50 I'd have a meltdown and reconsider ever baking again

[@nonothing9685]

I miss Stella. I hope she reappears one day soon.

[@TheChumm]

Same, but dropping the canonical book of all classic american desserts, hopefully making a grip of money, and disappearing from public life to chill is absolutely living the dream, truly an icon

[@oreogiri]

Omg...so it happens to experienced cooks as well. Greetings from Bangalore, India. I have been scouring for an upside blueberry cake to take to our old girls meet this week...(all in our 60s, but not really bakers😂). I saw many videos and they all are looking so perfect and neat and I kept getting a bit nervous. And I see this. So honest and reassuring... I don't know if I will follow this recipe because I am planning on blueberry chocolate cake, and that too eggless. But you have me confidence that I can bake it. Thank you so very much for showing it as it is.

[@callioscope]

Baked this gluten free AND on the grill because our oven cooks 125 degrees too hot at the moment. Before this summer, I had never used the grill. My husband is a great teacher, and this is a very easy recipe to follow. I was afraid the cake would not release, especially since it tested done 15 minutes early-keeping a grill to temp is the hardest part. Surprisingly great crumb, though next time, I would let the batter sit for 20 minutes before adding it to the pan and baking. Anyway, it came out perfectly clean and the test piece we tried was really nice, not very sweet at all, which I like, and I have deemed this the summer of blueberries after three successful blueberry recipes. Thank you for keeping it real … it gives me confidence when I need it. 🙏

[@Heeman1119]

A thousand thanks for uploading even tho there was a mistake. Silly as it may seem, it is refreshing for homecooks to see proficient cooks accomplish imperfect results!

[@sanachanto]

Jamon is getting so good at catching things!

[@damax1862]

I really appreciate Kenji showing that even the pros mess up on the simple things and also showing it's no big deal, just cook it longer and move on.

[@shadowblade232]

This is honestly the best kind of pro-chef video - made a mistake, admits to mistake, demonstrates a way to fix it - all without any sort of dramatic fanfare. Just a pro-chef doing some down to earth home cooking.

[@lern2swim]

Made this a few days ago from Stella's recipe. Delicious. Keep in mind that it does go stale quickly (I did find that microwaving for 30 seconds covered with a wet paper towel can refresh it the next day though)

[@cappedcook]

The amount of times I make mistakes in the kitchen and I LOVE to cook - thank you Kenji 👏👏👏

[@hollydrouillard5115]

I miss Stella! Love all the sweets she introduced us to! This looks like a wonderful recipe!

[@benkinobiliskgobekli9597]

Did you know that pouring milk from a carton is less messy if you have the opening at the highest point, rather than the lowest. More air can vent into the carton and it won’t splash.

[@MagdaRantanplan]

or just poke a tiny hole at another corner (the one oposide the pour-hole at the other end, which is at the top when you pour) so air can come in.

[@moonlessnight14]

I made this this weekend, and it turned out so well! And I'm not a big cake person. It's not overly sweet, which I prefer. I want to do a variation with orange and frozen cranberries which I think will be bomb

[@JW-vx9mz]

Really reminds me of my first very young attempt at baking. Baked a simple Victoria Sponge. Turned out the first half and it essentially fell apart. it was just not cooked and didn't hold it's own weight. My mum trying to help me said "no no its fine! we can put it back in the oven to finish baking". She picked up the plate I'd turned it out onto and almost immediately dropped it on the floor by accident. which is how we now have the tradition of Half Jam Cakes. Literally one half of cake topped with Jam.

[@alysoffoxdale]

LOL! I feel that! As children, my brother and I failed coordination and tipped our peach pie upside down onto the oven door as we pulled it out. So we scraped it up back into the dish, served it with a spoon, and called it cobbler instead.

[@misseimear]

I never knew you could rescue cakes like that, I've always given up when that happens! thank you for including it

[@clippedwings225]

Always encouraging when the pros show off their mistakes! Keep up the good work!

[@TheArcSet]

Thanks for this. Upside-down dishes are always fun.

[@nukeqler]

Protip: for those tetrapak milk containers, if it's more than about 1/4 full, pour with the spout oriented high on the top face, i.e. the opposite of what you were doing. There will be much less oscillation in the flow. Once you get to about 1/4 full it doesn't matter anymore.

[@JjrShabadoo]

Dude, the word "foreshadowing" gave me reflexive anxiety. Nice recovery. You didn't even flinch, and you avoided burning yourself!

[@coachsteve.]

I actually made this after I saw your post on Instagram. So good, definitely worth making.

[@grouchosaidit5454]

I think watching the expressions on the dogs' faces may be the best part.

[@kmori123]

this parchment paper trick is genius. thank you

[@alicepotter8165]

My son always wanted pineapple upside cake for his birthday. So glad you're using a skillet.

[@Sumanitu]

I'm glad you made or got your son's favorite when you could! I had several years where I wanted grasshopper pie. Basically crushed oreos, marshmallow creme, whipped creme, chocolate and mint. Then I wanted Smores pie, which is basically just trading mint for honey

[@alexanderberman9675]

Hi Kenji - you are a master and I have learned a huge amount from you - thank you! I hope you don't think I am speaking out of turn but one thing to note (which you probably already know but never show) is that microplane graters were designed to be used the "other" way up to how you generally use yours. OK there is no "right" or "wrong" way to use it and as you would say "you do you", but it was designed specifically (i) with walls and (ii) to be used the other way up i.e. flipped, such that when you grate you hold the thing you are grating still with one hand and move the microplane back and forth with the other hand. I find this (i) gives you much more control as you're gripping the microplane handle which is designed to grate rather than the thing being grated and (ii) the walls neatly hold whatever you're grating so you have more control over exactly how much you are grating before you mix it into your dish. You can also temporarily store grated stuff in the walls of the microplane if you need to get mis en place. Peace and love and please keep up the excellent work which is a great inspiration to me!

[@HominisLupis]

🤣🤣 good comment.

[@forkandspoonie]

Looks delicious plus I like how fast & easy it is. Someone living with chronic illness could make this easily. Using your template I’m going to make one this weekend with defrosted blueberries.

[@stephennetu]

I *LOVE* you show your mistakes!!! AAAA!!! You are the champion of champions, chef!

[@updatedjustnow271]

Had to give a thumbs up for the parchment paper hack.

[@iamzeman19082]

Haha I have those same cabinet locks for my kids. Awesome video, thank you!

[@ChristopherTate]

A very Julia Child moment - it's great that you show these to us, and talk about how to recover!

[@tollefcurrell]

I love this man, iconic.

[@corwinwhitehorn7759]

A stick of butter is basically roughly 115g of butter (1/8 of a Kilo minus 10). It's 1/2 a cup

[@jicky-mazuki]

otoshi-buta are the Japanese drop lids

[@DianeH2038]

it's easier to just check the temperature to make sure it's around 200 F. it's a more achievable easy measurement than a cake tester, IMO. do the same for bread -- just poke the thermometer to the center and make sure it's at least 195 F -- it'll continue to cook a bit and will get up to 200 F after you take it out.

[@_CoasterNinja]

Stella is the GOAT

[@cfov]

If you ever get a chance try this using Maine blueberries. They are smaller, sweeter, and pack a lot more blueberry flavor!!

[@fishfootface]

One well rescued cake.😁👍

[@xppenheimer]

Hey Kenji, just a reminder - you might want to blur out the picture of your family @2:18!

[@amrmostafa16]

Hi Kenji, Blueberry pancake is my favorite but, I'll give this nice cake a try, I think it is going to be awesome, thank you.

[@terriegura4864]

Did anyone else see the doggo watching and licking his lips at the 10:15 mark? I love it! Hahahaha

[@NixLyndon]

Just made with strawberries. Excellent stuff.

[@chrisliechti775]

Hey, at 2:18 your wife and kids are visible on your phone.

[@celalkayiran172]

They all look absolutely adorable!

[@curry1227]

I just made this recipe can’t wait to taste with my family after dinner

[@Lady-Lilith]

I've always hated the chime on my microwave so it's funny to hear it in a video.

[@Abusiv3Hamst3r]

The japanese things are otoshibuta「　落し蓋　」. Literally "drop lid".

[@Freshtasyon]

oh my god bro amazing recipe

[@Pugilation]

Foreshadowing indeed! Good save, bet it was delicious.

[@rwaaful]

The parchment technique is called a carteushe (not sure of the spelling but that’s it phonetically)!

[@TH3Willster]

ur a beast Kenji, loving the vids

[@MadeByForce]

Hey Kenji, I know you appreciate your family's privacy and I just wanted to mention that you show your lock screen on camera

[@TheSunIsMyDestroyer]

reminds me of my favorite dessert blue berry strawberry cobbler a la mode

[@botbtquarrel4072]

My guy has the most musical kitchen appliances known to man

[@Craigchaw]

Made this recipe this weekend and my god was it delicious.

[@averykelly9151]

Do you have any kind of cleaning solution or soap on the sponge you use to clean as you go? Or is it just dampened with water?

[@dusk5956]

You handled that with grace. Would have gotten so frustrated and cried a little. But it’s reassuring that sometimes a pro chef may undercook something

[@Pt0wN973b0iI]

Milk from thoes cartons you pour it backwards. Meaning the way you feel is right, do it the other way.

[@kiddsupreme]

5:26 Please tell me you cleaned that cap of the milk after you set it in the egg whites…

[@JonathanKayne]

Ironic because I literally made a blueberry lemon pound cake not too long ago. I had some leftover ricotta cheese from a lasagna I made and decided to use it in the cake

[@MissBinks]

DAMN that sounds delicious! Link a recipe??

[@Tannhauser42]

Omit the nutmeg? What would Townsends say? :D

[@DavidH210]

“We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”

[@nicholaspiazza6782]

The foreshadowing got me rollin

[@katl8825]

“winging cook times…for baking… eh, Kenji’s probably got it”

[@EZOnTheEyes]

I've always wondered if you made a Blueberry Upside Down Cake, upside down, would it become a Blueberry Rightside Up cake, or a normal Blueberry cake?

[@ashenshanuka5453]

Thanks for the 4am existential crisis.

[@miguelrodriguez-df8ww]

The blueberries kinda end up sinking to the middle/bottom of the cake as it cooks lol so it just turns into a blueberry cake which is still good! Think chef John did a video recently where something similar happened

[@richardhale2117]

This is so cool, Kenji doing the same sort of s*** that I seem to do with regularity, except I would have spilled blueberry juice over a MUCH wider area.

[@callioscope]

Do you think this would work with GF flour like Bob’s Red Mill? Please say yes! Our oven has been broken for a month-running 125 degrees hot-and they won’t be fixing it until mid-September. So I have made blueberry jam, peach jam and tomato jam, which is enough small-batch jam for a person to make. I need to bake and want to try this on our outdoor grill. But if it may be a fail with GF flour, I will pass.

[@MichaelScottRamming]

Another poster said they had good results with GF flour. Cake flour is lower gluten. You don’t knead cake batter like you would bread dough, and some recipes emphasize not to over-stir, which promotes gluten formation, which would cause a too-chewy texture. So GF flour should be fine, if not better for this recipe.

[@callioscope]

@@MichaelScottRamming I actually did make it, and gf at that. Also, on our outdoor grill, upon which is very hard to maintain a temp to cook well. It came out perfectly, but thankfully I won’t need to bake on a grill again.

[@d00dEEE]

OMG, Kenji, so much work! Can't you do some ALTernative low-effort thing that only uses tomatoes, mayonnaise and bread or something? 🤣

[@MissBinks]

LOL

[@jokay3732]

Hey Chef. Oven question. I keep items in the oven like you while cooking. Is oven performance affected when items are left in as storage while cooking? Thanks as always chef!

[@jackieknits61]

It's a drop lid in english

[@MissBinks]

A lesson I learned from Maine pie masters is just a scant tsp of lemon juice, not much sugar at all, and a pinch or two of cinnamon in the blueberries. Maybe the wild berries we grew up picking have a very different flavor? Don't know, but in any case, this or the simpler cobbler treatment is much less intimidating than attempting the perfect pie crust. Thanks as always, Kenji!

[@rellify3]

Anyone know how I would modify the cooking time if I only have a 12 inch cast iron instead of a 10 inch?

[@daala6698]

My mother's "Pineapple Upside-Down Cake" was sort of gelled in the top layer. What's the difference? I'd like to hear you talk about that. Think a 1950's "Betty Crocker" cook.

[@JustAnotherBuckyLover]

Extra sugar and pineapple juice, basically making an almost-jam-like deliciousness. When I used to make it in the past, there was a lot more sugar to fruit and it was meant to caramelise. So I imagine that's what you're remembering.

[@danny921015]

Hello @Kenji, big fan of yours! I was wondering how do you clean your cutting board, I want to get one too but being this big I'm thinking it would be straight up impossible for me to clean it in the kitchen sink.

[@caitlan1375]

Loll when you first cut the cake my first thought was “wow no cake tester” right before you saw that it was raw😭

[@3crazy3lady3]

Do you think it would come out alright if I made it with blackberries?

[@dylanbeschoner]

It will be different but probably still good. Worth a shot

[@ReidarNB]

I wonder, is there a reason why you don't use starch with the blueberries? Most recipes I see call for sugar and potato starch with the berries, I guess to bind the juices.

[@ReidarNB]

@@kjdude8765 That makes sense. But it did spill a good bit of juice though... I'll have to make a side-by-side comparison now. Oh woe me, that ends up with two blueberry cakes...

[@simondolian3565]

is there any risk to cooking the acidic blueberries on cast iron?

[@watchyoutubeaccount1]

any plans of making your own wok?

[@JbushBush]

Now this is high effort content

[@alexjennings3165]

Hey Kenji, do you have a teriyaki chicken recipe you like to make at home? I usually just go out when I want it (it helps living in Seattle where there’s teriyaki available everywhere) because I can never get it quite right. Cheers!

[@nicholasfiala6205]

Oh man, it did not occur to me to put it back in after it wasn't quite done. When you put on the "foreshadowing" messages I was convinced this was going to have some sort of cheesy life lesson ending to it, making lemonade from lemons, yadda yadda. I feel like if I had the same thing happen I'd likely have tossed it, but that seemingly came out wonderfully. Reminded me of a painting video with Bob Ross's son, where he thought he messed up but trodded on anyway and it turned out as a bit of a serendipitous error.

[@cabe_bedlam]

Enjoying the chaos on this one :)

[@dylantrott4694]

where did you get that scale?

[@lepistanuda]

Thank you for showing your mistakes as part of the process