Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe & Video

By SandyC

Ingredients

• Topping:
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) (55 grams) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
• 3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar
• 1 medium pineapple (peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick)
• Maraschino cherries or candied cherries (optional)
• Cake Batter:
• 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PineappleUpsideDownCake.html#ixzz2N5KgUNrM

Details

Servings 9
Cooking time 55mins
Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Preparation

Step 1

One look at this cake and you can see why it was so popular. It is lovely,
glistening slices of sweet and sticky caramelized pineapple sitting happily on
top of a fluffy white butter cake. A Pineapple Upside Down Cake begs to be served warm from the
oven, with or without a dollop of softly whipped cream

When I set out to make a
Pineapple Upside Down Cake, I had my mother's cake in mind. Her cake had
rings of canned pineapple slices with a maraschino cherry in the center of
each. But then I came across Alice Water's recipe in her informative cookbook

begins with melting butter
with brown sugar until it starts to caramelize. This mixture is then poured into a cake pan
and fresh pineapple slices (or you can use canned pineapple slices) are placed on top.
If you like you can also garnish the top with maraschino cherries or
candied red cherries (as shown in picture). A buttery white cake batter is
then poured over the pineapple slices and the cake is baked until golden brown.
Once the cake cools, it is inverted onto a cake platter so the top of the
cake features the pineapple slices that have become wonderfully soft
and sweet from absorbing all that delicious caramelized sugar. I love to
serve this cake warm with a nice dollop of whipped cream. Leftovers can be
covered, stored in the refrigerator, and simply reheated.

:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of
the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 9 inch (23 cm)
round cake pan with three inch (7.5 cm) sides.

Place
the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until
the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking, without
stirring, for a few
more minutes or until bubbles just start to appear around the outside edges of
the mixture (the sugar starts to caramelize). Then remove from heat, and
pour into your prepared cake pan. Evenly arrange the fresh pineapple slices on
top of the sugar mixture. (Can also garnish with cherries.)

: In a large bowl,
sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric
mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and
fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract.
Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down
the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture (in three additions), alternately
with the milk (in two additions), ending with the dry ingredients.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg
whites with the cream of tartar just until the whites hold a firm peak. With a
large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two
additions. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top. Bake in
preheated oven for 45 -

, or until the top of the cake has browned and
starts to pull away from the sides of the pan (a toothpick inserted into the
cake (not the pineapple) will come out clean). Remove from oven and place on a
wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the
pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate. Serve with softly whipped
cream.

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm)
cake. Serves 6 to 8.

Note: Can substitute one - 20
ounce (567 gram) can of pineapple slices (drained). Once drained, pat the
pineapple slices dry with paper towel and arrange on top of the sugar mixture.
Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.