Pineapple Upside Down Cake: A Classic Recipe
May 7, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Cakes, vintage recipes
I don’t know too many people who don’t like pineapple upside down cake. The thick, caramel syrup combined with juicy pineapple and paired with tender sponge cake is nearly irresistible.
So, last night, when trying to come up with a quick dessert to round out a spicy Thai meal Upside Down Cake was pretty much a no-brainer. Which is good because my life has been hectic and chaotic lately. And that, my friends, doesn’t begin to explain it.
I wanted to give it a more Asian flair so I sprinkled the pineapple rings with coocnut and used peanuts instead of pecans. I also added rum flavoring to the cake.
This is a simple cake to make but you need to remember a few things:
- This is a sponge cake and you need to fold the egg whites in gently so as not to deflate them.
- Do not overcook this or the cake will be dry and tasteless.
- Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes before turning out of the pan. The sauce needs to thicken up or it will run all over.
- Use good pineapple, the final product depends on it. Most of the vintage recipes assume pineapple in heavy syrup is being used. Adjust sugar accordingly.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
makes one 13x 9 inch cake, or one 10 inch round layer.
1/2 c unsalted butter melted in the pan while the oven is preheating
1 c brown sugar
1 tall can pineapple(it used to be 1 lb 4 oz but since they have dowsized everything, I am not sure!)- reserve syrup
1 c nuts (macadamias are great, so are pistachios..use your imagination)
3 eggs, seperated
1 c sugar
1 c cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp rum flavor (or more to taste)
maraschino cherries
Mix butter and brown sugar and stir until smooth. Spread an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Lay the pineapples in a single layer over the bottom. Put a cherry in the center of each. Sprinkle with nuts.
Whip egg whites and cream of tartar util stiff but not dry. Set aside.
Beat sugar and yolks until thick and lemon yellow. Add in flavorings.
Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Blend well.
Stir in reserved pineapple syrup.
Fold in egg whites carefully but thoroughly.
Spoon over the pineapple and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until cake tests done. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before inverting on a platter.
12 servings.
Image:Marye Audet
Content:Marye Audet for Baking Delights
This is one of my DH’s fave desserts. It looks like a wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing it!
No problem, Jen! I hope he likes it.
oh YUMMMMMMMM…. this might have to be Rowan’s birthday cake tomorrow…. sans cherries…
we can’t have maraschino cherries because of the food coloring in them…. but YUMMMMMM!!!!! ::::printing…::::
Tell Rown happy B’day, Monica! I cannot Believe it!
Always a winner!
Yep…definielty a favorite here, Courtney!
The pineapple upside down cake is the perfect illustration of what’s old becomes new again. This one is probably the most retro of all the cakes I can remember as a child.
Giz, I agree!Some of that stuff is just good food!
hmmm, note to self… when baking pineapple upside-down cake in a springform pan, prepare for butter to drip out an burn….. LOL There’ll be a pic of the cake on my blog tomorrow, Marye…
looking forward to it..You can cover the bottom of the spring form with foil to keep that from happening….on the outside.
Yeah, I thought of that….. afterwards… LOL
LOL! Sorry…eww..what a mess
This recipe is delicious – but I had a great deal of difficulty getting it to set. After baking for 40 minutes, my cake tester still came out very gooey in one area. Since the cake didn’t fall, and sprange back when touched, I took it out of the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes. It turned out beautifully! And then…we cut into it and it was like runny pudding! What caused this? I felt that the batter was quite thin, but everything looked all right when the whites were folded in. I had about 3/4 c. of pineapple syrup reserved from the can (1 lb. 4 oz.). I would love to make this recipe again, but need to know how to avoid the same result. Thank you
Denise- I don;t know. Tis has not happened to me. The batter is not runny…the yolks need to be beaten until they are very thick. Once the whites are folded in the batter is quite thick.
Maybe the eggs weren’t beaten enough?