To me, pineapple upside-down cake is pretty retro. I imagine bakers in the 1950s and 60s serving it at dinner parties, but according to What’s Cooking America, inverted cakes that reveal a special topping go back as far as the Middle Ages. Once the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (today known as Dole) began producing in canned pineapple in the early 1900s, bakers across the United States could get easy access to this tropical treat and recipes for pineapple upside-down cake popped up in women’s magazines and cookbooks everywhere.
This was my first attempt at pineapple upside-down cake, and I already have a plan for next time. I adapted this recipe from Mary Berry’s Fast Cakes, which uses a 7-inch cake pan and some ingredients that are harder to find here in the states, like muscovado sugar. My cake baked in a 9-inch pan, which as you can see made the cake layer quite shallow. Next time I’ll use a different recipe, but Mike said this was delicious anyway.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 7 canned pineapple rings
- About 7 maraschino cherries, sliced in half
- 3/4 cup self-rising flour
- 6 tablespoons margarine
- 2/3 cup superfine sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
Sprinkle dark brown sugar as evenly as possible over the bottom of the pan and top with pineapple rings, then place half of a maraschino cherry in the center of each ring and between the rings at the edge of the pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, margarine, sugar, egg, and pineapple juice and beat on medium speed until completely combined.
Spoon batter carefully over pineapple layer and spread with a small spatula to make an even layer.
Bake for 25 minutes, until cake is well-risen, golden, and springs back slightly when touched. Remove from oven and cool for about 20 minutes, then invert on a serving plate to cool completely.
Makes 8 servings.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 