Anyone who grew up in the 90s will remember that an Upside Down Pineapple Cake was kind of famous at one point. A trend, if I could call it one. There was always something very intriguing about putting fruit in a cake. Even more so to put it at the bottom of the cake and let it caramelise on its own. Then, the joy of turning it upside down on a serving platter and wowing your little audience- baking magic.
This Upside Down Pineapple Cake is made a bit differently than how I remember, but also way fancier and tastier. Don’t let that fool you into thinking it needs more effort because it just doesn’t. It’s the simple addition of butter and sugar at the bottom that makes this cake incredibly moist and flavourful. The caramel allows the pineapple to blend and bring out a very special kind of cake.
Using Pineapple in Baking
I’ll come clean about this one; I do not like Pineapple. I have nothing against it, but it definitely doesn’t make it to the list of my top 5 favourite fruits. But apparently, if I use it in cake or dessert, I quite like it. One of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever made and enjoyed is this Hummingbird cake. It uses nuts, pineapple and my rather popular fruit used in baking: bananas.
Pineapple isn’t a very commonly used fruit in baking. I can’t remember experimenting with it in any of my bakes. One reason for this could be because mixing milk and pineapple together can cause the milk to curdle. Also, raw pineapple contains bromelain, which can stop gluten from forming or gelatin from setting. This is why it’s best to use tinned pineapple in desserts and cake. See notes below.
Notes on making the Upside Down Pineapple cake
- Use tinned pineapple. It saves a ton of time, and tinned pineapple is always sweet. No surprises there.
- I made this cake in a loaf tin because it made it much easier to cut slices once the cake was baked. By all means, you can bake this cake in an 8-inch round pan. You might need to adjust baking time, so keep an eye.
- Once the cake has cooked, leave it to cool in the pan for just 5-10 mins. Then turn it upside down onto the serving dish. If you leave it in the tin to completely cool down, the caramel might set, making it hard for the cake to slip out.
Make this delicious upside-down pineapple cake with a simple caramel layer that will elevate it to a fancy dessert. A new spin on an old favourite.
Ingredients
4 pineapple rings (you will need more if you are using a round tin to bake the cake)
1/4 cup brown sugar
25 g + 120 g butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Directions
- Preheat the oven t0 180 C.
- Smear 25 gms of the softened butter on the bottom of a medium-sized loaf tin, using a spoon or spatula
- Add the brown sugar and spread it all over the butter
- Place the pineapple rings in a layer over the butter and sugar. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the remaining 120 g of butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one by one, then the vanilla and mix until just combined
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix with a spatula just enough to incorporate the flour
- Spoon the cake batter over the pineapple, and spread gently using a spatula
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 45 mins. Once the cake has baked, let it cool in the tin for about 10 mins, then turn the cake out onto a serving platter
