My work life has been turned upside-down lately which has left me in a bit of a state. I cannot seem to relax completely for over a week now. Last night was the first night I got more than 7 hours sleep in about 2 weeks. Even baking has taken a backseat and has been less therapeutic than it had been before. But, tonight, I felt like pineapple upside-down cake seemed apropos given my upside-down feeling in general. I mean, upside-down world + upside-down cake must equal right side up, right?
I decided I wanted a classic pineapple upside-down cake, complete with maraschino cherries. So I did a search online and found this recipe and adapted a little from there. This cake was really tasty. With a nice caramelized pineapple topping and a tender cake to soak up some of that caramel-y goodness. D.’s reaction was simply “scrumptious” as he inhaled his piece and a half before I finished 1/3 of my piece of cake… and he even skipped the coffee (coffee is almost always mandatory for D. to enjoy a dessert).
(I used a biscuit cutter to cut around the pineapple rings for a cleaner presentation. Plus it left me with bonus cake scraps soaked in butter and brown sugar… )
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Cook Time: 35 minutes
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
6 slices pineapple
maraschino cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1. In a 9-inch square cake pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange pineapple and cherries on top of the sugar.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Cream 1/2 cup butter. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well.
4. Add the flour mixture alternately with the pineapple juice, ending with flour. Beat until smooth. Pour over pineapple and brown sugar in the cake pan.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. Let cake cool for 5 minutes before turning it upside-down onto a serving plate.
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