Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

This month's Cake Slice challenge is a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Would you believe that I have not made this particular cake before or even had a slice of it? So you could say that I am somewhat disadvantaged in terms of how the end result would look or taste like. This particular cake is usually baked in an iron skillet. Without possessing an iron skillet or any skillet, I had to bake this cake in a normal cake tin. As usual I halfed the recipe.

This recipe is relatively easy to put together. However I have to say that I was not pleased with the end result at all. Although some of my fellow bakers at Cake Slice enjoyed it, I personally did not. The cake did smelled heavenly whilst baking and even after coming out of the oven. However the cake crumb was extremely heavy and tasted a bit gummy as well. It was also a bit too sweet in my opinion even though I had reduced the amount of sugar used. I really hate to confess that I did not even bother have a slice of it and if I don't like it, it's not being served to my office colleagues. This is one recipe that really "bombed" out for me!



Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Recipe from "Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott"

Pineapple Topping:

One 20-ounce can pineapple rings, with their syrup or juice
56g cold butter
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
10 maraschino cherries

For the Cake:

1 1/2cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
56g unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 350F.

To make the topping:

1) Drain the pineapple well, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice or syrup for the cake batter. Melt the cold butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Or, put the butter in a 9inch round cake pan and put it in the oven for a few minutes as the heat melts the butter.

2) Remove the pan from the oven or stove and sprinkle the brown sugar over the buttery surface. Place the pineapple rings carefully on top of the scattered brown sugar and melted butter, arranging them so they fit in 1 layer. (You may have a few left over). Place a cherry in the centre of each ring, and set the pan aside.

To make the cake:

1) In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a fork to mix them together well. Add the milk and butter and beat well with a mixer, scraping down the bowl once or twice until you have a thick, fairly smooth batter, about 1 to 2 minutes.

2) Add the egg, reserved pineapple syrup or juice and the vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes more, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides.

3) Carefully pour the batter over the pineapple arranged in the skillet or cake pan and use a spoon to spread it evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly in the centre. Cool in the skillet or pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

4) With oven mitts, carefully turn out the warm cake onto a serving plate by placing the plate upside down over the cake in the pan and then flipping them over together to release the cake onto the plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.