Name: Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted); ½ cup light brown sugar; 7 pineapple slices; 12 maraschino cherries; 1.25 cups all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 cup granulated sugar; 5 tablespoons oil [i used canola oil]; ½ cup buttermilk; ¼ cup pineapple juice; 1 eggs (at room temperature); 2 teaspoons vanilla

I have been wanting to bake pineapple upside down cake since ages but somehow it kept getting postponed and I’m so glad that I finally got around baking it. Glad because this has to be the most moist cake I have ever baked, it literally melts in your mouth. The cake is amazing because it has caramelized pineapple slices sitting on top of a buttery vanilla cake – perfection!

The cake is super moist because I used oil and buttermilk in the cake batter. You can use butter instead of oil but I just prefer using oil in vanilla cakes batter, really makes a difference.

So for the cake first the butter is melted and poured in the pan. It is then topped with brown sugar and pineapple slices. Typically the center of the pineapple rings is filled with maraschino cherries. You can either place one pineapple slice in the center and remaining on the sides or do what I did. I placed one ring in the center and then cut the pineapple slices into two. I then arranged the cut slices in a fan like manner, placing cherries in between each slice.

I first made the cake better and then prepared the pan with pineapples and cherries. So once the pan is prepared, pour the cake batter on top of the pineapple slices, taking care not to dislodge the cherries. As the cake bakes, the butter-sugar sauce bubbles up on the sides and creates a delicious buttery glaze all around.

Once the cake is baked, let it cool for around 30 minutes and then invert the cake directly on the serving plate or on your cake stand. There’s a lot of butter on the bottom of the pan because of the topping so when you invert the pan, the cakes slides away just like that.

This is the perfect spring time cake – fruity, delicious and so cheery. Looking at this cake makes me happy and well eating it makes me super happy! In my opinion, this cake should be eaten as soon as it’s out from the oven. It tastes the best when it’s warm and it’s so flavorful that you don’t even need any whipped cream on top, at least I didn’t.

Serve this cake warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on side – Heaven!

Method

Make the cake batter

In a bowl sift together all purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients: egg, buttermilk, vanilla, pineapple juice and oil. Add the dry ingredients into the wet in 3 parts. Whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.

Make the topping

Melt butter in the microwave and pour into a 9X2 round cake pan. Sprinkle brown sugar uniformly over the butter. Place 1 pineapple ring in the middle of the pan and place the cut slices all around in a fan shape. Arrange cherries between the pineapple slices [see pictures]. Carefully pour the cake batter on top taking care not to dislodge the cherries.

Place the pan on a cookie sheet [because some oil might ooze out and create a mess in the oven] and bake at 350 F degrees for around 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Take out the cake from the oven when done and let it cool for around 30-40 minutes. Flip over the cake directly onto your serving plate.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

* You can skip using cherries if you want to. But they look so striking and add a wonderful flavor so I would highly recommend using them.

* I used buttermilk in this recipe and that along with oil made this cake super moist, you can replace buttermilk with milk but the cake will be much softer if you use buttermilk.

* Traditionally this cake is made using canned pineapples but you can very well use fresh pineapples.

* If you don’t have buttermilk at home, you can make it easily at home. Take 1 cup measuring bowl, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice/vinegar to it. Add milk till the cup is full. Let is sit for 5 minutes till you see little curdling. That’s it your buttermilk is ready to use in the recipe.