Pineapple upside-down cake is a lot like a tropical version of Tart Tatin, a classic French upside-down apple tart. The French have such a delightful story of how their classic tart came to be that I needed to find out the orgins of this tropical gem.
A little food history sleuthing and I found out that in 1925 The Hawaiian Pineapple Company, later known as Dole, placed ads in womens magazines asking for inventive recipes using canned pineapple. Apparently there were more than 2,500 recipes submitted that were all versions of what we would today call pineapple upside-down cake.
Dole then used the recipe for a popular ad campaign, which helped secure the popularity of this cake and canned pineapple in general.
I am not sure why the maraschino cherry was added to the cake. I omit it in my version, but if you REALLY want to go retro with the look of you cake, by all means add a single cherry in the center of each pineapple ring.
This cake really is simple and enjoyable to make with the kids. I like to serve my slice of cake with a scoop of coconut ice cream, just a perfect compliment to this cake. The non-coconut loving people in my family prefer a scoop of vanilla. They don’t know what they are missing!
Printer-friendly recipe here.
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
2 1/2 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter 1 can pineapple rings (drained) 1 can crushed pineapple (drained) 1 cup brown sugar 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup sour creamPreheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare an 8-by-12-inch rectangular pan. (This is what I use, please feel free to use what you have available.) In a separate bowl add flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour into the baking pan. Sprinkle 1 cup of brown sugar over butter. Place drained pineapple rings on top of melted sugar, pour drained crushed pineapple over rings, smoothing out over entire pan. Set aside.
In a bowl using an electric mixer, beat 2 sticks of butter and the 2 cups of white sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to incorporate each egg before adding the next. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to assure that all ingredients are mixed. Add vanilla. With mixer on low add half of the dry ingredients, mix and then add sour cream. Add remaining flour.
Spread batter evenly over the pineapple.
Bake until golden brown and tester comes out clean; should be about 60 minutes-ish, depending on your pan size, oven, etc.
Allow the cake to cool. Taking your knife, clean the edges along the pan, loosing the cake from the sides. Invert cake onto a serving plate. Serve your beautiful creation warm with a scoop of coconut ice cream, a true delight!
Enjoy!
Andrea Charroin was a trained baker and pastry chef in San Francisco before she and her family moved to Redding 10 years ago. After falling in love with Redding’s downtown, Andrea and husband Westley opened a little pastry shop, Rene-Joule Patisserie, across from the Cascade Theatre. For the three years Rene-Joule was in business, it was renowned for making everything from scratch, using the best ingredients and keeping with a seasonal menu. To this day, Andrea is asked about her Marathon Bars, Orange Twists and sourdough bread.
Copyright 2009 Andrea R. Charroin. Visit her blog at bakerslove.typepad.com
