Baking Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Popular 1930s Dessert Prepared in a Cast-Iron Skillet
Jun 10, 2009
Sweet pineapple and dried Bing cherries combine to create a delicious pineapple upside-down cake baked in a cast-iron skillet.
Made popular in the 1930s, pineapple upside-down cake has traditionally been prepared in a cast-iron skillet. Today, this fruit-infused, caramelized treat makes a great summertime dessert. This recipe features dried sweet Bing cherries for the maraschino variety and a layer of sliced fresh pineapple. Serve this cake in generous slices along with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream.
RECIPES
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Makes 1 ten-inch cake
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dried sweet Bing cherries
- 1 whole pineapple (about 3 pounds), skin removed and cored
- 1 cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 large eggs
- 8 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Vanilla Whipped Cream (recipe follows)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cherries in a small heatproof bowl. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over dried cherries and let the cherries soak for 15 minutes. Drain the cherries well and coarsely chop. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut the whole pineapple into thin slices as possible. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- Heat 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Cook the sugar until it turns a dark brown color, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter to the sugar, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Spread the caramel to evenly coat the bottom of the skillet; sprinkle with the light-brown sugar.
- Center one piece of the pineapple in the skillet. Place the pineapple slices, in an overlapping pattern, around the base of the skillet. Make a second tier of pineapple slices, completely covering the bottom tier. Place one remaining slice in the center of the skillet on top of the two fruit circles. (Make sure that there are no gaps in the pineapple circles; the top will become the bottom of the cake once it is inverted.)
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the remaining butter and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add milk and vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture; mix just until the flour is combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the cherries. Pour the batter into the skillet on top of the pineapple circles. Spread the batter evenly using a spatula.
- Place the skillet on the baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake until the cake is golden brown and when a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and pour off any excess liquid from the pan into a small bowl. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate; drizzle reserved liquid over the cake. Serve with vanilla whipped cream.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
Makes 2 Cups
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped of seeds
Directions:
- Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the vanilla bean seeds.
- Beat the cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes.
SOURCES
Dried Bing cherries
The Vermont Country Store
5650 Main Street
Manchester, VT 05225-9711
802-362-8460
Fax: 802-362-8288
Lodge 10-inch cast-iron skillet
The Kitchen Collection, Inc.
888-548-2651 (inside U.S.)
740-774-0561 (outside U.S.)
The copyright of the article Baking Pineapple Upside-Down Cake in Dessert Recipes is owned by Michael Vyskocil. Permission to republish Baking Pineapple Upside-Down Cake in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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