Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is my first attempt at baking pineapple upside down cake. I saw the recipe on Nigella’s website last night and I thought I’d give it a go. It was a fairly easy cake to make although at some point, I must admit I was anxious to flip it onto the serving plate. What if the cake got stuck to the tin?? But surprise surprise! The inverting process went well and the cake was easily released with no sticking whatsoever – no fuss, no bother and no dialing 911!

I was extremely pleased with the end result. =)


This is the original recipe from Nigella.

Serving Size: Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

Butter for greasing
2 x 15ml tablespoons sugar
6 slices pineapple from a 425g can, plus 3 x 15ml tablespoons of the juice
11 glacé cherries, approx. 75g total weight
100g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g soft butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs


METHOD

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Butter a tarte Tatin tin (24cm wide at the top and 20cm diameter at the bottom) or use a 23cm cake tin (neither loose-bottomed nor springform).
2.Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the buttered base, and then arrange the pineapple slices to make a circular pattern.
3.Fill each pineapple ring with a glacé cherry.
4.Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, butter, caster sugar and eggs into a food processor and run the motor until the batter is smooth. Then pour in the 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice to thin the batter a little.
5.Pour this mixture carefully over the cherry-studded pineapple rings; it will only just cover it, so spread it out gently.
6.Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
7.Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then ease a sharp knife around the edge of the tin, place a serving dish on top and, with one deft – ha! – move, turn it upside-down.

Arranging the pineapple rings and cherries

Cake batter covering the pineapples and cherries

*Take a bite*

Mmmmm... The juicy and sticky pineapple gives way to an incredibly buttery, tender crumb.

If you like pineapples, this upside down cake should definitely go on your to-do list!

Happy weekend everyone! And remember... life is short... E.A.T!