Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Not-So-Weekly Recipe

There's no escaping pineapples when you're in Hawaii.  So really, I don't know why it's taken over a year for me to make a pineapple upside down cake.

Seriously.  Why didn't I do this before?

...And why don't I make this every week?




Pineapple Upside-down Cake
(adapted from Allrecipes and Smitten Kitchen)


ingredients

3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 stick of butter
Fresh Pineapple - peeled, cored, sliced (or make it easy and get a can, because you'll need the juice too)
Maraschino Cherries
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I threw in some nutmeg and allspice as well, because that's just how I roll)
1/2 cup softened butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice


directions

1.  Melt butter in a small saucepan on stove top.  Mix in sugar.  This makes the most amazing caramel EVER.  If you're anything like me, you'll want to stop right here and forget the cake.  Fight the urge to hide in a dark corner while gorging yourself on warm, buttery caramel.  Fight it!  But totally lick the spoon.
2.  Pour caramel into a greased cake pan.  Arrange pineapple slices and cherries into caramel.
3.  In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup butter until creamy.  Stir in sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Slowly stir in flour, spices, baking powder.  Pour in pineapple juice until combined.
4.  Spoon cake batter into pan, on top of caramel and fruit.  Level.
5.  Bake in preheated oven at 350* for 45 minutes.
6.  The top should become golden brown, and raise slightly above rim of pan.
7.  Remove from oven and let cool.  The cake will sink back down.  That was kind of a bummer.
8.  But serve this cake warm.

Enjoy!

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