In our cooking posts we love to show you what to do with your leftovers so we can inspire you to make our recipes. Today’s post was created out of necessity. We had left over pineapple bits from our Tropical Coleslaw and needed to find a recipe so it would not go to waste. Our solution was to make a pineapple bit upside down cake.
The men in our family are not huge fans of pineapple so it has been a long while since we’ve made a pineapple upside down cake. I remember making it for the first time in food science back in grade 8 and coming home excited to tell my mom about this delicious cake we made in school. We may have made it once together, but it has been years since we’ve made this classic cake and we did not have a go to recipe for it.
So, we turned to our family recipes and decided to use the same cake batter from our Lazy Daisy cake recipe. As you may recall the base of a lazy daisy cake is a hot milk sponge cake, a light, springy and sturdy. The cake is not overly sweet therefore making it versatile for other applications. It seemed like it would be the perfect base for the sweet topping of a pineapple upside down cake and we were right. It holds up wonderfully to the buttery caramel topping of an upside-down cake. It was fun using a family favorite for another application!
Like the Lazy Daisy cake this is one of those recipes you can whip up before company comes over to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea. Or it is a great dessert to top off a dinner, perhaps after having our Cinnamon Chicken and Tropical Coleslaw. You can use the pineapple in the coleslaw and then use it for dessert and keep the theme going.
Topping Ingredients
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup drained pineapple bits
8 maraschino cherries cut in half
It is important to remove as much excess moisture from the pineapple and cherries as possible. Therefore, our first step is always to drain the pineapple and cherries. Once drained we place the pineapple on a plate lined with a paper towel. We place another towel and plate over top to sandwich the pineapple. Repeat the process with the cherries. Let sit for at least 20 mins, replacing the paper towel if necessary.
Prepare an 8-inch pan by spraying it with cooking oil or baking spray.
Next melt the butter slowly in the microwave before adding the sugar. Pour the mixture into the pan and add the pineapple bits. We like to place the bits in the pan to ensure equal coverage. Add the cherries 4 by 4 making sure the presentation side is facing down. We arranged them so each slice would have a cherry in its centre.
Allow the topping to sit while you start to make the cake. This will solidify everything in place so the pineapple and cherries will not move when you pour the batter overtop.
To make the cake you will need:
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter
½ cup milk
Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan. Remove when the butter has melted and steam starts to rise from the milk, set aside to cool.
When measuring your dry ingredients it is important to measure the flour correctly! Use a spoon or small measuring cup to scoop the flour into your 1 cup measure before leveling the flour with a straight edge. If you use your measuring cup to scoop the flour it will pack the flour down and you will end up with more flour than the recipe calls for. This may result in a dry cake.
Once measured sift flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl.
Next beat eggs on medium speed gradually adding the sugar until it reaches the ribbon stage. The texture should be thick, almost foamy. The colour should have lightened to pale yellow and the volume will have increased to approximately three times the amount. Getting the eggs and sugar to this stage will allow your cake to rise properly.
Add the flour mixture to the batter beating gently on low speed until incorporated. Combine the vanilla extract to the milk and butter mixture before pouring the liquid into the batter, beat on slow speed.
Pour the batter gently over the topping. Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350°F oven, remove when a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
Cool the cake for 5 minutes then run a butter knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan paying close attention to the corners. Place your serving plate on top and quickly invert. The pan will be hot so you will need to use oven mitts. Gently remove the pan.
We have made this recipe a few times and have not had a problem with the topping sticking to the bottom of the pan. If it does happen just remove the topping from the pan and place it onto the cake. You may also notice that the cherries and pineapple shift a bit in the cooking process. Don’t worry about it, it will not detract from the look of this classic cake or from the flavour. Enjoy!
Pineapple Bit Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
Topping
- ½ cup butter melted
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup drained pinapple bits
- 8 maraschino cherries drained and halved
Hot milk sponge cake
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
Instructions
Topping
- Drain pineapple and cherries. Place pineapple on a plate lined with a paper towel, cover with another piece of towel. Place a second plate on top to weigh it down. Leave for 20 mins replacing paper towel as necessary. Repeat with the halved cherries.
- Spray an 8-inch pan with cooking or baking spray.
- Melt butter in the microwave, add sugar.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and add the pineapple bits. We like to place the bits in the pan to ensure equal coverage.
- Add the cherries 4 by 4 making sure the presentation side is facing down. We arranged them so each slice would have a cherry in its centre.
- Let the topping sit until it solidifies. This will prevent the fruit from moving when you pour the cake batter over top.
Hot milk sponge cake
- In a small saucepan heat butter and milk until the butter is melted and steam starts to rise from the pot. Set aside to cool.
- Sift flour with salt and baking powder in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl beat eggs adding the sugar gradually until the mixture reaches the ribbon stage. It should increase in volume, thicken and lighten in colour.
- Add the flour mixture to the eggs and gently beat until incorporated on low speed.
- Combine the vanilla extract to the butter and milk mixture before adding it to the batter and beating it on low speed until incorporated.
- Pour the batter gently over the topping.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350°F oven, remove when a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool the cake for 5 minutes then run a butter knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan paying close attention to the corners. Place your serving plate on top and quickly invert. The pan will be hot so you will need to use oven mitts. Gently remove the pan.
