On a recent trip to Sam’s Club, I picked up a copy of Cook’s Illustrated Summer Entertaining magazine. (Do you spend way too much time at Sam’s looking at the cookbooks and cooking magazines too?) It has lots of great summer recipes for grilling, side dishes and desserts. Of course, the section that I liked the best was the dessert section.
There’s an article in the dessert section on perfecting fruit upside-down cake with a guide on using peaches, nectarines, plums, mangos and fresh pineapple. My family loves fresh pineapple so that seemed like a perfect place to start.
Like many Cook’s recipes, this cake recipe is a little bit fussy, with several steps, but the texture and flavor of the cake is excellent. Similar in flavor and texture to a pound cake, but a little lighter and fluffier. We thought the addition of cornmeal to the batter added a weird texture to the cake and I would omit the cornmeal next time. The cake is best eaten hot. Right out of the oven this cake was, oh my gosh, but the next day it was just alright. I’m looking forward to trying it with more summer fruits.
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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
Topping
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 small pineapple quartered, peeled, cored, and cut into ⅜ inch thick slices
Cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp cornmeal I would omit next time
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 tbsp 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs separated, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup milk
Instructions
- For the topping: Grease bottom and sides of 9 x 3-inch round cake pan. Melt 4 tbsp butter in medium saucepan over medium heat; add brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is foamy and pale, 3 to 4 minutes. (Next time I would just do this step in the microwave.)
- Pour mixture into prepared cake pan; swirl pan to distribute evenly. Arrange fruit slices in concentric circles over topping; set aside.
- For the cake: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350º F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, cornmeal (I would omit next time), and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.
- Cream butter in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed. Gradually add 1 cup sugar; continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in yolks and vanilla (scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary); reduce speed to low and add dry mixture and milk, alternately in three or four batches, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, until batter is just smooth.
- Beat egg whites in large bowl at low speed until frothy. Increase speed to medium-high; beat to soft peaks. Gradually add 2 tbsp sugar; continue to beat to stiff peaks.
- Fold one-quarter of beaten egg whites into batter with large rubber spatula to lighten. Fold in remaining whites until no white streaks remain.
- Gently pour batter into pan and spread evenly on top of fruit, being careful not to disperse fruit. Bake until top is golden and toothpick inserted into cake center (but not into fruit, which remains gooey) comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes.
- Rest cake on rack for 2 minutes. Slide a paring knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Place a serving platter over the pan and hold tightly. Invert the cake onto the platter. Carefully remove the cake pan. If any fruit sticks to the pan bottom, remove and position on top of cake.
grace
I love the way it came out. It looks absolutely lovely!
Cookin' Canuck
This looks like a classic recipe done very well. I love the look of the caramel seeping into the cake.
Barbara
This has always been one of my favorite cakes, Barbara. You did a marvelous job with it. I LOVE that caramelly top. (Which I end up eating first!)
I imagine most of us need a good sorting out in our cookbook and magazine piles!
Debbie
The cake looks delicious and I spend much too much time reading food mags and cookbooks, let alone blogging!!!!
Lori
And how! I spend way too much on cookbooks, magazines and the like. Some of those magazines might as well be books.
Chef Dennis
I spend way too much time anywhere that has food magazines or cookbooks..lol…I have been thinking about making a pineapple upside down cake….yours looks so very very good!
lisaiscooking
The texture of the cake looks so great! I've never made a pineapple upside down cake, so I need to try it. And, yes, I have a membership at Costco, and I really have to be careful around the book tables. 😉
Rosa's Yummy Yums
I've been eating that cake since an early age and I adore it! Yours looks scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Nutmeg Nanny
I love pineapple upside down cake! My favorite was the one they served in my high school cafeteria. I know that sounds odd but they made killer desserts 🙂
Marcellina
Beautiful! Thanks for reminding me! Pineapple upside down cake was one of the first cakes we made in high school Home Economics class. I don't have cornmeal in my recipe either!
Megan
This looks great! I bet the fresh pineapple made it that much better. Stumbled!
Lynda
This cake looks amazing, but I'm not sure I'd like the cornmeal either. But the fresh pineapple on this cake looks yummy!
I love to browse cookbooks and cooking magazines in the stores-my husband always knows where to find me. 🙂
Mary
Oh, yum! This is my Father-in-law's favorite dessert! This has been bookmarked!!
xxMK
Delightful Bitefuls
Mamatkamal
This is one of my favourite cakes Barbara. Lovely cake!
Khadija
sweetlife
i love upside down cakes..so lovely..I can never leave sam's w/out a new cookbook
sweetlife
Cristie
Well, this looks completely wonderful! My family would fall all over this with the fresh pineapple and homemade cake. The cornmeal does sound interesting . . .
elra
Perfect classic cake. Looks very scrumptious.
Kathleen
This is one of my all time fav's. I love how you state that cook's recipes can be a bit fussy. LOL! So true!
Trish
scrumptious and this is a classic! Thanks for the reminder to go back to some real basic and terrific recipes.
Sue Sparks
I am realizing that there are a lot of classic desserts that I haven't made… I need to get on the ball! Your cake looks so delicious and moist, and I'll take your word for it and eat it right out of the oven when I try it:)