Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Monica

Hey guys! I'm really excited about this food blog  because it’s a really good opportunity for us to help each other learn to cook and bake for fellowship. Now that summer is coming to an end, I hope that we can all make what we have left of our breaks somewhat productive, even if it's just trying out a new recipe, reading a book, or learning a new skill.

This is a recipe for a cake I made for Zsarynne's birthday this past week (I was trying to appeal to her tropical fruit likings). The cake is buttery and fruity; it kind of tastes like a fruit tart pastry in cake form. It's also a nice cake to give as a gift to someone else because the cake itself looks really pretty when presented :)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

(Difficulty Medium)

Makes one 9 inch cake, Total Time spent: ~1.5 hours

Ingredients:

Topping:

• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) (55 grams) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

• 3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar

• 1 can sliced pineapples (reserve the juice)

Cake Batter:

• 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs (at room temperature), separate the whites and yolks

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk (I used half milk, half pineapple juice)

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

2. Spray oil or butter a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan with three inch (7.5 cm) sides. (Don't use a spring form cake pan because the caramel will leak out the bottom of the pan, use a regular cake pan)

3. Topping: Place butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking, without stirring, until bubbles just start to appear around the outside edges (the sugar starts to caramelize). Remove from heat and pour into the oiled cake pan. Arrange pineapple slices on top of the sugar mixture.





4. Cake Batter: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. In a second bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in vanilla extract, than add egg yolks in one at a time, beating after each addition.
7. Add the flour mixture little by little, alternately with the milk.
8. In a third bowl, beat egg whites until whites hold a firm peak. To help the egg whites get light and fluffy, you can add a 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar or vinegar to it (the chemical reaction helps it fluff up). Make sure your bowl has no trace of oil left it in or else the whites will have a hard time fluffing up.
9. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites into the cake batter with a spatula in two additions. Be very gentle! We want to minimize how much we deflate the egg whites.
10. Pour batter into the cake pan over the pineapples/sugar mixture and smooth the top.

11. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 - 55 min. until the cake has browned (a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake will come out clean).

12. Remove from oven and let it cool for about 10 min.
13. (This is the fun part) Run a knife around the edge of the pan and flip the cake upside down (hence the name of the cake) onto a serving plate. 
14. Voila! Cake is ready to share and eat :)