Monday 25 August 2014

Pineapple Upside Down Cake



If you’re a caker, you know how important canned pineapple rings are to our clan. They’re just so versatile. Encase them in JELL-O to serve alongside the ham and mashed padaydas. Or make Christmas candles with them. Or use them to create phallic-looking food. You can even shellac them to wear as bracelets, provided you have freakishly small wrists. (Hand up! LOL!)

I was reluctant to make this Pineapple Upside Down Cake because whenever I have to turn something upside down to get it out of the pan, I panic. Trust me, you don’t want to hear the commotion whenever I release a JELL-O mould. It’s like I’m giving birth. “IS IT OUT YET?!? HOW DID I GET TALKED INTO THIS?!? OH GOD PLEASE TELL ME IT’S OUT!!!”

But I’m happy to report this cake slipped out real easy-like. And just look at this beauty! It’s more glamorous than Elizabeth Taylor in a White Diamonds perfume commercial. (Kinda makes you wonder why Liz never came out with a pineapple-scented perfume.) Looks aside, it’s also delicious. I’ve got the paunch to prove it.

Speaking of paunches, September is Reader Recipe Month! All month long, I make, eat and post your recipes. If you haven’t submitted a recipe yet, you’ve got until August 31. After that, you’ll miss out on all the fame and gory. I mean, glory. Email your recipes to cakercooking at gmail dot com.

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped nuts or maraschino cherries (or both, if desired) (See note 1)
Drained canned pineapple slices (See note 2)
Single layer cake mix or enough cake batter for an 8-inch square pan (See note 3)

Melt butter in cake pan and sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange fruit over sugar; mix and add nuts or cherries. Prepare cake batter. Pour the batter over fruit and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Extra good served with ice cream or whipped cream on top.

Note 1: Uh, yeah.
Note 2: My can had eight slices in it, which was annoying because I wanted nine to make three rows of three. If you’re one of those anal Martha Stewartson types, you might want to get a bigger can.
Note 3: I don’t think single layer cake mixes exist anymore. So I used a regular box mix and filled up  the pan to what I thought was the right amount. Then I drank the leftover batter.


Source: Madoc Centennial Cookbook - 1978, St. John-The-Baptist Anglican Church, Madoc, Ontario


18 comments:

  1. Classy. How about pineapple ring earrings? or ponytail holders?
    I always cut a round or square of wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan to make sure the cake comes out.
    Also turn it out of the pan IMMEDIATELY after it comes out of the oven so the caramelized goo (I know you love that) doesn't cement itself to the pan permanently.
    I made a peach upside down cake the other day that came out wonderfully. I had to make the cake from scratch because cake mixes cost like $7 here in Nepal (if you can find them). They are usually Pillsbury cake mixes labelled in Arabic, who knew the Arabs like American cake mixes?

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    1. See, my problem is that I'd forget that I put a waxed paper layer on the bottom and I'd be sitting there, eating it and wondering why the cake was so chewy.

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  2. I love this cake - another big cross-over recipe between Australia and, er, Cakers.

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    1. I think there's a lot that Australians and cakers have in common. Like our love of Vegemite. (Actually, I don't mean that. You couldn't pay me enough to taste that.)

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  3. You make me want to grab an Elmer Fudd gun and go hunting for a cookbook worthy of caker-dom. (I live in central Georgia, it shouldn't be too hard to find.)

    In that vein: I wuv you watts. Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh.

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    1. Please make sure you wear a large brown and red hat while hunting, Elmer. And don't forget to shave your head.

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  4. I always use the Velvet Crumb Cake recipe on the back of the Bisquick box. Doesn't that increase its Cakerieness?
    Jiffy still sells boxes of cake mix for one layer, but they're darn difficult to find. Not sure if they're sold up in Canadia at all, though.
    Small wrists here, too! *Waves! LOL!

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    1. I'd wave back, but I'm afraid I might break a wrist bone. LOL!

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  5. Note to self: make this using a two layer cake mix to have leftover batter for drinking.

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  6. Martha would have used a round pan to get over the awkward number dilemma - she's very resourceful under pressure after that jail time I imagine!

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    1. I hear she also makes some really good Toilet Wine, though in her case, I think it's Toilet Chardonnay.

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    2. I'll bet Martha makes hers in a bidet. "Toilet" sounds so crass.

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    3. I bet it's a Pee-not Grigio.

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  7. Ah yes, the classic pineapple upside-down cake. Always a crowd pleaser! It's almost like magic- how did he get the pineapples so perfectly arranged on the top?? Perhaps you could sometime feature a "dump" cake on the blog. Terrible name, delicious results! I have a recipe for a particularly tasty Hawaiian dump cake I can send along if you're interested

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    1. I featured a dump cake awhile back. It's a classic. But, alas, the name doesn't do it any justice. Announcing "Okay, who's up for a big dump?" won't win you any fans at the dinner table.

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  8. Years ago, I was preparing to make a pineapple upside down, and realised I was out of cherries. I asked my husband if he could run to the store, and he casually suggested it would be "OK to skip the cherries."

    I believe my son stood there in wide-eyed shock, while I started wondering if aliens had taken over my husband. "Skip the cherries?" Who does that? No one does that. Sometimes, I feel like I married a stranger.

    *Shakes head*

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    1. You're absolutely right. Skipping the cherries in a pineapple upside down cake would be like, well, skipping the pineapple in a pineapple upside down cake. Some things are grounds for divorce, in my opinion.

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