Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is a classic, but still a favourite, at the tea table or for dessert. This easy version is good for beginner bakers of all ages.
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is one of the first puddings I made at school and this version is based on that traditional recipe, with the addition of a little orange flavour. Unlike most current recipes the topping is just brown sugar and pineapple juice, rather than adding butter, so it's not as heavy as it looks, or sounds. Serve with cream or custard. We love it with cream (of course!)
What is an Upside-Down Cake?
Upside-down cakes are cooked with the topping at the bottom of the baking tin so you turn them out and serve them upside-down to get the effect. This makes the topping moist and soft rather than drier and crispier - like a crumble.
How Many Pineapple Rings Do You Need?
Basically, you need a 400g tin. If you buy regular pineapple rings you will have about 8 rings. Five fit around the baking tin, but you could try stacking them down the sides to use more. If you buy mini pineapple rings you will fit six around the base with one in the centre. Again, you could put the extra halves around the sides.
Pineapple in Juice or Syrup?
I always prefer tinned fruit in juice (even though it's often apple juice), because I try to avoid excess sugar. I think the fruit tastes better too. If you can only get fruit in syrup, drain it off and mix the sugar for the topping with some orange juice.
Is it a Pudding or a Cake?
A good question. Either or both is the answer. Mostly I'd serve this as dessert, but we do eat up the leftovers at any time of day. So I call it a cake and eat it as pudding.
HELPFUL TOOLS
Shallow (5cm) 20cm cake tin - Pushpans are leakproof and this 20cm version is 5cm deep - perfect for Pineapple Upside-Down Pudding. I have two for making 20cm cakes such as Coffee Cake
IF YOU LIKE THIS..
Why don’t you try:
Pear and Almond Cake
Apple Sponge Cake
Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding
Recipe
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 400 g tin pineapple rings in juice
- 100 g soft dark brown sugar
- 5-7 glacé cherries
For the cake:
- 125 g butter at room temperature
- 125 g caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (5ml)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 orange, zested OR
- 1 teaspoon orange extract (5ml)
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ gas mark 4/ 350°F
- Grease the tin with butter
- Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice
- Mix 1 tablespoon (15ml) juice with the brown sugar and spread over the base of the tin. Arrange the pineapple rings and cherries on top of the sugar mix
For the cake:
- Put the remaining ingredients into a processor or mixer and beat thoroughly, scraping down at least once during the process(Butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, orange extract or zest)
- Spoon the mixture carefully over the pineapple rings and smooth over, levelling the top
- Cook for 40-45 minutes until the cake surface springs back when you touch it lightly with your fingertipIf your baking tin has a loose bottom, you may need to put it on a baking sheet to avoid leakage onto the oven floor
- Cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes
- Turn out and serve, hot or cold, with custard or cream.
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