Photo: Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 ripe medium pineapple, peeled, cored, eyes removed and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds (about 4 or 5 slices)
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 14 pecan halves
- 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 4 fresh cherries, halved and pits removed
Directions
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet, over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium high and cook until the sugar mixture is bubbly, about 2 minutes. Arrange pineapple slices in the skillet in a pleasing pattern and continue to cook for 2 minutes, or until the sugar mixture turns an amber color. Turn the pineapple slices over and remove the pan from the heat. (The mixture will continue to cook even though the heat is off.) Arrange the pecan halves in the spaces between the rings. Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Stir together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the remaining 1/2 cup butter and the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 3 batches, mixing at low speed after each addition until just combined. Stir in the vanilla and rum.
Spoon the batter evenly over the pineapple slices in the skillet. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool the cake in the skillet on a wire rack for 4 minutes only. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and, wearing oven mitts and working quickly, invert the cake onto a cake plate, keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together. Carefully lift the skillet off cake and replace any fruit stuck to the bottom of the skillet, if necessary. Arrange the fresh cherry halves, cut side down, into the top of the cake, in the center of the pineapple rings.
Serve cake warm or at room temperature.
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By Chef #386447
lakewood, CO
on April 04, 2013
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This upside down cake is wonderful. I didn't have rum, and made my own buttermilk, and cake flour ... flour with some cornstarch. DID use fresh pineapple, but it had been cut in chunks for Easter brunch. It was just FINE that it wasn't in circle shape. Yummo ! Emeril's recipes are always super.
By dduggins
on March 24, 2013
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This is easily the best Pineapple Upside-Down cake I've ever had. I've now made this recipe about 10-15 times over the last few years and always get rave reviews from my guests. Like several of the reviewers, I find that I typically choose canned pineapple rings, but have used fresh.. In reality, my partner and I couldn't really taste the difference. This recipe transfers well to a 9" round glass cake pan, if you for some reason can't use cast iron. Just cook the butter/sugar/pineapple on the stovetop in a heavy straight-sided sauté pan and transfer the ingredients your buttered glass cake dish, then follow the directions as usual. I prefer to lay down a buttered parchment round on the buttered glass for easier removal.
By texasroseluvs2cook
on March 21, 2013
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It is a really good cake...I too substitued some things as I did not have like butter ,so I used a cup of milk with a tsp of lemon juice in it..stir and left sit for a few minutes and you have buttermilk...I also did not have ,so I used one and a half teaspoons of rum extract.I used 2 cups of All Purpouse flour (no cake flour, and I was looking at a way to use the rest of large can of crushed pineappleI opened last night to get a 1/4c out for a dip I made...so I drained the pineapple in a large strainer and it worked great...It's still the same cake I think..lol..and it came out really delicious anyway! Even better when cool...
Read all 111 reviews