When it comes to food, I’m generally a purist. I prefer a classic mac and cheese with a fabulous creamy cheddar as opposed to the countless varieties on trendy menus with numerous add-ins like artichokes, spinach and feta, or herbed truffle oil.
My Star Wars/Lego cake – all the bling but without the zing 😦
With cakes I am the same way. Nothing like a luscious chocolate cake with a rich chocolate ganache topped with some fresh sliced strawberries to brighten my day. But somehow, I lost my way from the simple path. It hit me while I was removing the hardened candy melts out of the Lego molds and sticking on (inedible!) Darth Vader heads on my son’s birthday cake. Where were the all natural ingredients and simple garnishes? What I had before me was some flashy frosted thing that was admittedly pretty fun, but somehow fell flat.
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for trying new foods and cuisines and experimenting with new flavor profiles and combinations. But sometimes it isn’t about adding all the new bells and whistles, but instead just keeping it simple and celebrating each ingredient. One of my favorite cakes is a pineapple upside down cake. You won’t find it on the dessert menu of the hottest new restaurant in town, but it never fails to please. Enjoy it warm after taking it out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or take it to almost any occasion (barbecue, potluck, baby shower) for an elegant and delicious dessert. I have tried many pineapple upside down cake recipes, but this is seriously the best one since it has a thin layer of cake providing the optimum topping to cake ratio. Hope you love this as much as I do!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 50g softened butter
- 50g light soft brown sugar
- 7 pineapple rings in light syrup, drained with 2 tablespoon syrup reserved
- fresh pitted cherries (can use frozen cherries too if not in season)
For the cake:
- 100g softened butter
- 100g sugar
- 100g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon reserved
- 2 eggs
Note: You really need to get a scale for this recipe to ensure perfect and consistent results, but you can also try and use conversions from here.
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. For the topping, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Spread over the base and a quarter of the way up the sides of a 9inch/20-21cm round cake tin. Arrange pineapple rings on top, then place cherries around the rings.
- Place the cake ingredients in a bowl and, using an electric whisk or mixer, beat to a soft consistency. Spoon into the tin on top of the pineapple and smooth it out so it’s level. Bake for 35 mins. Leave to stand for 5 mins, then turn out onto a serving plate. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.
Pantry Diva 