Adapted from a recipe by Jill Dupleix, fruity and light, it solved two problems for me; what to do with the remainder of the pineapple and finally getting to taste the darn thing. Cooking the pineapple mellows it out; I love pineapple, but my stomach is on a different opinion. It was a simple cake to make and the crumb turned out superb! After all, it is the crumb that determines how good a cake is and not how it is decorated. Olivia enjoyed the cake part and I was happy to take on the pineapple topping. Nothing is wasted at this house. As the saying goes “jó takarmány hasznosítók vagyunk” [we utilize feed well].
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
1/2 small ripe pineapple (about 350g), peeled
1/2 cup + 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cup less 1/8 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• Preheat the oven to 170C.
• Line the bottom of a spring form cake pan with parchment paper. Cut the paper about 1 inch larger than the bottom and cut into the circle about an inch. This way the paper will fit the pan and create a seal around the edge of the pan. Butter the side of the pan well.
• Cut the pineapple into 2 wedges, remove the core and thinly slice.
• Heat 3 Tbsp of the butter and 2 Tbsp sugar in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the pineapple slivers and cook a couple of minutes turning and shifting the slices until lightly cooked.
• Arrange the pineapple slices on the base of the lined cake pan, overlapping the slices so there aren’t any gaps.
• Beat the remaining butter and remaining sugar with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until fluffy and almost white.
• Beat in the eggs, one by one, then the lemon juice and vanilla extract.
• Add the flour and coconut and combine well using the electric mixer on the lowest setting.
• Spoon the batter over the pineapple in the cake pan.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out and allow cake to cool completely.
• Cut into wedges and serve.
