How To Make Pineapple Upside-down Cake

You’ve likely seen Pineapple Upside-down Cake recipes floating around on the internet, but unless you’re experienced in the art of baking, chances are you’ve never dared to try it out for yourself.

People who have been lucky enough to try pineapple upside down cake will often have sweet memories of when they first tasted it. For many, their first tasting would have been during a past stay at a luxurious all-inclusive Caribbean resort, where such delicacies are always available in abundance.

For the purposes of this article, Kirk Sanguinette, Executive Pastry Chef at all-inclusive family resort Beaches Negril shared some secrets on whipping up the tastiest Pineapple Upside-down Cake, and all you’ll need to do is round up all the ingredients to begin!

Though the result is intricate, artsy and super delicious, even amateur bakers can learn to master this Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe in no time!

Pineapple Upside-down Cake recipe

What you need for one 9-inch cake (serves 8):

Topping

Nonstick cooking spray
5 teaspoons unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar
8 rings canned sliced pineapple
8 maraschino cherries

Cake Batter

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
6 ounces unsalted Butter
3 eggs
½ cup pineapple juice
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare the Topping: Spray a 9-inch round cake pan (a spring-form pan is best) with cooking spray and line the bottom and sides with grease paper.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour into the bottom of the cake pan and tilt to coat the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the melted butter.
4. Place one pineapple slice in the middle and arrange remaining pineapple slices around the edge of the pan and place a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring. Set aside.
5. Prepare the Cake Batter: In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine evenly.
6. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and granulated sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until incorporated before adding the next egg. Reduce speed to low once the last egg is incorporated. Add flour, baking powder and salt mixture, and beat just until incorporated. Add pineapple juice and vanilla, and continue to mix at low speed until smooth.
7. Using an offset spatula, carefully spread the batter over the topping in the prepared cake pan, being careful not to move the pineapple slices or cherries (it is easiest to pour into the center and spread out to the edges).
8. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 15 minutes, then turn out of the pan by placing a serving dish over the top of the cake pan and inverting them together. Peel off the grease paper and serve slightly warm.
   
   
   

The origins of the Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Pineapple Upside-down Cake is a staple at Beaches all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. The cake has interesting beginnings, which have a lot to do with exploration, and a love of pineapple!

Pineapple Upside-down cake goes back to the method of cake making used centuries ago – cakes were cooked in cast iron skillets over an open fire. This method made it easy to add sugar and fruit to the base of the skillet, after which bakers could effortlessly pour batter over the mixture. Once the cake was ready, it would be flipped onto a serving platter, revealing the sweet, caramelized fruit underneath.

Over the years a spider was used, which was essentially a cast iron skillet with legs. The home oven got more common after that, and that was the point where people started taking advantage of the neat flat-bottomed cast-iron skillet to make these cakes. The Pineapple Upside-down cake is one of many different styles of cakes made using this method, and all of them are tasty, adventurous, and visually appealing!

Make your own Pineapple Upside-down Cake or enjoy it all-inclusive style!

Nowadays the lure of making your own Pineapple Upside-down Cake is that the method of preparation is much simpler than it was back in the olden days. Even with that said, making your own requires focus and commitment and setting aside some time to ensure you get everything right. If you’re not quite ready to put on your bakers’ hat, you can enjoy Pineapple Upside-down Cake and a world of other desserts during a Caribbean vacation at Beaches, a family-friendly resort chain with two properties in Jamaica (Beaches Negril and Beaches Ocho Rios) and one in the Turks & Caicos (Beaches Turks & Caicos). Aside from enjoying delicious Pineapple Upside-down Cake, you’ll be able to enjoy cuisine from around the world, made with locally grown ingredients, and there’s no better way to make the most of a tropical Caribbean vacation than that!