Pineapple Upside Down Cake

To start, I just wanted to remind you that I rarely follow a recipe 100%. Probably half of that percentage is because I just misread something or didn't read the directions at all until I was done. I know... such a rookie mistake. Rule 1 of following a recipe is to read the whole thing before you start cooking. I guess I just like to live on the edge.

Anyways, I had a half of a fresh pineapple left over from making BBQ chicken pizza the other day (it was really good, btw) and I dreamt of making a beautiful pineapple upside down cake with fresh pineapple. I found a recipe here. I didn't bother reading the recipe and just figured that I had everything on hand. Well, I started making it, got halfway through and realized that I didn't have pineapple juice. Or rum. Wow. It was around 10pm at that point and I didn't feel like going out. I looked in my fridge, but after consulting with my family, I found out that beef stock is not an acceptable substitution for rum and Koolaid is not interchangeable for unsweetened pineapple juice. I had to get creative. I used coconut milk instead of pineapple juice and made a pina colada cake of sorts. For the rum, I used brandy. I could have just left the alcohol out all together. I don't think it did that much to the flavor. Guess what? It turned out really well. Super moist and delicious. Oh, and I don't have a cast iron skillet. I just used a 10 inch cake pan.



Pineapple Upside Down Cake

For topping:

• 1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• 2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake

Special equipment:

• a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make topping:
Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.

Make batter:
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.