Not only was this cake fitting for the month, as it is "National Fruit Cake Month", it was even more fitting for our family's traditional Christmas dish -- the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Weird, right?
This cake is usually the first to be finished before any others on the table. With a sprinkle of cinnamon and a splash of maple, it's almost as if Summer were taking place in December!
This year we made two for the occasion. And the way they got gobbled up, I am thinking a third may be necessary from here on out.
Pineapple Upside-down Cake
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 pound can pineapple (you can use rings or crushed)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup organic sugar
- 1/2 cup juice of pineapple can
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (heaping) teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the sides of a spring-form pan. Pour your melted butter into the bottom of the spring-form, then sprinkle the 3/4 cup brown sugar over the top of that. Drain your pineapple from the can, and reserve your juice in an extra bowl. Arrange (or if you used crushed, like I did, sprinkle) pineapple over the brown sugar. If you would like to add nuts, you would sprinkle them now over the pineapple.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs until they are light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar. Then beat in pineapple juice and maple syrup. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add your flour mixture to the wet mixture, and stir until evenly combined.
Pour over arranged pineapple topping. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Depending on the size of your spring-form, start checking on the cake at about 40 minutes.
Dress with shaved almonds and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
