Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
A buttery vanilla cake topped with glossy caramelised pineapple rings and red glacé cherries. Baked in one round tin and turned out while warm, it makes 10 generous snack slices. Batch yield: One 23 cm round cake, cut into 10 slices; approximately 1.2 kg after baking and cooling.. One serving: 1 slice, approximately 120 g after baking and moisture loss. Allow approximately 2 hours 50 minutes overall. Prep time means all non-oven elapsed time: 45 minutes for butter softening, 30 minutes of hands-on preparation, turning out and slicing, and 50 minutes of passive cooling. Preheating overlaps preparation and is not counted again. Cooling consists of 10 minutes in the tin and at least 40 minutes after turning out; allow longer if the cake is still warm. Cook time is one approximately 45-minute oven batch. No chilling or frosting is required. Appliances: Oven; Hob; Electric hand mixer. Equipment: 23 cm round fixed-base cake tin, at least 5 cm deep; Baking parchment; Kitchen scales; Measuring jug; Kitchen paper; Small saucepan; Mixing bowls; Whisk; Silicone spatula; Knife and chopping board; Skewer; Wire cooling rack; Blunt knife; Oven gloves; Heatproof serving plate. Allergens: Contains wheat flour, butter, milk, sour cream and eggs. Glacé cherries may contain sulphites; check the label. Choose cherries labelled suitable for vegetarians, without carmine/cochineal or gelatin. Nutrition is estimated per one-tenth of the cake; rounded macros provide approximately 384 kcal per slice. Storage: Cool completely before covering. Keep airtight at a cool room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerate for up to 4 days from baking. In warm conditions, refrigerate once cool. Freeze individually wrapped slices in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw covered in the refrigerator overnight; the fruit topping may be slightly softer after thawing.
135 min
Prep
45 min
Cook
10
Serves
384
Calories
Macros · per serving
4g protein
54g carbs
17g fat
Ingredients
For 10 servings
- 340 g pineapple
- 60 ml Pineapple juice reserved from the can
- 60 g Red glacé cherries, suitable for vegetarians
- 5 g Unsalted butter for greasing the tin
- 60 g Unsalted butter for the topping
- 100 g Light brown soft sugar
- 115 g Unsalted butter for the cake
- 150 g Caster sugar
- 2 whole eggs Large eggs
- 225 g Plain flour
- 4 g Baking powder
- 1 g Bicarbonate of soda
- 1.5 g Fine salt
- 80 ml Whole milk
- 60 g Full-fat sour cream
- 5 ml Vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1
Allow the 115 g cake butter to soften at room temperature for about 45 minutes, until it yields readily to a finger but is not oily, ideally around 18–20°C. Let the eggs, milk and sour cream lose their refrigerator chill during this time.
- 2
Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F conventional or 160°C/320°F fan. Use the 5 g butter to grease the base and sides of a 23 cm round, fixed-base cake tin at least 5 cm deep. Line its base with a circle of baking parchment. Avoid a loose-bottomed tin, which can leak the topping.
- 3
Peel and core the pineapple, then cut 340 g into rings; reserve 60 ml pineapple juice as you cut, squeezing the trimmings if needed. Blot the rings with kitchen paper. Melt the 60 g topping butter in a small saucepan over low heat on the hob. Remove from the heat, stir in the brown sugar and spread the sandy mixture evenly over the lined tin base; the sugar does not need to dissolve.
- 4
Arrange whole pineapple rings snugly over the sugar mixture in a single layer without stacking. Finely chop any remaining pineapple for the batter. Put a cherry in each ring centre, then distribute all remaining cherries in the spaces between the rings.
- 5
Whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a bowl. In a jug, whisk together the milk, reserved pineapple juice, sour cream and vanilla.
- 6
Using an electric hand mixer, beat the softened cake butter and caster sugar for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. A slightly curdled appearance at this stage is harmless.
- 7
On low speed, mix in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half the milk mixture. Repeat, then finish with the remaining flour. Stop as soon as no dry flour remains. Fold in any chopped pineapple with a spatula. The batter should be thick, creamy and spoonable.
- 8
Spoon all the batter over the fruit in small dollops, then gently level it without shifting the rings. Bake on the middle shelf for approximately 45 minutes, checking from 40 minutes. The cake is ready when the centre springs back lightly and a skewer inserted into the cake, rather than into a pineapple ring, comes out without wet batter. Allow extra oven time if needed.
- 9
Stand the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the cake edge with a blunt knife. Place a heatproof serving plate over the tin and, wearing oven gloves, carefully invert both together. Hot syrup may escape, so keep your hands clear of the edge. Lift off the tin and peel away the parchment. Replace any fruit that has stuck to the paper.
- 10
Leave the turned-out cake uncovered for at least 40 minutes more, until completely cool before slicing or storing. Cut into 10 equal wedges.
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