Those Cakes We Like … Come From A Land Down Under

Not really, this cake is actually more American than Apple Pie (which is British).

Everything is feeling a little topsy-turvy these days. A vocal minority within the United States of America has decided there is no one more qualified to run the hen house than the fox, and a majority of the voting population decided to sit back and allow it to happen. And now America, and possibly the rest of the world, is going to feel the pain. In times like this it feels like comfort and alcohol are the order of the day, so I’m going to oblige you by presenting you with a cake that feels as bonkers as our current reality, the pineapple upside-down cake. I’ve added a twist inspired by one of Hooper’s recent cocktail recipes to this classic recipe — rum-soaked pineapple! The rum syrup makes a tasty sauce to drizzle over ice cream too.

A Little History.

The pineapple upside-down cake feels like it should be Australian, however it is actually an American creation. It is widely associated with the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, but it actually originated a little earlier than that with recipes appearing in print in the 1920s. There is some suggestion that the cake was created thanks to a competition organised by the Dole Pineapple Company, however the first recipes for this vintage cake appeared in a Seattle charity cookbook during the Roaring ‘20s under the name Pineapple Glacé. Due to pineapple being considered a luxury ingredient at the time (the avocado of the 1920s), the serving of a pineapple upside-down cake was reserved for only the most glamourous of shindigs. You can almost imagine all those robber barons and their wives and girlfriends sipping champagne, dancing the Charleston, and then nibbling on a slice of pineapple filled cake. I wonder if it will be making a comeback in the kitchens of our current set of robber barons.

The popularity of the pineapple upside-down cake remained strong, despite it losing its luxury status in the 1930s, and it remained a staple of the American housewife’s baking repertoire for the next 50 years. There are many variations of the recipe, with pineapple being swapped out for other fruits such as apples, peaches, or plums, or the addition of nuts, or maraschino cherries. Although nowhere near as popular now as it was during its heyday, this cake remains a fun and easy cake to bake, and a delicious treat that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

I will not judge you for baking this cake to the sound of ‘Down Under’ by Men At Work.

This recipe serves 6, the total carbohydrates for those needing to keep a count is 394g for the whole cake and the rum syrup, or 65.6g per slice.

To bake this recipe you will need:

Equipment

Saucepan

Wooden Spoon

Digital Kitchen Scales

Mixing Bowl and Electric Whisk, or Stand Mixer

8 inch Cake Pan

Ingredients

For the rum syrup:

100 ml Dark Rum

100 g Sugar

For the bottom/top of the cake:

50 g Softened Butter

50 g Light Soft Brown Sugar

7 Pineapple Rings, soaked in the rum syrup

7 Cherries, fresh maraschino cherries would be perfect, but glacé is fine.

For the cake:

100 g Softened Butter

100 g Sugar (superfine is best, but regular works fine)

100 g Self-Rising/Raising Flour (check January's Cakes Post for how to make your own if you can’t find it in the wild)

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

2 tbsp Rum Syrup

To thicken the rum syrup for use as a sauce:

1 tsp Corn Flour

Splash of Cold Water

The Important Bit

You’ll need to do a little bit of preparation before you get out the mixing bowls for this recipe. The first thing to do is to make your rum syrup and marinate your pineapple rings. This is pretty simple, just combine your rum and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil on a medium-low heat, then turn it down a little and simmer for a few minutes to allow the syrup to thicken. Let it cool, then add your pineapple rings, toss them around in the syrup to ensure they’re well coated, and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat your oven to 350F/180C.

In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine your butter and light brown soft sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Use this mixture to coat the bottom of your cake pan. Take your pineapple rings and cherries and place them in the bottom of the pan, each pineapple ring should have a cherry in the centre.

All ready for the cake batter.

Give your mixing bowl a quick clean and combine the cake ingredients in the bowl. Using an electric whisk on a medium-high speed, beat the ingredients together until you have a soft, smooth cake batter.

Pour your cake batter into the cake pan on top of the pineapple rings and cherries. Smooth the top of the batter using the back of a spoon and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. You can check it’s done by inserting a wooden skewer or cocktail stick into the centre, if there is batter on the stick when you withdraw it, pop the cake back into the oven for another 10 minutes.

Before, and after baking.

Loosen the cake from the cake pan using a knife, and turn the cake pan over onto a plate. The bottom of your cake is now the top, you have made an upside-down cake.

Allow it to cool before serving.

In my experience, this cake goes beautifully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the remaining rum syrup drizzled over the top.

Turn it upside-down and enjoy it with ice cream.

If you choose to use the syrup in this way you just need to reheat it in a saucepan, mix 1 tsp of corn flour with a splash of cold water and add it to the syrup. Keep stirring the syrup over a low heat and it will thicken up to the perfect sauce consistency.

All that is left is to enjoy your creation. Just be sure to let your food settle before you attempt to perform a Charleston.

I’ll see you all next month for more baking adventures. I’ll be exploring egg-free cakes for you in an effort to provide some delicious baking recipes that won’t break the bank, starting with an egg-free lemon drizzle cake.

Smaug obviously thinks I should bake banana bread.

As always, my recipes are free, but Trix always appreciates one-off donations to keep the lights on.

Or there’s always this way…

Also… Trix sells some nice aprons at the Wonkette Bazaar. I should know, I own one (other products are also available). And there’s currently a SALE!