pineapple upside-down cake
- 450g pineapple, cored and thinly sliced lengthways
- 1½ cups (375ml) water
- 1¾ cups (385g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 190g unsalted butter, chopped and softened
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups (300g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder, sifted
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
- ½ cup (60g) almond meal (ground almonds)
- 1 cup (250ml) buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the pineapple, water and ½ cup (110g) sugar in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the pineapple and set aside.
- Line the sides of a lightly greased 22cm-round cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Layer the pineapple over the base and pour over half the syrup.
- Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for 8–10 minutes until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarb, almond meal and buttermilk. Beat on low speed until just combined.
- Spoon the mixture over the pineapple and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour. Cover loosely with aluminium foil. Bake for a further 15–20 minutes or until cooked. Set aside in the tin for 10 minutes. Serve with syrup. Serves 8–10.
+ Make sure to put your cake tin on a baking tray when baking to catch any drips from the pineapple.
Gabriella Mesiti
This recipe worked really well. I used a spring-form tin, as it was all I had, and I knew that the syrup would seep through the tin. But as per the recipe I put a baking tray underneath the spring-form tin and all was well. I slightly over-did the syrup in step 1, so I didn’t have any extra to serve with the cake, but it didn’t matter. So delicious! And so perfect for Summer.
© DONNA HAY GROUP
