Tropical Pineapple upside down cake

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Is this a cake, or is it a dessert? Either way, it is a real favourite in this household, but it is not made regularly enough.

I always have a couple of tins of pineapple in juice in my stock cupboard, just in case.

The men in the family love it smothered with custard, which is probably why we don’t have it that often.

The cake is

• Moist
• Sweet
• Fruity
• Delicious
• Moreish

This cake has a top layer loaded with pineapple and cherries, with a sweet, syrupy sauce from the butter, and muscadavo sugar. The sponge beneath is moist and delicious with tropical flavours.

Adding a few different flavours creates a beautiful and warming Autumnal dessert.

The tropical flavours come from the addition of muscadavo sugar, coconut, ginger, and rum.

Ingredients required

Dairy-free butter

I prefer the block dairy-free butter for this one as it has a richer taste. I use Flora or Naturli. If you don’t have any of these to hand, then soft butter will be fine.

Muscadavo Sugar

For this recipe, use either light or dark muscadavo sugar or light or dark soft brown sugar. Avoid using white sugar. Brown sugar helps create a rich caramelised topping for upside-down cake. Adding it to a sponge makes for a much moister cake.

Dark rum, rum extract or pineapple juice

The rum is optional, and you could use just the reserved pineapple juice or rum and extract. The choice is yours.

Maraschino cherries/ glace cherries

I’m not sure why the preference is to use maraschino cherries in most recipes. It was always made with glacé cherries when I was younger, so I will stick with them.

The spices

These include warming ginger, nutmeg, and mixed spice

Desiccated coconut

Coconut pairs well with pineapple, and it is perfect for a tropical cake. It adds flavour and moisture.

Milk and lemon juice

A reaction forms when you add an acid to milk. It curdles to create vegan buttermilk. This helps to add more moisture to a cake and also gives the sponge a rise.

Vegetable oil

Butter will solidify when cold, unlike oil, which doesn’t, so by using oil, you are adding even more moisture into the cake.

Stem Ginger (optional)

You can use stem ginger or crystallised ginger (candied ginger). It depends on how much you like ginger. If using, chop it finely and mix it well. Nobody wants to find a big lump of ginger in their cake.

Tropical pineapple upside-down cake

Tropical Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Author: Karran Minchinton Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:English Courses:Dessert

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 40 minutesRest time: 40 minutesTotal time:1 hour 50 minutesCooking Temp:100 CServings:4 servings Best Season:Available

Description

A delicious, moist and fruity sponge cake

Ingredients

The Topping

• 85 g of dairy-free butter, melted
• 130 g of light muscadavo sugar or dark brown sugar if preferred
• 1 tbsp of dark rum *(see notes)
• 10 12 canned pineapple rings in juice
• 12-14 glace cherries

The sponge

• 275 g of gluten-free plain flour
• 225 g Light muscadavo sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp of mixed spice
• 1/8 tsp of nutmeg
• 40 g of dessicated coconut
• 225 ml of dairy-free milk
• 1 1/4 tbsp of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• 25 ml of dark rum
• 50 ml of the reserved pineapple juice
• 100 ml of vegetable oil
• 1 ball of stem ginger, very finely chopped *( see notes)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 175 °C and spray a deep 9-inch round baking pan
2. Melt the butter and pour it into the bottom of your pan, spreading it around. Next, sprinkle the sugar into the butter and add the rum, if using it. Mix these ingredients.
3. Drain your can of pineapple rings, reserving the juice. Place the rings on top of the butter mixture. Pack the pineapple in tightly. If you have any left over, then place them around the side of the tin. Next, place your maraschino cherries inside and around the pineapple ring (see notes). Set aside while you prepare the sponge.
4. To a large bowl, add the flour, muscadavo sugar, spices, salt, baking powder and mix. Add the milk, oil, rum and vinegar and combine thoroughly. Next, add the very finely chopped stem ginger and pour over the pineapple. Using the back of a spoon, level the surface.
5. Place the tin in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 30 minutes. This cake browns very quickly before it is fully cooked, so cover it loosely with foil and return it to the oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove the cake from the oven, then remove the foil. Insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, then your cake is fully cooked ( do not insert it all the way through). Place the cake to one side to cool for 15 minutes, and then invert it onto a plate or a lined tray and slowly remove the tin. If the toothpick comes out sticky, place the cake back into the oven for another 5 minutes.
7. All there is to do now is enjoy this delicious dessert with ice cream or custard; you will not be disappointed.

*Notes *

• 1. If you do not want to use alcohol, you can use the same amount of reserved pineapple juice. I bought myself rum extract and used it in the second cake I baked. If you are using extract, add 2 tsp to 75 ml of the pineapple juice.
• 2. You can replace the stem ginger with crystallised ginger. Either adds an extra hit of warming ginger.

Keywords:upside down pineapple cake, Vegan dessert, Gluten-free dessert, Vegan cake, Gluten free cake, Vegan upside down pineapple cake, Vegan tropical pineapple cake

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