I got my love of cooking from my Grandma Blackstock. She put a lot of good food out of her old kitchen and I think of her often when I pull out my cast iron skillet to cook up something delicious. What I learned in her kitchen is the foundation of any cooking skill I have and I respect her for her knowledge and willingness to share it with me.
Beyond a doubt, one of the biggest treats I remember was her Pineapple Upside Down Cake. That fruity, buttery topping melted down into the spongy cake – makes my mouth water just to think of it! It seemed very exotic to me as a child with the pineapple and cherries but now I know it’s just plain good.
I use a casserole dish for this because I like the extra room to layer the cake. You can use a cake pan or an iron skillet as well. You can use a larger, shallower pan. Just add more pineapple and cherries and shorten baking time about 10 minutes.
You want to invert the cake out immediately upon taking it out of the oven or the sugar may stick to the pan and ruin the design of fruit on top.
I’ve made a few changes to Grandma Blackstock’s recipe but I think she would approve. Give it a try and see what you think.
[recipe title=”Pineapple Upside Down Cake” servings=”8″ time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter divided
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 3 pineapple rings cut in half
- 6 maraschino cherries
- ½ cup each chopped coconut & walnuts
- 1 ½ cups all- purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white sugar
- ¾ cups whole milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly grease the inside of a 7” or 8” round deep sided casserole dish. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt ¼ cup butter in the microwave. Whisk in brown sugar and heat again for 25-30 seconds. Whisk again and pour into prepared pan. Arrange pineapple halves on top of sugar mixture. Put cherries between pineapple halves and sprinkle coconut and walnuts on top.
In a mixing bowl, combine white sugar, remaining butter, salt, and egg. Mix slowly, adding vanilla and milk until well combined. Add flour and baking powder, mix for one minute while scraping sides of bowl. Pour batter on top of pineapples, cherries, coconut, and nuts. Place pan in oven. Bake 60-70 minutes or until a thin blade comes out of the center clean. When cake is done, remove from oven and immediately invert onto a pie plate. Allow to sit at least 10 minutes to allow sugar mixture to be absorbed into the cake before removing pan. Cool completely before covering.
Cooking Notes
You can use a larger, shallower pan. Just add more pineapple and cherries and shorten baking time about 10 minutes.
