This is one of my all time favorite cakes. Mom made this often, when my sisters and I were in school. The sweet aroma of baked pineapple filling the air as we walked in the front door, and the caramelized syrup trickling down the sides of the warm cake, divine! You must bake this cake to really experience that feeling, yum!
For the cake I used: Makes 1 round 8 inch cake
1 1/2 cups/195 grams all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup/110 grams/ 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup/200 grams granulated white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup/120 ml milk
Syrup and topping
¼ cup/ 50 grams / ½ stick unsalted butter
½ cup/150 grams light brown sugar
1 can pineapple slices or 12 slices of fresh pineapple
1 can Maraschino cherries
Getting the syrup ready:
In a small saucepan, add butter and let it melt on low heat. Toss in the brown sugar and stir it until it dissolves and begins to bubble. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, or turn it off and warm it just before use.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside. Cream the sugar, vanilla and butter, until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well until frothy. Gently fold the flour into this mixture and fold in. Add milk and beat on low speed for just a minute. You may add a few tsp of pineapple juice reserve from the can, if you wish, but don’t overbeat. Gently fold it in just before you pour it into the pan.
Set the oven to 350 degree F. Grease and dust a round 9 inch cake pan with butter and flour. Arrange the pineapple slices all around the edges, then the center. Fill the empty spaces with spoons of caramelized syrup. Then top it with cherries as shown.
Cover this fruit base with the prepared cake batter. With steady hands, firmly pat down the pan to the counter top, to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove and let it cool. Gently, scrape the edge of the cake pan, to ensure the cake is not sticking to the sides. Put a plate on the top of the cake pan. Hold it with both hands, and quickly, in one swift move, turn it upside down, Tap the cake pan in the middle. Lift the pan to see if the cake has completed turned on the plate.
Wow, this moment, when you take out the pan, that yummy syrup, the baked pineapple and cherries, so good. I had to resist myself all day, to cut it. And when I did, in the evening, and served it with whipped cream, lovely! I think a warm cake would have tasted best. Enjoy!