Last one I did was a mess. Did it in a cast iron pan with cardamom (via a chef John vid)… hated the cardamom, and the texture was more like cornbread than cake.
Got a fresh, ripe pineapple I need to process. Much of it will go in the freezer for breakfast smoothies, but want to use some of it for a cake (in a cake pan as opposed to cast iron).
What is your fav recipe/method for this pup?
I’ve been using this recipe for many years. It’s delicious.
I bake it in a cake pan, not a cast iron skillet.
Thanks! Don’t have the pineapple juice… so how 'bout just throwing some pineapple in the vitamix with a bit of water and nuk’ing it?
It sounds like that would work. You’d need to strain it.
Why?
The pineapple juice in cans doesn’t include pulp.
I get it, but make pineapple smoothies in the VM all the time and the pulp is almost non-discernible. Any reason this would affect the baking of the cake (or maybe even make it better)?
I haven’t used puréed pineapple, so I don’t know if it would work differently.
I’ll give it a try this weekend and report back. Not that I am so lazy as to avoid cleaning a strainer, but am just curious. I mean big apple chunks make for an amazing apple cake, so maybe I won’t even blend the pineapple too fine.
It isn’t upside down cake, but pineapple dump cake made with shredded pineapple is pretty yummy. You can use canned crushed pineapple as a sub.
Sorry for the delay… this turned out pretty well. I sub’d bourbon for rum (not a big fan of rum), and fresh pineapple with a splash of water (Vitamixed) for the pineapple juice, and did it in a pyrex pie plate.
Taste was good (as opposed to Chef John’s cardamom laced junk), but wasn’t all that happy with the cakiness of the cake (too heavy and dry).
Unfortunately I am not an experienced cake baker and have to admit mine often miss the mark on texture, and this was definitely the case here.
So maybe cake flour? More dairy (this recipe had none but the butter)?
When you substitute a glass pan for a metal pan you need to use a lower oven temperature. Also as glass takes longer than metal to cool you risk over-baking which may have been a/the cause of your texture problem.
A pie plate’s sides are typically shorter than those of a cast iron skillet or a cake pan. It’s possible that your cake didn’t have enough room to rise.
I wouldn’t use cake flour in an upside down cake. It could result in a cake that is too tender to support the topping. Upside down cakes are typically denser than layer cakes in order to support the topping.
As you don’t bake cakes often, did you proof your baking powder? To make sure it’s active you mix some with warm water. If it fizzes it’s working. If it doesn’t fizz, throw it out and buy a new container. I write the date I opened my baking powder with a Sharpie on the container. I bake pretty much daily so mine is always active, but if yours is more than six months old throw it out and buy a new container.
