Aloha! It’s that time of the week again. Are you ready for a tasty treat? I certainly hope so, because I’ve got a great one for you today, and it involves a delicious, sweet and tangy fruit. While there are several tropical fruits that grow in the Polynesian islands, the two most commonly associated with the tropical climate of these islands are the coconut and the pineapple. In previous recipes, I’ve already shared a number of dishes that contain coconut or coconut milk. My favorite was haupia. Today, however, I’ll be introducing a dish that makes use of the latter of these two fruits: the pineapple.

secretmenuholic                                                                                                   

Pineapples have a long and interesting history that goes so far as to include sailors and social customs in the Western world. Their history has even been connected, in a small degree, to include the American founding father George Washington. 

browneyedbaker

No one is sure just how long pineapples have been in Hawaii, but they’ve certainly been here a long time, and as such they’ve been incorporated into a large number of both traditional and modern foods. One such modern food is the Pineapple Upside Down Cake, the subject of today’s post.

First off, I’ve just got to say that this cake is delicious. It’s soft, and it leaves a fantastic aftertaste that will have you begging for more. You’ll need the following to make it:

4 eggs
½ cup of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 (20 oz.) can of sliced pineapple
10 maraschino cherries, halved
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

1. In a 10 inch skillet, melt the ½ cup of butter at low heat.
2. Remove melted butter and sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the pan.
3. Arrange pineapple slices to cover the bottom of the skillet.
4. Distribute cherries around pineapple (they look good in the doughnut-like hole in the pineapple slices.)
5. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
6. Separate egg yolks and egg whites into two separate bowls.
7. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add white sugar while continuing to mix.
8. Beat egg yolks, then use a metal whisk and add to the beaten egg whites and sugar.
9. Mix in tablespoon of melted butter and teaspoon of almond extract.
10. Spread batter evenly over pineapple in skillet.
11. Bake in skillet for 30 to 35 minutes at 325 degrees.

When the cake is done baking, wait about five minutes before you try flipping it over onto a serving plate. Before you flip it, try using a table knife to loosen it from the sides of he pan. Once it’s on cooled and on a plate, it’s ready to serve! It goes great with vanilla ice cream, and your friends are almost guaranteed to love it.

For the adventurous among us try this cream-cheese-filled version found at dolerecipes.dole.com

dole

Have a great day, and mahalo for reading.

Peter

Original recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/old-fashioned-pineapple-upside-down-cake/

Craving that pineapple taste but don’t have time to bake?

Check out our pineapple treats here!

Author Bio

I’m Peter. I grew up in Seattle, but have been living in Hawaii and Japan for the last 4 years.

I love traveling; I love learning about different cultures; I love food, and I love my wife.

We’re hoping to go to Korea next year, and graduate school the year after that.

My life’s the best kind of dream, the one you don’t have to wake up from.
 

Image sources

http://www.secretmenuholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Pineapple.jpg

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/pineapple-upside-down-cake.jpg

http://dolerecipe.dole.com/RecipeImages/1156/Pineapple_Cream%20Cheese%20Upside%20Down%20Cake%201000%20x%20383.jpg