Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

A cake where pineapple slices caramelize at the bottom of the pan in a butter and brown sugar mixture. The crumb is dense, moist, and soaks up the fruit juices right out of the oven.

• Prep time: 20 min
• Cook time: 45 min
• Difficulty: Easy
• Calories: 614
• Protein: 7 g
• Carbs: 93 g
• Fat: 23 g

Ingredients

• 0.7 piece Ananas comosus (L.) Merril ( peeled and sliced )
• 100 g Minimum butter sweet ( softened )
• 66.7 g Brown sugar
• 100 g White sugar
• 1.3 piece Egg ( whole )
• 133.3 g Wheat flour ( sifted )
• 0.7 tsp Baking powder
• 66.7 ml Whole milk
• 0.7 tsp Vanilla extract
• 0.7 pinch Fleur de sel
• 4 piece Glacé cherries ( drained )

Instructions

1. Prepare the caramelized base

   Melt 50g of butter directly in the pan or in a saucepan. Coat the bottom of the pan with the melted butter then sprinkle the brown sugar evenly. The mixture should form a thick film.

2. Arrange the fruit

   Place the pineapple slices flat on the brown sugar. They should not overlap to ensure even caramelization. Place a glacé cherry in the center of each slice.

3. Make the cake batter

   In a mixing bowl, cream the remaining softened butter with the white sugar. Incorporate eggs one by one, then add flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Loosen the batter with milk and vanilla extract until it forms a smooth ribbon.

4. Baking

   Cover the fruit with the batter, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake at 180°C. The cake is ready when a knife blade comes out dry and the edges begin to pull away from the pan.

5. Hot unmolding

   Let rest for only 5 minutes. Run a blade around the edge and flip quickly onto a serving plate. If you wait too long, the caramel sets and the fruit sticks to the bottom.

Chef's tips

• Do not use overly ripe fresh pineapple, as it will release too much juice and make the batter soggy.
• Unmolding must happen while the caramel is still liquid, otherwise the cake will stay stuck to the pan.

Storage

Keeps for 48h at room temperature under a cake dome. Do not refrigerate, as it hardens the butter.