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Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Pineapple Upside down cake

Some of you had asked for this recipe from my Super bowl sunday spread. I will share the recipe for the cake but before that, time for some trivia on the cake

The term 'upside down cake' wasn't used very much before the middle of the 19th century, but the style of baking probably dates back much further, probably to the Middle Ages.

The early recipes for fruit upside down cakes were made in cast iron skillets on top of the stove.
The classic American 'Pineapple Upside Down Cake' dates to sometime after 1903, when Jim Dole invented canned pineapple. The Hawaiin Pineapple Co. (now Dole Pineapple) held a pineapple recipe contest in 1925, with judges from Fannie Farmer's School, Good Housekeeping and McCall's magazine on the judging panel.

The 100 winning recipes would be published in a cookbook the following year. Over 60,000 recipes were sent in, and 2,500 of them were for Pineapple Upside Down Cake. So it is obvious that between 1903 when canned pineapple was first available, and 1925 when the contest was held, Pineapple Upside Down Cake had become a very popular item.

The Hawaiin Pineapple Company ran an ad campaign in 1926 based on the fact that so many recipes for the cake had been submitted, naturally making the Pineapple Upside Down Cake even more popular.(
www.foodreference.com)

You need
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1/3 tsp. salt
2 eggs, separated and beaten separately
2/3 cup water or milk3 tbsp
baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can sliced pineapples
maraschino cherries

This is how you make it
Cream butter, add sugar, beaten egg yolks and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients alternately with water or milk.
Lastly, add stiffly beaten egg whites.
In the pan you will bake the cake in (a large round cast iron skillet works well) melt 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar.
When the butter and sugar becomes melted and syrupy, add slices of pineapple with maraschino cherries in the middle. Pour on batter.
Bake at 325°F for about 35 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched lightly near center.
Remove from oven, loosen cake gently from sides of pan and turn upside down onto a serving plate.
Serve with a sauce of your choice or whipped cream.

13 comments:

Ashwini said...

Gorgeouossss. I like the trivia bit too. I always want to know more about food. Btw I liked the use of red and blue berries to offset the yellow. Nice touch...

Anonymous said...

I though i had seen it before here.. and i only had to scroll down lol... the spread.. it was loovely

GourmayMasala said...

I like food history! From pictures of your various spreads, I can easily see that you have a special knack for excellent presentation. Doesn't that itself make the meal all the more special?

Thanks for the recipe!

sailu said...

Meenal,you have added that special touch to this cake with a neat and sweet presentation.

Love baking cakes, esp having a toddler at home who loves to play with doughs and flours..:)..and yes he's fond eating of cakes and cookies..:)
Infact he helped me make a bunny rabbit cake...:)

Kay said...

Thanks for the recipes from the spread, Meenal! I was looking for them, when I saw all those dishes.

1. What do you use - a whipper or a food processor to "Cream butter, add sugar, beaten egg yolks and vanilla"

2. You don't use any Al foil at all inside the cast-iron pan? Does the cake come out easily? Is it a requirement that the cast iron pan has to be well seasoned before we try this recipe, or would a relatively new pan do?

I'm hopeless when it comes to baking, so have all these silly questions. Don't mind. :)

Meenal Mehta said...

Hey Ashwini ,

thanks..I always feel a little bit more connected to the food I cook when I know the history behind it .

You see everyone has a story including food:)

Meenal Mehta said...

Hey tony ,

thanks ..you have been doing some super cool work on your blog too:-)

keep visiting

Meenal Mehta said...

hey garam masala ,

you know I feel really wierd calling a person "garam masala" IS there a name I can addrees you by ?

talking of history ..yeah its all good.

About presentation ..I love to present my food well.that always completes my labor of love which is food and adds that "x" factor to it ..

Meenal Mehta said...

sailu ,

I love the bunny cake ..How old is your son ..the fact he's helping you now..I see signs of a great chef in the making ...

thx

Meenal Mehta said...

Hey Kay ,

Iam glad to share the recipes with ya ..here are the answers to your q

1) my egg beater wasnt working ..So i melted the butter in the microwave and then cooled it for a bit and then added the other ingredients u talked of

But you need to make sure to use an egg beater for the egg whites .they need to be beaten till they are light as a feather ..or use a whisk like I did ...I whisked them over and over till the egg whites formed little peaks because of the air .this made my cake light and gave it a great texture .

2 i guess you can use foil ..I ddnt ..I just oil my cake mould very well and then when it was cooked and came out of the oven ..I let it cool for a while .then i inverted it on the cake serving dish ,patted it a couple times and let it come out on its own.

It did fine .And no the mould doesnt have to have seasoned .A new one will do just fine .

No problems at all, ask away ...I will gladly share what little I know :-)

Kay said...

Cool, so you used a cake mould instead of the cast iron pan.

Thanks Meenal, for detailed explanations. :)

Meenal Mehta said...

Hey Kay ,

yeah i did use cake mould .I mostly use cake moulds.My cakes come out very well in those .

And you are welcome, let me know how the cake making went

Deepti Sidana said...

Hey Meenal,
I have been following the cake for quite some time,but this is the first time leaving a comment here.
I tried TPUD cake and it came out really really good.I so agree with you,knowing the history of the food helps you connect to it.

Deepti
http://a-hint-of-spice.blogspot.com/

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