Today is Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day.  Make one for your family!  Or go buy one at the local bakery.  That is if you like Pineapple Upside Down Cake.  To make Pineapple Upside Down Cake you will of course need Pineapple.  A 20 oz. Can of Pineapple Rings will do or you can buy a fresh Pineapple and cut your own rings.  Fresh is always best, of course, but the canned variety will still give you a pretty good cake.  Most recipes will call for Maraschino Cherries to be put in the middle of each piece of pineapple, but you can also use fresh (when in season) or canned Bing Cherries.  Pecan halves can also be used in place of the Cherries or in addition to them.  If you use canned pineapple and cherries, make sure they are blotted dry, otherwise your cake will be soggy.  One nice way to make sure the pineapple has given up enough moisture is to grill the slices.  I did this on my stove top grill, but first I sprinkled the Pineapple Slices with Demarara Sugar (coarse brown sugar, sometimes called raw, which of course is not really raw).  The Sugar gives a nice caramelization to the Pineapple.

To make Pineapple Upside Down Cake, once your fruit has be prepared, you melt some butter in your baking pan, and then add brown sugar.  Spread the Brown Sugar evenly over the pan and then add the pineapple.  Unless you would like to have chopped pecans as a finish for the cake, then you would add the chopped pecans before you add the pineapple slices.  Once the pineapple slices are in the pan, then you add the cherries or pecan halves.  The Cherries or Pecans Halves would go in the center of each piece of Pineapple and in between the slices, where there is room.

Next you preheat your oven to 350 and then make the cake batter.  The best recipes will tell you to separate the whites from the yolks.  The whites will be beaten until stiff and then folded into the prepared cake batter.  This helps to make a light cake.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake can be served warm with Whipped Cream or Ice Cream.  It can also be served at room temperature or even cold from the refrigerator.  Leftover Pineapple Upside Down Cake should be stored in the refrigerator as there is still quite a bit of moisture in the fruit and this can cause mold to form if left out.

When your Pineapple Upside Down Cake comes out of the oven, give it about ten minutes to set up before inverting it onto a serving plate.  To invert the cake, place your serving plate over the pan (be sure to use potholders if the pan is stillt too warm to handle) and then invert.  Give it a minute ot two, to allow the cak to drop down, before removing the pan.  You should have a beautiful Pineapple Upside Down Cake which will be ready to serve immediately or later on.  Whichever way you make your cake and however you serve it, enjoy!  And don’t forget, Pineapple Upsidedown Cake, leftover from dessert last night will make a great breakfast this morning!

For two Pineapple Upside Cake Recipe, please see the recipe section of this blog. pineapple-upside-down-cake/