ISO: ISO: Pineapple upside down cake from many, many years ago.

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oli

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I spent the 4th up in the mountains and one evening we were sitting around the campfire, when someone asked if I knew how to make this pineapple upside downcake his mother used to make. Apparently it was made for him by his mother from a recipe around the 30s and 40s. In those days, or at least the recipe called for, making it in a heavy duty skillet. What was different was that the topping was rather hard, almost creme brulee style.

Anybody have any experience with this type of pineapple upside down cake, I promised when we met again I might just have the recipe?

Thanks

 
T&T recipe from Alton Brown: Pineapple Upsdie-Down Cornmeal Cake

I made this for Thanksgiving last year and my dad, who grew up eating homespun food out of cast iron skillet cooking, practically inhaled it. This is the best PU-D cake I've ever tasted as well and this recipe is now in the T&T perfection recipe file. One of the reasons is that the caramel is firm, I believe similar to what you are searching for. If you don't like the idea of the cornmeal, you can use the caramelization process of this recipe and just top it with the traditional butter cake.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cake

3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup coarse-ground cornmeal
4 ounces unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
6 slices canned pineapple, in heavy syrup, reserve syrup
6 maraschino cherries
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3 tablespoons canned pineapple syrup
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 whole eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a microwave-safe dish, bring the milk to a boil. Remove the milk from the microwave and add the cornmeal. Stir and let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully place 1 slice of pineapple in the center of the pan. Place the other 5 slices around the center slice in a circle. Place the cherries in the centers of the pineapple slices and sprinkle the nuts evenly over the fruit. Drizzle the reserved pineapple syrup over top.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the canola oil and whisk. Add the cornmeal and milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add this to the flour and stir just until combined. Pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes in the skillet. Set a platter on top of the skillet and carefully invert the cake.

 
REC: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake T&T from many, many years ago....

geeze what a thought.... '-))

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 20-ounce can pineapple slices, drained
9 or 10 maraschino cherries

1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 1 cup milk

in 12 inch, oven going skillet, combine brown sugar and butter. cook and stir over low heattill mixturebubbles. Remove from heat; arrange pineapple slices and cherries in skillet in sugar mixture.

in mixer bowl, cream together granulated sugar and shortening till light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. add vanilla. sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating after each addition. pour batter over fruit in skillet. bake in 350 degree oven for 40 - 45 minutes. invert warm cake onto serving platter. serve warm or chlled with whipped cream, if desired.

notes: this is a really old recipe that I've been making forever, always in a cast iron skillet. I've typed the recipe exactly as it was written. I've never done it but certainly would consider replacing the shortening with butter, now that we all know what we know about trans fat. wait for the skillet to cool off a bit before trying to invert the cake to a plate.

it looks like you're going to be making a lot of pineapple upside-down cakes Oli smileys/smile.gif

 
But will it be crispy?

I am just wondering if the topping will be crispy. It appears just reading through that the topping won't necessarily be what I'm after. If the topping was going to come out crispy, wouldn't there be a reference to that fact as that seems to be unusual for a pineapple upside down cake?

 
No, the topping will not be crispy.

Is that what you meant by "hard" in your request? While this caramel is a lot more substantial than any other I've encountered, it isn't crispy by any stretch and I can't imagine getting a crispy top with the upside down method. Maybe a blowtorch afterwards like a brulee finish? But then, the caramel is so developed after baking, it would probably burn in no time.

 
Topping not crispy?

I thought the same thing. If it is too hard, how will it be when you try to cut through it? Perhaps being more substantial is what they are thinking, but I will have to ask them again.

 
crispy even possible?

I thought this over some more, and have come to my own conclusion that it is not physically possible to have a crispy top on a pineapple upside down cake. Reason: There is too much moisture in the cake and the juicy pineapple. Even if you could set up a crisp coating, it would soon go soggy with all that moisture sitting right there below and touching.

 
I agree with Richard. even if you just put the brown sugar in the pan...

without mixing in butter, I don't think it would get cripsy or hard. it might also be difficult to remove from the pan. you might get some "crunch" in the topping but definately not hard.

often, we remember childhood recipes differently than they actually were. try making some and see what you get, it could be a fun project.

be sure to report back smileys/smile.gif

 
I have read this thread and the only idea that occurs to me is (more)

that after the cake is turned out of the skillet, briefly put the cake under the broiler or torch to create the crisp topping, rather like finishing off the creme brulee.

 
is it possible for brown sugar to get "hard" when broiled? it seems to have more ....

moisture than white sugar. I would think that would make it difficult to create the hard crust.

 
(FRC) - My Dad's Pineapple upside down cake

My dad used to make the BEST pineapple upside down cake, but if you are a from-scratch-baker, please do not freak out.

Dad would use a Betty Crocker yellow cake mix, replacing the liquid needed with the drained pineapple juice. He used real butter and dark brown sugar (better for the almost crackly topping)in the cast iron skillet - it HAS to be cast iron, or the butter/sugar will not caramelize correctly. After that was melted, he placed the pineapple rings in a pattern. The cake batter went on top, of course, and the cake was baked.

Dad would make these cakes as well as his famous lemon meringue pies, and take them to shut-ins, the police or fire dept., the vet's office...and many more folks received them through the years.

At Dad's funeral, I asked for a show of hands of folks who had received his cake or pie from the folks that were there in the packed funeral home...and almost every person there that day raised their hands...

CYH
Cyndi

 
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