Saturday, July 7, 2012

Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I have been thinking about making a pineapple upside-down cake for a while now. It started when my thoughtful friend brought me back some specialty salt from Hawaii. See the picture at the bottom? I'm still thinking of ways to use it!

I adapted this recipe (found on Pinterest, of course):
http://www.monsoonspice.com/2011/12/caramel-pear-upside-down-cake-guest.html
RECIPE

Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

pinch salt

pineapple (I used canned but fresh would be super delicious!)




Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
6 oz. (3/4 cup) yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coconut extract
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sweetened grated coconut


Butter (or spray) and line a 9 inch cake pan and arrange the pineapple slices in a circle at the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Place a saucepan over medium low heat and melt the sugar and butter.
Once the mix begins to bubble and caramelize a bit, swirl the pan or stir using a spatula and take it off the heat.
Pour over the pineapple slices, making sure you don’t disturb the pattern. Set aside.


Cake Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine  flour, coconut, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Into a separate bowl, combine in the sugar, eggs, yogurt and extracts and whisk together till well combined.
Still whisking, add the dry ingredients bit by bit, until fully mixed (no dry spots) but do not overmix. Fold or gently stir oil into batter. Again, don't overmix!

Pour or spread the cake batter gently on top of the pineapple slices. Bake for about 45  minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool  on a wire rack for about 5 minutes then turn it upside down onto a serving plate. If you wait longer, it may not come out cleanly! I sprinkled a little bit of my fancy salt on the top but that's optional, of course.