… a huge word of advice… don’t bake this in a loose-bottomed cake tin… the sugar dissolves and seeps through the bottom and burns on the bottom of the oven so you have to turn on your second oven, get it up to temperature fast and then shuffle the cake over and clean the oven before your house fills with smoke… but then you knew that didn’t you…
pineapple and coconut chocolate upside-down cake
it’s been years since i’ve made an upside-down cake and when I saw this gorgeous beauty from Ros over at The More Than Occasional Baker I simply knew I had to make one for the brilliant AlphaBakes challenge, co hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and which reaches its alphabetical conclusion this month with the letter U… I mean come on girls… they really couldn’t have picked a worse letter to end with although i am rather pleased as it gives me an excuse to make this utterly lovely cake. When I was thinking about which cleverly sophisticated fruit to use I asked the viking for an idea and he simply blurted out pineapple… old-school… no arguments from me!
for the topping
50g butter – softened
50g soft light brown sugar
6 or 7 tinned pineapple rings
glace cherries
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
for the cake
100g butter
100g caster sugar
100g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons pineapple syrup from the tin
cream the butter and sugar until soft and light and spread this onto the bottom of a 20cm cake tin and about a quarter of the way up the sides – i used a small spreading spatula for this
place the pineapple slices on top of this with a cherry in the middle of each and dotted around the gaps and then sprinkle on the coconut
place all the ingredients for the cake into a bowl and beat together until soft and smooth then pour onto the pineapples and smooth off with a knife
bake for 30-35 mins on 180C until it has risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean – set aside to cool slightly before eating – you want to serve this a little warm
…never to let a good cake baking session go to waste I’ve added a little bit of cocoa and coconut to the mix purely to allow this cake to qualify for this months we should cocoa challenge, founded by Choclette from the Chocolate Log Blog and hosted this month by Laura at I’d Rather Bake the theme is coconut… as it happens the combination is rather classic and works superbly with this cake, so as ever it’s a win-win.
eat and of course, enjoy!
What a clever addition and a delicious looking cake. I wouldn't have thought of putting chocolate with pineapple but you have shown me the error of my ways so I'm really glad you entered it into We Should Cocoa =)
Oh, Dom you did give me a laugh, I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time and the air would have been blue, anyway at least the cake turned out well. Hope you'll forgive me 😉
I love nothing more than discovering a new flavor combination, and pineapple and chocolate is a wow! I'm currently obsessed with upside down cakes, and I made the exact same mistake with one recently. Who knew? Anyway this one is beautiful!
Is your warning borne from experience? If so, can I also add a warning? When making a pineapple upside down cake, make sure that ALL traces of garlic have been thoroughly cleaned out of the sieve that you sift the flour with…..
The cake looks gorgeous, a clever twist on a retro classic.
I made exactly the same mistake when I first made an upside down cake! I then forgot and did it a second time! I now still use a loose-bottomed tin but I line it with a huge sheet of baking paper and fold the corners so the caramel doesn't run out.
Oh Dom! I'm just imagining you in a Mr Muscle type advert! Lovely looking bake, surely worth the clean up?
NO! Did you really bake it in a loose-bottomed cake tin??! Says she who did the same too, once!! What a WONDERFUL retro cake and one of my all time favourites too!
Se ve increible y bien rica invertida,saludos y abrazos
Yes so old school and loving it. Clever trick to add cocoa and coconut, be it tasted great.
Wonderful cake 🙂
Ah but quite right too Dom, coconut, cocoa and pineapple are all tropical delights that must work beautifully together – don't they? Upside down cake is the only U I can think of – still hoping I'll come up with something else. Although I do love a good upside down cake and yours sounds fab. Thanks for tricking it into WSC 🙂
Sometimes you just can't beat a classic bake. I like that you've given it a twist with the chocolate and coconut even if it was to qualify for we should cocoa. Thanks for entering AlphaBakes.