Monday, July 12, 2010

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

When watching "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" I find myself usually wanting to try the competitors recipe more than Bobby's.Although Bobby is an amazing chef, his twist on the recipes aren't usually what I'm looking for. After watching the Pineapple Upside Down Cake, that was exactly what I did.





Pineapple Upside Down Cake
from the Brass Sisters



Ingredients
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
7 slices/rings of canned pineapple from 20 oz can, and 5 Tablespoons reserved juice
1 cup cake flour (not self rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Rack should be in middle position.
Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In 9 inch cake pan (I used a cast iron skillet), swirl butter to coat the bottom and sides of pan. (Do it over the sink in case of drips) Most will settle to the bottom. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bottom of the pan.
Using a paper towel pat pineapple slices dry on both sides and arrange in a decorative pattern on the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl stir egg yolks just to break them up and add sugar, vanilla and 5 Tablespoons of reserved pineapple juice. Mix well and stir in flour mixture until combined. Set aside. Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat until just stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into the batter already in the large bowl until fully combined.

Pour batter into cake pan and bake 45-55 minutes until tester inserted into middle comes out clean. Cook pan on rack 2-3 minutes then invert onto another cooling rack. It will still be quite warm and very moist. Scrape any remaining bits of sugar or fruit from pan onto top of cake.
Serve warm or at room temperature.