PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake image

In this country, ingestion of the pineapple upside-down cake has often been used as proof of citizenship - unless you had some as a child, you simply weren't an American. I've had plenty of bad ones -- usually because the dough is too heavy or dry, and sometimes the overly shrill sweetness makes you want to quit living, at least for the length of time you are eating it. But properly prepared, this guilty pleasure is most welcomely retro, and in the recipe here, the cake, while not exactly dietetic, is not life-threatening either.

Provided by Jonathan Reynolds

Time 1h20m

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons light rum
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced into rings; four rings cut in semicircles
3 cups fresh blackberries or fresh or frozen cranberries
12 to 16 pecan halves
12 to 16 pitted cherries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the egg whites
4 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream or Coco López or whole milk
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary (optional)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet; stir in brown sugar.
Stir in rum; let mixture bubble.
Arrange fruit in mixture and intersperse pecans. Pineapples may overlap; place semicircles along sides of skillet; place cherries in middle of ring. Berries should be evenly distributed - their mirror image will be what the top of the cake looks like.
For the batter, mix flour, baking powder, cornmeal and salt in a bowl.
Cream butter at slow speed in an electric mixer and gradually add 1 cup of sugar. Beat until fluffy.
Add egg yolks and vanilla.
Add half the dry mixture, beating, then half the liquid (sour cream, Coco Lòpez or milk). When incorporated, add the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining liquid. Add rosemary and pecan pieces (both optional).
In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Fold half of the whites into mixture, then fold in the rest. Spread the batter evenly over the fruit.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted - into the dough only - comes out clean.
Let the cake sit for a minute, then run a knife around the edge and invert a serving dish on top. Turn the skillet and serving dish over, gently rap the bottom of the skillet. Serve.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 576, UnsaturatedFat 9 grams, Carbohydrate 86 grams, Fat 23 grams, Fiber 5 grams, Protein 8 grams, SaturatedFat 12 grams, Sodium 267 milligrams, Sugar 57 grams, TransFat 1 gram