Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

A few week ago I received an email from Ana informing me that in August our blog Oh So Sinfully Delicious would be a year old. I was totally taken by surprise. I couldn't believe that a year has gone by so quickly. Contributing to this blog has been a great experience for me. I got to learn so much about baking, photography, and blogging, and even though I have not contributed much for the past few months, I am keen on baking and doing more food writing.

A few months ago I purchased Cooking: A Commonsense Guide, ed: Jane Price, and Justine Upex. It's a cookbook for people who can't cook or have little experience in the kitchen. What I like about this book is, it breaks down cooking into introducing different elements, from various pots and pans that are needed, to the different cuts of meats, poultry, and seafood so when one is faced with a recipe it's not as intimidating as one may suspect.

From Cooking, I baked a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Traditionally this cake is topped with whole pineapple slices garnished with maraschino cherries, but this recipe omits the cherries and slices the pineapples in half. It's a different design but tastes just as good.

~Ann

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

20g (3/4 oz) butter, melted

2 tablespoons soft brown sugar

440g (14 oz can pineapple slices in natural juice

90g (3oz) butter

1/2 cup (125g/4oz) caster sugar (I used granulated sugar)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup (125g/4 oz) self-raising flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C (350F). Grease a 20 cm (8 inch) ring tin. Pour the melted butter into the tin and tip to coat the base evenly. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the juice. Cut the pineapple pieces into halves and arrange over the brown sugar.

2. Using electric beaters, beat the butter and sugar in a small bowl until light and creamy. Add the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla essence.

3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Using a metal spoon, fold in the flour alternatively with the reserve pineapple juice.

4. Spoon the mixture evenly over the pineapple and smooth the surface. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.