Upside Down Pineapple Cake- A Day at Dole Plantation

Aloha! Recently, I visited the Dole Plantation here in Oahu for the second time, and it still amazes me for some reason to see that pineapples grow from the ground! The Plantation itself is a tourist-magnet, and although it is quite overrated and overpriced to see the pineapple 'attractions' (yeah, I paid to ride a small train to see pineapple grow on the ground...) I still enjoy going there. They have the biggest souvenir shop of (mainly) pineapple based products and it's just so fun to browse through. Pineapple glazed popcorn, pineapple gumballs, pineapple paste, chocolate covered pineapples, pineapple chips...

Oh, and here are some pictures of the DIFFERENT kinds of pineapples I saw. I never knew they varied SO much in size and colour by region! Too cool!


As soon as I got back to the apartment, I knew I needed to make some Upside Down Pineapple Cake! This cake is super easy to make, and it's an all-time rustic favourite. It starts off with a "pan schmear", then you lay the pineapple on top, then you pour the cake batter, and in the oven it goes! You let it cool once it's done, and invert it onto a plate! Mmm, the pan schmear soaks through half the cake, coating the pineapple and the cake in a lovely golden buttery glaze. Who says cake needs icing?

Here's the secret though. The kitchen was in short supply of butter and brown sugar for the cake itself, so this cake is semi-homemade. I looked for a recipe that used yellow cake mix to make everything easier. I'm not a fan of baking with cake mix alone but I don't consider it cheating when you are only enhancing the mix. :) When I took a trip to the store however, they didn't have yellow cake mix. All they had was chocolate...but I did find a box of Cornbread Mix on sale, so I thought 'why not?'. The cake had transformed into an Upside Down Pineapple Polenta cake! I included both recipes, you can take your pick! I just love the texture of cornbread though with the yellow cake, you will get a much lighter cake! Also I am not sure if this brand of cornbread mix is well known so you are much more likely to find the yellow cake mix. Try both if you can!

Note: I used canned pineapples. Fresh is definitely better, but the canned variety are just as great in this cake and saves you A LOT of time!

Upside Down Pineapple Polenta Cake

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp rum (I opted this out)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• dash salt
• 1 can Pineapple Rings in Pineapple Juice (The Dole brand was great!)
  
• 1 box Krusteaz Fat-Free Cornbread Mix (This is the just-add-water variety)
• 1 1/4 cup pineapple juice (Instead of water, I used pineapple juice from the can)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter with brown sugar, honey, rum, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Spread onto the bottom of a greased 9" cake pan. You will have some pan schmear left over. Set both aside.

Drain the pineapples but keep the juice. You can slice and lay the pineapples on top of the pan schmear in any way you like, many just choose to keep the rings and lay it out! What I did was cut each ring into three equal segments (kind of like cutting a Mercedes sign if you know what I mean..) and then overlapping each segment from the outside in...like laying bricks. With the remaining pan schmear, you can choose to just spread some on top the the pineapple slices. This syrupy glaze will soak through your cake keeping it nice and moist!

In a separate bowl, mix the Cornbread Mix with pineapple juice until smooth. Pour and spread on top of pan schmear and pineapple. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 30 minutes. Insert a knife into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean it's done! Let it cool for 30 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pan and inverting it onto a plate.


Upside Down Pineapple Cake (Using Yellow Cake Mix)

• 1 stick (1/2 cup butter)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp rum
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• dash salt
• 1 can Pineapple Rings in Pineapple Juice
• 1 box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix*
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups pineapple juice from the can

*Any cake mix will do, you will just have to adjust the egg, oil and pineapple juice (instead of water) in accordance to the box instructions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter with brown sugar, honey, rum, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Spread onto the bottom of a greased 9" cake pan. You will have some pan schmear left over. Set both aside.

Drain the pineapples but keep the juice. You can slice and lay the pineapples on top of the pan schmear in any way you like, many just choose to keep the rings and lay it out! What I did was cut each ring into three equal segments (kind of like cutting a Mercedes sign if you know what I mean..) and then overlapping each segment from the outside in...like laying bricks. With the remaining pan schmear, you can choose to just spread some on top the the pineapple slices. This syrupy glaze will soak through your cake keeping it nice and moist!

In a separate bowl, prepare your cake mix with the eggs, oil, and pineapple juice following the box instructions. Pour batter over pineapple and smooth. Bake for 30-45 minutes until inserted knife comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before inverting! Enjoy!