A few weeks ago my friend Jani sent me some Brazilian recipe magazines with cakes and other desserts. I translated the text with google translate, but there were still some challenges, such as their apparent assumption that all cake pans would be tall, which led to a mess the first time I tried this. There was a whole separate mess as well because I assumed a plastic spatula would be heat-safe and it very much was not… Oops? That one went in the trash…

tasty tasty plastic

“regular” (too short) cake pan

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 3 cups of sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon melted butter (it said margarine, but I wasn’t buying any just for 1T…)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 20 ounce can of pineapple (rings or chunks, your choice) in juice, drained but juice reserved

That seems like a ridiculous amount of baking powder, but it does a real mild volcano action when it hits the pineapple juice, which is amusing, and gives this cake plenty of lift!

You’re going to want a 2″ tall 9″ cake pan for this – ideally a springform. I didn’t 100% trust mine not to leak and wrapped the bottom in foil, and this turned out to have been a good move.

Separate the eggs, putting yolks in one large bowl and whites in another large bowl. Beat the whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To the bowl with the yolks, add 2 cups of the sugar, the butter, flour, baking powder, salt, and 10 tablespoons of the pineapple juice, and beat together until smooth.

Gently transfer the egg whites into the bowl with the batter mixture, and, by hand, fold the yolks into the batter until evenly combined.

Put the remaining cup of sugar in the cake pan and place on the stove over medium-low heat. Let cook until the sugar melts and forms a golden caramel. This will feel like it’s taking FOREVER, but once it finally starts it goes pretty fast, and you need to keep an eye on it because burnt sugar tastes horrendous.

This is definitely as dark as you want it to get, lighter but still melted would be fine.

Once the sugar has all melted into a liquid, remove from the heat and place the pineapple into the caramel.

Spoon the batter over the pineapple.

Bake, checking on it at about 40 minutes and putting a piece of foil over the top if it’s getting too browned while still being very uncooked – my cake was still liquid in the middle at this point. Remove from the oven when the cake passes the toothpick test, around an hour.

Let cool in the pan about 15 minutes, until it has started to separate from the edges a bit, then run a knife or thin spatula around the inside of the pan to separate the cake. Remove the edges of the pan, if using a springform, and invert onto a platter to serve.

It’s not perfect, but everyone thought this was a really fantastic tasting cake! And remember: hot, hot water is your friend for cleaning the pan afterwards!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

• 6 eggs
• 3 cups of sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 20 ounce can of pineapple in juice, drained but juice reserved

Pull out a tall 9″ pan, preferably a springform, and wrap with foil if desired.

Separate the eggs, putting yolks in one large bowl and whites in another large bowl. Beat the whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, then set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To the bowl with the yolks, add 2 cups of the sugar, the butter, flour, baking powder, salt, and 10 tablespoons of the pineapple juice, and beat together until smooth. Gently transfer the egg whites into the bowl with the batter mixture, and, by hand, fold the yolks into the batter until evenly combined.

Put the remaining cup of sugar in the cake pan and place on the stove over medium-low heat. Let cook until the sugar melts and forms a golden caramel. Remove from the heat and place the pineapple into the caramel. Spoon the batter over the pineapple. Bake, checking on it at about 40 minutes and cover with foil if too browned but undercooked inside. Continue to bake until the cake passes the toothpick test, around an hour.

Let cool in the pan about 15 minutes, until it has started to separate from the edges a bit, then run a knife or thin spatula around the inside of the pan to separate the cake. Remove the edges of the pan, if using a springform, and invert onto a platter to serve.