Eggless Pineapple Upside Down Cake

What do you do when you have three leftover pineapple slices from pizza night and five leftover maraschino cherries from cake month? Invent an eggless pineapple upside down cake!

I had been meaning to try my hand at this cake, but I didn't have the time, I didn't have a recipe, and so my list of excuses grew.

However, in the midst of some serious car trouble, I decided to cheer myself and hubby up by giving it a try after doing some bbq chicken for him on the stove. So this is how I proceeded with my invention. Shout out to Ren, by the way, for asking for the recipe!

HOW I MADE IT

2 cups of flour
2 flat tsp baking powder
1/2 cup wholewheat bran
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1/2 - 3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4-1/2 cup of water or milk
2-3 tbsp melted butter
1/2-3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 slices of pineapple (that's what I used; you're welcome to use as many as you like!)
5 maraschino cherries (again, this is what I had on hand; use as much as you want!)
a 3:1.75 mixture of powdered milk and water

{NOTE: my measurements are not exact (I don't think they ever are) as I usually average my ingredients, so if I say one tsp first and then say two tsps later on, please don't hold it against me}


1. Cream together 1/2 cup of butter and 3/4 cup of brown sugar with a fork until smooth and creamy. If you feel the need to taste this part (like me) then do so only if you're making the cake just for you or a very close loved one who doesn't mind (like a hubby who wants to taste it too).

2. Add the powdered milk mixture. I used about six heaping tbsps of powdered milk to maybe 4-5 tbsp of water. Fold it into the creamed butter and sugar, and make sure to get the lumps out.

3. Begin alternatively adding flour and pineapple juice and mix with each addition until you've reached a medium consistency. Start and end with flour; with the first addition of flour, add the baking powder and wholewheat bran. When you run out of pineapple juice (it's okay to use the juice from the pineapple slices can if you're as busy as I am), start adding milk or water. Once the batter starts looking batter-ish, and not like a runny dough, add the vanilla essence. Add the tsp of vegetable oil last. The batter should have a medium consistency. Not thick and lumpy, and not runny, but somewhere in between so that it slowly runs along the edge of the spoon without dripping off like water or clinging on in lumps. There should be no lumps in the batter.

4. In your baking dish, put 2-3 tbsp of melted butter. My dish was wide and a bit longer than square, so I went for 3 tbsp. The easy way to melt the butter is to pop the dish, butter included, into your preheating oven until the butter melts while you start cleaning up and slicing your cherries and pineapple slices. The easier way is to pop your dish in the microwave for under a minute, maybe seconds more depending on your dish (make sure your dish is microwave safe), if your dish can fit in the microwave.

5. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of brown sugar all over the melted butter, as evenly as possible. Hubby has a very sweet 'sweet tooth', so I added a bit more. Arrange your cherries and pineapple slices to your preference. Do not arrange, and then pick up and rearrange. You'll kind of screw up your evenly spread butter-sugar thing. If it's your first time, I suggest drawing up a design first. A popular idea of arrangement is a whole pineapple slice in the middle with a cherry inside, and half pineapple slices cupping cherries for the rest of the cake. I cut my cherries and some of the slices smaller to spread out for the whole cake, but most people go with whole or half pineapple slices and cherries sliced in half. A tip for the cherries: Place the cut side facing you, so that when you flip the cake (we'll get to that) the round side will be decorating the cake.

6. Pour the batter into your dish, on top of your pretty design. Bake in your [preheated] oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes (the top should kinda bounce/spring up when you touch it. It won't be as springy as a cake with egg, but it works).

7. When the cake is finished, take it out of the oven quickly, and turn it over onto a platter or cake dish right away. The point of doing it quickly and so soon is so that the caramelized sugar (yes the sugar-butter thing did that) doesn't harden.

Serve hot or cold, and enjoy!


REVIEWS

Of course, I was the first one to try this cake. I couldn't resist. I had my cake hot, with some chocolate ripple ice cream and enjoyed being in sweet heaven. However, as it was still hot, I originally thought it was too sweet. I had some more when it cooled down and it was perfectly fine. For an eggless cake, the moisture is unbelievable!

Hubby tried some cake when he racked up for the day on the car, and went back for more. He absolutely loved it! He tried his after I had the hot cake, so, thinking it was too sweet I warned him, but he insisted that it was perfect the way it was. (I later agreed).


Happy Baking!