A little twist on the pineapple upside down cake - just throw the whole thing on top!
Well, half of the whole thing...
Pineapple Up on Top Cake:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cups whole buttermilk
- 1/4 cup pineapple puree
- zest of 1 lemon
- a whole pineapple, smallest one you can find
Pineapple Buttercream Frosting:
- 1/2 pound butter, softened
- a couple tablespoons pineapple puree
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- Some lemon zest, to taste
Directions for Frosting: Beat butter for a few minutes on medium speed, so it’s really fluffy and creamy. Add other ingredients to desired taste and consistency.
Directions for Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then butter and flour a 10-inch cake pan. Throw the butter in the mixer and beat it at medium speed until creamy; gradually add the sugar. Once fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time and beat well after each. Mix in vanilla.
In another bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mix into the egg/butter mix alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mix.
Pour the batter into the buttered and floured pan and bake until a wooden pick (I often use a chopstick b/c I can never find the toothpicks but toothpicks are definitely recommended) inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then flip it onto a wire rack to cool completely. Frost the cake and put it in the fridge to firm up a bit so the pineapple will sit on top and not sink into the icing.
For the pineapple topper: Get a small sized, good looking pineapple with a pretty stem (is that what the tops are called?) – often organic markets or whole food type stores will have smaller ones. Hold it up to the cake to determine how much of the stem you'll need to cut out/off with a pair of kitchen scissors (or a sharp knife – be careful!). Then you are going to cut the pineapple in half. Make sure you are cutting so that the prettiest and most symmetrical side of the pineapple will be face up. After you half it you have to gut it - scrape out all of the “meat” and then soak up all the juice with a paper towel so juice doesn’t drip on the cake, you want a dry shell, as much as possible. Once the icing is solid, place the pineapple half on top of the cake and voilà! It's not the easiest to cut into but it looks pretty cool;)
Love this fun artwork and this sunny little girl... Keep enjoying that summer of yours!