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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Pineapple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake




I have a confession. I have never made a pineapple upside down cake. Well until the other day.

I remember eating this cake in my grandmother's kitchen and tasting it at church homecomings. Moist cake with a decadent topping of pecans, pineapple and cherries. YUM!

Not sure why I never prepared one.Maybe I was afraid Old Betsy (the iron skillet) would fail me? Now I have renewed faith in Old Betsy. She "turned out" the prettiest cake.

I tweaked an Alton Brown recipe. Pineapple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake (wow long title) Have I mentioned I am a huge fan of his? I enjoy all the scientific explanations and such. I'm such nerd. HaHaHa. There hasn't been one of his recipes to fail me yet.

The recipe called for coarse ground cornmeal. I live in the sticks,hill, boondocks and the stores here do not have plain,coarse, ground cornmeal. I adapted and used cornmeal mix and only added 1 tsp of baking powder.

The original recipe did not call for buttermilk.I added 1/2 cup and added to the cornmeal mix along with the whole milk to soak. I allowed the mixture to soak for 45 minutes and kept stirring it to ensure good absorption.

I was amazed  that there wasn't any hint of cornmeal taste or grit in this cake!

I did not chop the pecans. I wish I had. The whole pecans kind of just disappeared throughout the cake. Next time, more nuts throughout the cake!



Pineapple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake  (adapted from Alton Brown)
                                                                                   
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup buttermilk (at room temp)
1 cup white cornmeal mix
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
6 slices canned pineapple in heavy syrup
6 maraschino cherries
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3 tablespoons juice from canned pineapple
3 whole eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a microwave-proof dish, bring the whole milk to a boil. Remove the milk from the microwave and add the cornmeal mix and buttermilk. Stir and let soak at room temperature for 45 minutes. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully place 1 slice of pineapple in the center of the pan. Place the other 5 slices around the center slice in a circle. Place the cherries in the centers of the pineapple slices and sprinkle the nuts evenly over the fruit. Drizzle pineapple juice over top.


Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the canola oil and whisk. Add the cornmeal mix and milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add this to the flour and stir just until combined. Pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.


Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes in the skillet. Set a platter on top of the skillet and carefully invert the cake. Serve.



 I am also linking to these lovely and fun linky parties!

http://www.foodtripfriday.net

Miz Helen’s Country Cottage



It's a Keeper

16 comments:

  1. I haven't made pineapple upside down cake in eons!! And I never used cornmeal! Interesting!...I also didn't do mine in a skillet! Mine was too small at the time. But I haven't made a bad one yet! ^_^ I wish I could have tasted yours!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pineapple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake, what a long and lovely name for a cake, and it looks really delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe, and I hope you can visit my FTF entry, too: http://www.delightmyappetite.com/2011/09/food-trip-friday-asian-bites/

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  3. My dear man has been hinting for me to make one....I haven't in years, now that it's just the two of us at home without growing kids. But, boy howdy...you've made ME hungry for it.


    Want some more treats today? Then, stop by my A CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION

    Hope your Friday has treated you well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a unique tasty treat! This is so beautiful... I would like two please! Thanks for linking up to Friday Potluck.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This Pineapple Upside Cake looks so good. Your awesome photos are making me so hungry for this cake. I have never used Cornmeal in a Pineapple Upside Cake so I can't wait to try this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week end!
    Come Back Soon,
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never made a pineapple upside down cake either! This is excellent for your first one too! AND I LOVE Alton! Thank you sooo soo much for linking this to Foodie Friday. Won't you stop by again for Sunday Supper Stumble? New follower too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. My mom used to make these pineapple upside down cakes before, but not with cornmeal..must try! :)

    Visiting from FTF
    Pick-Me-Up Tea

    ReplyDelete
  8. your pineapple upside down cake makes me drool...makes me wanna go to the grocery and grab all the ingredients and bake them right away...but, i have tons of work to do, maybe on my restdays...
    can you please spare some time and take a look at these
    delicious faux ice creams !?

    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congratulations!
    Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. I sure hope you enjoy your Red Plate!
    Come Back Soon,
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete
  10. It was very useful for me. Keep sharing such ideas in the future as well. This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to came here! Thanks for sharing the such information with us.

    ReplyDelete
  11. pineapple is adorable...
    check out modern small appliances
    https://www.shekitchen.com/kitchen-appliances/

    ReplyDelete

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