For those who are unfamiliar with this dessert, Pineapple upside-down cake refers to a type of pineapple cake. The bottom of the baking pan is lined with pineapples, and a mixture of butter and sugar before you pour the cake batter into the pan. After the cake is done baking and Is turned out of the baking pan, the pineapple and caramel become the top of the cake. Hence, the cake is called a ‘pineapple upside-down cake’.
One appeal of the upside-down cake is the pineapple arrangement at the bottom. The pineapple flavored caramel from the cooked butter and sugar at the bottom of the pan and the sponge that soaks up the pineapple and caramel syrup also makes this a delicious cake.
The challenge of making an amazing pineapple upside-down cake lies in 'finding a balance of sweet and well flavored'. I avoided pineapple upside-down cakes in the past because I found the caramel and pineapples at the bottom to be cloyingly sweet.
A few days ago, I found this pineapple upside-down cake recipe from King Arthur Flour. The cake looked so beautiful that I put aside my aversion to cloyingly sweet treats and made the recipe.
Below is my recipe review for the Pineapple upside-down cake by King Arthur Flour
The ingredients and instructions
Any time I choose a recipe to review, I check the ingredients to make sure that the required ingredients are easy to find. The ingredients in this pineapple upside-down cake recipe are essential baking ingredients that you probably have in your pantry. The only things that you may not have are the pineapple pieces and coconut extract. Fortunately, the coconut extract is optional.
The instructions for making this cake were clear and straightforward. The temperatures and baking time for the stated pan size were clearly stated as well.
If you are not a baker or do not love baking, the instructions for this recipe are well explained and easy to follow. I recommend that you read the recipe completely before baking this cake.
The texture
Most pineapple upside-down cakes have 2 textures. The texture from
the top of the cake and the second type of texture is from the cake.
The top of the cake is the baked pineapple and caramel mixture. There is a slight crunch from the pineapple and stickiness from the cooked brown sugar and butter.
The cake itself is textured like a simple vanilla cake. The part of the cake where the pineapple, caramel, and pineapple pieces met had soaked up a bit of the pineapple and caramel syrup. Hence, that tiny part of the cake was like a pudding.
The cake was soft but not fluffy, it was not dense either. I felt like this was a good texture for a pineapple upside-down cake. However, I found the cake a little dry.
When the pineapple, caramel and cake were eaten together, the dryness was not as prominent.
Next time i make this, I will start checking for doneness about 5-10 minutes before the baking time elapses.
The top of the cake is the baked pineapple and caramel mixture. There is a slight crunch from the pineapple and stickiness from the cooked brown sugar and butter.
The cake itself is textured like a simple vanilla cake. The part of the cake where the pineapple, caramel, and pineapple pieces met had soaked up a bit of the pineapple and caramel syrup. Hence, that tiny part of the cake was like a pudding.
The cake was soft but not fluffy, it was not dense either. I felt like this was a good texture for a pineapple upside-down cake. However, I found the cake a little dry.
When the pineapple, caramel and cake were eaten together, the dryness was not as prominent.
Next time i make this, I will start checking for doneness about 5-10 minutes before the baking time elapses.
The taste
If you love flavorful desserts, you will love this cake.
All the flavors used in this recipe compliment each other
beautifully. The prominent flavors in this recipe are the pineapple,
brown sugar, butter, and spice.
When I ate this cake, the first flavor I identified was the pineapple, then the brown sugar, spices, and butter. I was barely able to taste the coconut extract because the other flavors overpowered the flavor of the coconut. If you want a prominent coconut flavor, you may have to double the quantity of extract you add to the batter.
The problem I had with this recipe was that the brown sugar topping made the cake cloyingly sweet. If you are not a fan of sweets, you should use half the quantity of brown sugar topping used to make the cake.
This cake is delicious because of the flavors. The recipe for the topping of this cake calls for cinnamon and ginger, however, I used a five-spice mix instead. The spice is what makes the topping so delicious and while I found the cake too sweet, I could not stop licking the pan that I used to mix up the caramel topping.
Lastly, aside from the amazing flavor of this cake , the smell was intoxicating. While this cake was baking, the smell of pineapples, caramel and spice wafted all around the house and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.
When I ate this cake, the first flavor I identified was the pineapple, then the brown sugar, spices, and butter. I was barely able to taste the coconut extract because the other flavors overpowered the flavor of the coconut. If you want a prominent coconut flavor, you may have to double the quantity of extract you add to the batter.
The problem I had with this recipe was that the brown sugar topping made the cake cloyingly sweet. If you are not a fan of sweets, you should use half the quantity of brown sugar topping used to make the cake.
This cake is delicious because of the flavors. The recipe for the topping of this cake calls for cinnamon and ginger, however, I used a five-spice mix instead. The spice is what makes the topping so delicious and while I found the cake too sweet, I could not stop licking the pan that I used to mix up the caramel topping.
Lastly, aside from the amazing flavor of this cake , the smell was intoxicating. While this cake was baking, the smell of pineapples, caramel and spice wafted all around the house and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.
Do I recommend the Pineapple Upside-down cake recipe by King Arthur flour?
Yes, I do. While I feel that the cake was a little dry, the flavor of this cake makes all the difference. I recommend that you make this and check for doneness five minutes early. If you like tropical-flavored and scented cakes, fruity desserts or cakes with texture. This cake is for you.
Even if you do not like all these wonderful things, bake this cake for the scent alone. If I could buy this as a scented candle, I definitely would.
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