You know a famous chef is really good at what he or she does by the fact that he or she is constantly inspiring you and coming up with new and beautiful dishes that keep setting the bar that much higher every time… In this case, this particular dessert is a “flash back”… a retro classic…. THE epitome of comfort food… which is why Mr Jamie Oliver has this recipe as part of his new book Comfort Food!!
I haven’t gotten hold of his book just yet but I’m lucky enough to have the latest issue of his magazine..SO when I came across this recipe, it immediately took me back to my mum… she makes THE best pineapple-upside down cake on this planet… yes, she does!! And so, I had to see if this one stood up to the plate…
I do remember mum making this with tinned pineapples… There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact, I strongly believe that tinned fruit (most of it) can really be a saviour when it comes to making desserts, especially if you feel the need to make something where the star fruit might not be in season at the time… Pineapples… not really sure whether they are still in season at the moment… being the tail end of summer and all… but I did pick up a fresh one… You should try to wait a few days before you use it, just to make sure it’s properly ripe… You can also get them pre cut in certain supermarkets…
- 225grams unsalted butter at room temp, plus a bit extra for dusting
- 150 gr coconut milk or regular full fat milk
- 75 gr dessicated coconut
- 1 ripe pineapple cut into segment slices
- 2 cups caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- glace cherries and cranberries
- 1 lime
- stem ginger syrup or jam
- Preheat oven to 180C
- Lightly grease a spring form pan with butter and flour then place on baking sheet.
- In a pot, bring the milk to a boil and add the coconut stirring.. remove from the heat and set aside.
- Melt 25 grams of the butter and addhalf the sugar in a large non stick pan, swirling it around until it starts to boil, don’t stir it.Once the sugar dissolves as the pineapple slices and keep spooning over the liquid to coat them. Turn the heat up and allow the pineapple to brown nicely on the bottom till its golden and nicely caramelised.
- Reove the pineapple slices and place them in the cake tin, golden side down, then drizzle the syrup over the slices, reserving a bit of the syrup for the cherries.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs in one at a time. Add the milk and coconut mixture and continue beating until incorporated.
- Beat the flour in. At this point it’ll get quite thick so I used a spatula to just fold it in.
- Pour batter into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a cake stand or plate.
- meanwhile make the the cherries or berries in syrup by adding the pineapple syrup to a small non stick pan and reheating it…
- Add the cherries and berries to it, the lime juice and a little ginger jam or syrup if you have it.
- simmer and reduce until you have a nice sticky consistency.
- Top the cake with the glace cherries and /or berries.
- Serve with or without icecream!
Thanks Mum… this one’s for you!…This one’s pretty damn good… but I STILL love yours the best 🙂 xxx
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