How not to make a pineapple upside down cake
My personal philosophy is that you should try to look for the positive in every situation.
- If you never try something, how are you going to know if it works?
- While mistakes are just ways too learn how not to do something.
So I thought Id share with you a few ways Iv learnt how to not make an upside down cake.
We used a ceramic oven dish to bake the cake in. Which leads me to the first mistake. Last year I made a dairy free version at home, and used a loose bottom cake tin. Not one of my better idea's, since the syrup seeped out of the tin all over my oven.
- Always use a solid baking tin or pan. If you do use a loose bottom tin, wrapped tin foil round it to stop the syrup seeping out. Also place the tin on a baking tray, just in case anything does leak out.
Upside down cakes aren't that hard to make. Basically you place the fruit and sugar on the base of your tin, then pour a vanilla cake batter over the top. This time we used a few tablespoons of golden syrup, but you can also use soft brown sugar. The juice from the pineapple and the sugar form a syrup when baked.
Second mistake, along with the golden syrup, we also poured a little of the pineapple juice. The additions of the extra liquid made the middle of the cake a bit too soggy. The rest of the cake was perfect, we did return it to the oven to see if we could make it un-soggy. Didn't work, we only served the slices from the outside of the cake and left the middle. No way we could sell it.
- Never add extra liquid or moisture to the base of an upside down cake.
It will made the cake soggy.
Drain your tin of pineapple before use, but keep the juice. You can always find another use for it. If you use a wacky cake recipe to make the cake batter, use the juice as part of the liquid needed. Or do what I did, and pour the juice into a glass and drink it.
Third mistake occurred while making the batter. We didn't make enough to cover the fruit, so I ended up making another batch.
- If making a large upside down cake for a special occasion,
double the quantities of your normal cake recipe.
Second helping are better than not having enough
Another problem with upside down cakes is, your always worried it won't turn out. The fruit juice we added did solve this problem, but I wouldn't recommend trying it. That is unless you like eating raw cake.
-Measure the base of your baking tin on grease proof paper, and cut out. Placing on the bottom of your tin will ensure it turns out.
If your not up to experimenting in the kitchen, there are lots of dairy free recipes on-line.
Best way of turning a baking mistake into a positive, is to pass on "how not to make..." Hopefully my screw ups help some one else making the same mistake xxx
Well. It is the middle of the night and I have a craving for pineapple upside down cake. I have never made one before, nor have I ever tasted one before. But I do love pineapples, brown sugar, moist cake, and really, just sweets in general, so I know I would enjoy it very much. In searching the internet for the best recipe so that it comes out perfect, I came across your post from a few years ago on how NOT to make a pineapple upside down cake. I am grateful for your tips and advice. Knowing myself, I am quite sure that I would have added extra pineapple juice to the brown sugar topping (or is it to the bottom, haha?), convinced that I was improving it and making extra ooey-gooey sweet goodness topping that would drizzle down the sides and just be amazing. Surely I would have ruined it. It would have been a soggy mess, and I would have been heartbroken. With no pineapple upside down cake to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for looking on the bright side and for finding good in something unfortunate. And thank you for taking the time to share your experiences so that others can get it right without having to make the same mistakes. I have no excuse now. I am prepared and I have everything I need, so I can eat my lovely cake by morning. :)
I ditto the previous comment by jeniferwilliams. 🌝😊👍
ReplyDeleteI am , where she was in Sept. And am getting ready to make my first pineapple upside down cake. Please keep in mind, with Cajuns from LA and a Leaderwolf Academy Grand Master Chef (after serving a the ships cook in the Navy and loved to bake) as immediate family, I am well versed. Until this moment however I always knew my granddad would make it. Nowbits my turn to attempt the impossible replacement of his cakes
Sooo...ty for the funny and well written and much needed good advice before I trip my way along this cake that my honey picked outbfylol I so love him
Thanks again
Mama De
thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy I read your comments before made my cake. Thank you for taking the time to help teach us.
ReplyDeletecan you tell me why the pineapple gets absorbed into the batter? I made pineapple upside down cakes for years and they came out fine. The last few cakes I made, the pineapple rings didn't set on top of the cake, but were under a thin layer of cake. Why does this happen?
ReplyDeleteI suspect the pineapple was too wet
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