Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Although he insists every year that he doesn't need one, there's no way I could let my husband go without a homemade birthday cake. Perhaps the motivations are a bit selfish because I love baking (and eating!), but more than anything I love seeing him enjoying a special treat. Although I'm happy to make any dessert he chooses, I am glad he has had the good taste to choose a dessert as wonderful as pineapple upside down cake for the past three years. I do love a nostalgia dessert, but this cake certainly deserves the upgrade to fresh pineapple from the canned pineapple and maraschino cherries of 1950s dinner parties. Sweet-tart pineapple is so beautifully accented by decadent caramel and dense cake that it's no wonder this recipe has endured for so long. A fitting celebration for a late summer birthday or a delicious treat any time of year, pineapple upside-down cake is a dessert you just can't pass on.

Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake 
from Food and Wine
serves 8

1 ripe medium pineapple
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (5 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons Cognac or other brandy
2/3 cup light brown sugar
9 fresh cherries, pitted (optional)
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Using a sharp knife, peel the pineapple and remove the eyes. Halve the pineapple lengthwise and cut out the center core. Cut each half crosswise into five 2/3-inch-thick semicircles. Cut one of the semicircles into 3 pieces.

2. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. In a medium bowl, beat 1 stick of the butter until pale and creamy. Gradually beat the granulated sugar into the butter until the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour mixture in 3 batches just until smooth. Stir in the Cognac and set aside.

3. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet; if the handle isn't ovenproof, wrap it in foil. Stir in the brown sugar and cook over moderate heat until melted and bubbling, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the 9 pineapple semicircles in a tight concentric ring in the skillet and fit the 3 small pieces in the center. Cook over moderately high heat for 10 minutes. Turn the pineapple slices and lower the heat so that the mixture simmer vigorously. Cook until the fruit is tender when pierced, about 10 minutes longer. Insert a cherry in the hollow of each semicircle.

4. Remove the skillet from the heat and spread the cake batter evenly over the hot pineapple; it may not completely cover the fruit, but it will spread as it cooks. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a large platter. Serve the cake warm with vanilla ice cream.

White Whiskey Punch

I am just as much of a locavore when it comes to my booze as my food. I am a devotee of Wisconsin craft beers, wine, and spirits and I was beyond delighted when I opened up the latest copy of Saveur and found a recipe that specifically mentioned Death's Door White Whisky, a delicious spirit I've had for months, but haven't used all that creatively. (I have also made countless gin and tonics with their exceptional gin). Admittedly, this cocktail is a bit more suited to summer, but each sunny sip is still a delight in this chilly fall weather. This unaged whiskey is perfectly suited to this cocktail, where the clean, smooth flavor of spirit blends seamlessly with the bright, acidic juices; a smoky, aged rye whiskey is better suited to classic cocktails like the Sazerac or Manhattan, or simply savored neat.

I obviously have a voracious appetite for recipes of all sorts, and I have been enjoying my recent exploration of the world of cocktails. Although I pulled this recipe from one of my favorite magazines, Saveur, the book widely-regarded as the Bible of cocktail recipes is The Craft of the Cocktail by Dale Degroff, the essential resource for cocktail novices and professionals alike. If you're enjoying the recipes I've shared during my initial foray into mixology, I highly recommend picking up a copy so you can experiment further.

White Whiskey Punch
from Saveur
makes 1 cocktail

2 oz. white whiskey, such as Death's Door
2 oz. fresh pineapple juice
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. simple syrup
Pineapple wedge, for garnish (optional)

1. Mix whiskey, juices, and syrup in a shaker with ice; shake to chill. Strain into a rocks glass with ice; garnish with pineapple.

Pineapple Skillet Upside-Down Cake

For the second year in a row, my husband has requested pineapple upside-down cake for his birthday cake. While I could have gone back to last year's recipe, which was a big hit, I prefer to use special occasions (and let's be honest, most meals) as an opportunity to seek out and try new recipes. I spent many lunch breaks searching for new pineapple upside-down cake recipes that sounded intriguing, but came across this gem completely by accident. I was paging through my Rick Bayless cookbooks looking for tomatillo recipes and stumbled upon this recipe in the dessert section because I end up paging through cookbooks like most people flip through magazines, unable to just look up specific recipes or ingredients. And what a happy accident it was! This cake has the sweet, caramelized topping that everyone loves so much in an upside-down cake, support by a nutty, moist cake. Not only is this cake a treat right out of the oven, but it stays moist and becomes saturated with delicious caramel flavor if you are lucky enough to have leftovers.


With plenty of berries, apples, peaches, and pears at the farmer's market, I'm already planning on making this again, although I might make a few changes, substituting turbinado sugar for the white sugar and using all whole wheat pastry flour instead of half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour. This versatile cake recipe is as appropriate for a special occasion like a birthday as a regular weeknight when you need a small treat to perk up the evening so take a few minutes to treat yourself and your family to this delicious, but not too decadent, dessert.

Pineapple (or Other Fruit) Skillet Upside-Down Cake
from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless
serves 8

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter, preferably unsalted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I prefer the dark brown variety)
3 cups 1/2-inch cubed, cleaned pineapple (you'll need about three-quarters of a medium pineapple OR 3 cups (about 1 pound) fresh or IQF (individually quick frozen) raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or pitted cherries OR 3 cups 1/2-inch cubes apple, pear, peaches, nectarines or mango
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or additional all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup white sugar
1 "large" egg
3/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

1. Turn on the oven to 375 degrees and position a rack in the middle. Melt the butter in a large (10-inch) skillet, with an ovenproof handle, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Swirl the butter in the skillet until it turns nut-brown, then pout it into a medium bowl. Without wiping out the skillet, sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bottom. Top with the fruit in an even layer.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, soda, and baking powder. Add the white sugar to the browned butter and whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the egg, then the buttermilk or yogurt. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ones. Whisk to thoroughly combine.

3. Pour the batter evenly over the fruit in the skillet. Slide the skillet into the oven and bake about 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and springy to the touch at the center. Remove and let cool 10 minutes.

4. Invert a plate over the skillet, then, holding plate and skillet firmly together with towels or pot holders, invert the two in one swift movement. Remove the skillet, and the cake is ready to serve. It's best right out of the oven.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

In the past I've made chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and maple-walnut pie, but this year my husband requested a pineapple upside-down cake for his birthday. A lot of people probably think of pineapple upside-down cake as something topped by canned pineapple rings and maraschino cherries and served by 1950s housewives, but it can be so much better than that. This recipe from Food and Wine is essentially fresh pineapple slices cooked in caramel sauce on top of a light, yet rich, pound cake. The cake is rich and sweet, but the fresh pineapple flavor doesn't disappear in the caramel. I haven't had a piece of pineapple upside-down cake in years and now I can't believe I've gone so long without one!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
from Food and Wine
makes one 8-inch cake

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1/2 large pineapple—peeled, quartered, cored and sliced 1/3 inch thick
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Sprinkle the bottom with 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar.

2. In a large skillet, combine the remaining 3/4 cup of brown sugar with the 1/2 stick of butter and the vanilla bean and seeds and cook over moderately low heat until the butter is melted. Add the pineapple and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pineapple is tender, about 20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, arrange the slices in the cake pan, overlapping them if necessary. Remove the vanilla bean and pour the pan juices over the pineapple.

3. In a bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, beat the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the remaining stick of butter and 1/4 cup of sour cream and beat at low speed until smooth, then beat at medium speed until fluffy. Add the sour cream–egg mixture and beat again until fluffy, 2 minutes.

4. Spoon the batter over the pineapple and spread it evenly. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the cake is deep golden. Let cool for 5 minutes on a rack. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, invert it onto a plate and remove the pan. Replace any pineapple that may have stuck to the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.