Pineapple and Ginger Upside-Down Cake
I have a lot of love for upside-down cakes. They’re a perfect way to bring fruit and cake together without making separate components. The way the fruit softens and caramelises and then mixes with the cake batter, which absorbs its sweet juices, is just perfection. And it looks so gorgeous. The best part is, this cake could be adapted to any fruit really: plums, nectarines, peaches, apricots, strawberries, blueberries, or, in this case, my favourite of all the upside-down cakes, pineapple. The ginger adds a spicy note that works well with the pineapple, but it doesn’t overpower. The cake element for an upside-down cake is very tricky, and this one took me a while to get right. Not enough air, or support, and the cake batter mixes with the fruit juices too quickly and becomes soggy. But, thanks to the combination of baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and whipped egg whites, this batter lifts beautifully from the beginning, leaving a perfect, fluffy, buttery crumb.
Ingredients 13
225 g butter, soft, plus extra for greasing
200 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
4 eggs, separated
20 g fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
220 g plain flour (all-purpose flour)
1⁄2 tsp salt
2 1⁄4 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
100 ml full-cream milk (whole milk)
ice cream, to serve
Topping
25 g butter
80 g brown sugar
1⁄2 pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced and cut into pieces
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Method 11
Grease and line a round 22 - 25 cm (8 3/4–10 in) round cake tin with baking paper.
Start by making the topping. Melt the and in a small saucepan until the sugar crystals have melted and the mix is bubbling. Simmer for 1 minute, then pour this molten mix into the prepared tin.
Arrange the pieces on top of this caramel in any pattern you like. Try to cover as much surface area as possible so you can have a lot of fruit in each slice.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Cream together the and in a freestanding electric mixer until light and fluffy, then add the , and and mix until well incorporated.
Separately, whip the in a clean bowl, either by hand or with an electric whisk, until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients, , , , , in a bowl and whisk them together. Add half the dry ingredients to the and gently mix, then, with the machine still running, add all the and mix.
Carefully add the remaining dry ingredients and finish mixing with a spatula. Fold in the whipped . Pour this on top of the in the tin and spread it out evenly. Gently tap the tin on your work surface to ensure the cake batter has dropped into place.
Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool slightly before flipping the cake out. To flip it over, place a flat plate or cake tray on top of the tin, then, holding the plate in place with your hand, flip the cake over quickly and carefully.
Once flipped, simply pull the tin off and peel back the baking paper. Serve warm or when completely cooled.
Danielle Alvarez's tips
You must start with ripe fruit. Yes, the sugar and the cooking of the fruit will improve things, but if you want this to be a fabulous cake as opposed to an alright cake, make sure the fruit is fabulous to start.
