Upside Down

I've always wanted to make a pineapple upside down cake, and now I can cross it off my to-bake list. For some reason R. insisted we buy a pineapple when we were out grocery shopping the other day. Why? I still have no idea . . . . So finally I decided to do something with it. I use a recipe I found on another blog and adapted it slightly. This recipe is originally Thomas Keller's from his new book Ad Hoc at Home. It turned out pretty good, R. and his buddy enjoyed (most) it, however I was looking for something a little bit sweeter, not by much though.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 pineapple, quartered lenght wise, cored and sliced into 'shingles'

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 tbsp butter, room temperature

3/4 tsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract, or 1/2 pod of vanilla beans

1 1/3 cups cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granualted sugar, heaping

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together brown sugar, butter, honey, and vanilla to make a paste. Smear into the bottom of whatever pan you'll be baking the cake in. Layer pinapple in large circles starting on the outside rim of pan, use at little or as much as you prefer. Lightly sprinkle pineapple with salt and set aside.

In a mixer beat butter with sugar and vanilla until fluffly, meanwhile sift together cake flour and baking powder into a seperate bowl, set aside. Add eggs, one at a time, into butter mix. Add in milk. Add flur mix into butter and mix until just combined. Pour over pineapples, and gently spread to edges if needed. Bake in oven for approximaetly 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Best served slightly warm.