Pineapple upside-down cakes

These pineapple upside-down cakes are a little burst of sweet sunshine. I made these after being gifted some sweet, ripe pineapples from a friend. The combination of pineapple, brown sugar and cardamom is divine, and when topped with a soft coconut cake batter the flavour and texture combination is next level. I hope you enjoy these pineapple upside-down cakes over the weekend … enjoy!

Pineapple upside-down cakes

Print Recipe

Ingredients

90 g unsalted butter melted
1 tsp ground cardamom
100 g brown sugar
½ pineapple peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks

Cake Batter

125 g unsalted butter softened
150 g castor sugar
2 eggs at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
225 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
30 g desiccated coconut
125 ml coconut milk or dairy milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160C. You will need 2 x 12 hole muffin pans. Grease 15 of the holes with extra softened butter, and line the base of each of the greased holes with a round of baking paper.
Combine the cardamom and melted butter and divide evenly between 15 of the muffin holes (leave the remaining muffin holes unfilled), then divide the brown sugar evenly between the muffin holes. Next, add chunks of pineapple to each hole, squeezing the pieces in tightly. Set pan aside whilst you prepare the cake batter.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir through the coconut. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and castor sugar until light and creamy. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Next, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
Now add half of the flour/coconut and mix in gently at low speed, then pour in half of the coconut milk and mix until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and coconut milk and mix at low speed until just combined.
Divide batter between the muffin holes, then transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until firm to touch and golden brown. Depending on your oven you may need to rotate the muffin trays after 20 minutes to ensure even cooking.
To check if the cakes are ready, insert a cake tester or thin skewer in the centre of a couple of the cakes if it comes out clean the cakes are ready. If there is batter clinging to it the cakes need to be cooked for a little longer, try 5-minute increments.
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. They should come out easily, but any stubborn ones can be removed by carefully running a small palette knife around the edge of the pan.
Serve warm with whipped cream (add a tablespoon or two of icing sugar and a pinch of cardamom if you like) or with vanilla or coconut ice cream. Yum!!