Carribean Spice and Rum Upside Down Pineapple Cake
A more adult version of pineapple upside down cake: no cherries, but plenty of rum! This recipe is much easier if you replace the caramel with simple brown sugar (skipping steps 1 and 2), but it loses a lot of flavor that way.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 pineapple
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1½ cup flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- ¼ tonka bean, ground (opt.)
- 1 mace blade, ground
- ¼ sapote, ground
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup dark rum
Method
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1
Preheat oven to 375° F. Pour 1 cup sugar into a pot along with 2 Tbsp water. Have a 10-inch (approx.) mold on hand.
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2
Cook sugar on medium heat until the caramel is a deep, mahogany brown. Pour ¼ cup water into the caramel to stop it cooking- be careful it doesn’t boil over. Let bubble for a few seconds, then pour the caramel in the bottom of the mold, turning it so the caramel spreads evenly on the bottom and sides.
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3
Peel and quarter the pineapple, removing the heart. Slice pineapple and arrange pieces on top of the caramel.
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4
Cream butter in a bowl, then incorporate ¾ cup sugar. Beat for 2 minutes.
Incorporate eggs one at a time.
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5
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and spices into a bowl.
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6
In another bowl, stir milk, vanilla extract and 1/3 of the rum together.
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7
In a blender on low speed, incorporate flour into the creamed butter, little by little, alternating with the milk.
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8
Pour batter onto the pineapple pieces, then even it out with a spatula.
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9
Bake 35-45 minutes until the caramel is bubbling up the sides of the mold and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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10
Pour another 1/3 of the rum on the hot cake as it’s coming out of the oven.
Let rest 1 hour. Place mold on a hot stove for a few seconds to heat the caramel again. Remove cake from mold by flipping it onto a large plate. Sprinkle remaining rum on top.
