Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

A dense, buttery cake with ground almonds and sour cream, baked over a layer of juicy pineapple rings. A few Richberry halves first make the pineapple taste sweeter.

Total time: 1 hr 30 min
Servings: 12
Difficulty: Medium

Pineapple upside-down cake — Sweet moments, naturally.

Ingredients

Topping

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 (20 oz) can pineapple slices
1 cup (200 g) firmly packed dark brown sugar

Cake

1 ½ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
6 tbsp (55 g) cake flour
6 tbsp ground almonds (from about 2 oz or 56 g blanched almonds)
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
¾ tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream
1 ¾ cups (350 g) sugar

Optional

8 candied or maraschino cherries

Directions

Grease the pan.
Generously butter a 10-inch nonstick cake pan with sides at least 2 inches high.
Make the topping.
Heat the juice from the pineapple can with the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbly, a few minutes. Pour into the pan and arrange the pineapple slices on top in a single layer.
Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C).
Whisk the flour, cake flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
Make the batter.
Beat the butter until light, then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and the sour cream alternately in 2 additions each, beating well each time.
Bake.
Spread the batter smoothly over the pineapple. Bake for about 1 hour, until a tester in the center comes out mostly clean, or it reads about 205°F (95°C) inside.
Turn out the cake.
Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a platter while still warm. Patch any topping that sticks to the pan back onto the cake.
Decorate and serve.
If you like, set a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Before you indulge

Use Miracle Berry

Just before eating, take 2–3 freeze-dried halves. Chew gently and let them linger for about 30 seconds.

Discard any pit if necessary.

Calorie savings

1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar + 1 ¾ cups (350 g) sugar = 2160 calories

Good to know

Miraculin, the natural protein in miracle berry, can make sour foods like lemon taste sweet without adding sugar. For the best results, take 1–2 halves and follow the directions on your pack.

Tangy turns sweet. More possibilities.