Hard Caribbean Dessert

Chef John's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Name: Chef John's Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 81 min
Total time: 116 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 0.25 cups butter; 0.75 cups light brown sugar; 1 tablespoon pineapple juice; 1 tablespoon dark rum , Optional; 0.5 small fresh pineapple - peeled , cored, and sliced; 0.5 cups butter; 1.5 cups all-purpose flour; 0.13 teaspoons ground cardamom; 0.5 teaspoons salt; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 0.5 cups white sugar; 1 large egg; 0.5 cups cold milk

Total Time

1h 56m

35m prep · 81m cook

Servings

4 people

Rating

—

Difficulty

Hard

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This iconic American dessert looks like a simple, rustic fruit cobbler when it comes out of the oven, all browned and bubbling, but a few minutes later, when it's turned over and that gloriously caramelized surface is revealed, it becomes so much more.

Ingredients

0.25 cups butter
0.75 cups light brown sugar
1 tablespoon pineapple juice
1 tablespoon dark rum , Optional
0.5 small fresh pineapple - peeled , cored, and sliced
0.5 cups butter
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
0.13 teaspoons ground cardamom
0.5 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
0.5 cups white sugar
1 large egg
0.5 cups cold milk

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in brown sugar, pineapple juice, and dark rum. Cook over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbling, about 5 minutes.
3

Remove from heat and spread pineapple slices in a layer over the brown sugar mixture, completely covering the mixture. Set skillet aside.
4

Melt 1/2 cup butter in small skillet over low heat until the butter begins to brown and release a nutty fragrance, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully, butter burns easily. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
5

Whisk together flour, cardamom, salt, baking powder, and white sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in egg and cold milk until just combined. Pour in melted butter and stir to mix thoroughly.
6

Pour batter over the pineapple slices in the skillet; spread evenly to cover.
7

Bake in preheated oven until the cake begins to bubble around the edges, the top is browned, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in the skillet for 10 minutes.
8

Loosen the cake from the skillet by running a knife around the inside edge of the cake. Invert a large plate over the top of the skillet and flip over, releasing the cake to show the pineapple slices on top.