Posted on by Mark Linton

Is My Blog Burning: A Cake Walk

When I saw that Renee Kho, of shiokadelicious!, had decided to host the third Is My Blog Burning?, I was pleased. I was beginning to think that it was about time for another, but had not heard anything and I was afraid that the torch had been dropped and that we had seen the last of the distributed food event. But my concerns were unfounded. The response to the theme — A Cake Walk — seems to be overwhelming, to the point of including people who are not even food bloggers!

I have always been more of a pie person, so I turned to the Internet for inspiration in choosing a cake recipe. The Akron Beacon Journal has their Favorite Cake — a white scratch cake with a pineapple and nut frosting. Carroll Pellegrinelli, over at About Baking/Desserts has her Mom’s Piña Colada Cake — a coconut cake — and a Pistachio Cake and a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing that all sounded good. The Recipe Connection at Quad-Cities Online also has a Red Velvet Cake as well as a Lemon Sponge Cake Pie, which sounded good to me, but I didn’t think it fit the bill. The Chicago Tribune had what looked like a tasty yellow cake with orange buttercream frosting. Ina Garten (a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa) has her Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake.

In the end I decided that this sounds a little like so much food porn — unrealistic recipes and techniques that result in dazzling, decadent dishes that nobody will ever make. I needed to simplify, to look inward for the simple satisfaction of a tradition dish. My cake would be our Pineapple Upside-down Cake.

This is a very old — by American standards — very simple cake. The recipe originated as the winner of a 1925 contest held by Jim Dole, who invented canned pineapple in 1903. Upside-down cakes had apparently been in vogue since the 1870s. We will often make one after dinner if we are feeling peckish. It requires few ingredients, most of which are pantry staples, and little time. This recipe is adapted from the 1960 edition of the Better Homes & Gardens Dessert Cook Book.

Photograph of pineapple upside-down cake.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 7 slices Canned Pineapple
  • 7 Maraschino Cherries
  • ⅔ cup Brown Sugar
  • ⅓ cup Shortening
  • ½ cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1¼ cup Flour
  • 1½ teaspoons Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
Topping
  1. Melt the butter in a 9-inch by 1½-inch round pan.
  2. Drain the canned pineapple, reserving the syrup.
  3. Arrange the pineapple slices on the bottom of the pan — six around the outside and one in the center.
  4. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.
  5. Crumble the brown sugar to cover the fruit.
Cake
  1. Cream together the shortening and granulated sugar.
  2. Add the egg and vanilla.
  3. Beat until fluffy.
  4. Sift together the dry ingredients.
  5. Add the dry ingredients and ½ cup of the reserved pineapple syrup, a little at a time while beating, alternating wet and dry ingredients.
  6. When all of the ingredients are incorporated, spread the mixture over the pineapple.
  7. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45 to 50 minutes.
  8. Let stand 5 minutes.
  9. Invert the pan on a plate.