Pineapple and Pecan Upside-Down Cake

It’s becoming more and more apparent to me that the heart wrenching moments of baking often happen right at the end. I think that’s why many are intimidated by upside-down cakes (aside from the fact that they’re kind of considered an old-fashioned dessert). However, I was hopeful I could successfully create the Pineapple and Pecan Upside-Down Cake the first time around.

I researched upside-down cakes after my stint with the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Upside-Down Cake. Most of what I found had to do with pineapple upside-down cakes, which seemed to have a relatively better outcome with the flipping part… A.K.A. the last part of the recipe.

None of the ingredients were hard to find, but it was the first time I had ever purchased a pineapple that wasn’t already sliced up. While it looks intimating, like Claire mentioned, I knew it was ready to use because the base had a floral fragrance (who knew!). I ended up having more pineapple pieces than needed when it was all cooked and placed in the bottom of the pan with the caramel sauce. All of this was relatively easy, just a bit time consuming—I’m still getting used to using the stove to make desserts, for me it’s always been a mixer and I’m good. Sometimes I’m also unsure whether my caramel sauce is the right thickness; considering what I typically picture for caramel sauce, the ones I’ve made so far always have a thinner consistency. They do thicken up in the cooking process, but more like a simple syrup than a melted-down candy caramel.

The cake batter is pretty simple to put together; I’m getting to the point, however, where I am starting to confuse all the different cake batter flavors I’m making. My goal with this project is to have an overall consensus of what ingredients go in specific cake flavors, but I’m starting to confuse them all! This part may just take more practice once I evaluate which recipes are my favorite.

I poured the batter over the pineapple layer, baked the cake for about 43 minutes, and then let it cool for 15 minutes as directed. And when the final flip took place, it came out beautifully! The layered pineapples looked very nice, and I highly recommend adding the apricot jam at the end; this is what gives the shiny glaze that makes this final cake look so wonderful.

While the cake was beautiful in appearance, it wasn’t my personal favorite. I absolutely loved the pecan cake on its own; I want to reuse this cake recipe with a cinnamon buttercream and see how it turns out. I’m not much on fruit with cake, however I did enjoy the pineapple with the extra layer of flavor from the apricot jam. If you’re looking to try out an upside-down cake recipe, this is a great option. Compared to many complex recipes in Dessert Person, this one comes together easily and relatively fast. I’m very happy this Pineapple and Pecan Upside-Down Cake was successful the first time around, and I look forward to learning how I can further use the cake recipe.

Once Claire releases this dessert on her YouTube channel I will share it!