These past two weeks have been so hectic! I started working for my cousins at their grocery store and what was supposed to be a light and easy gig turned into a full time bout of responsibility in a matter of minutes. They needed someone to cashier for them a couple times a week and since I was available, they asked me to do it. I’ve never been a cashier before, so it has been a learning experience. Trust me though, I picked up VERY quickly. Like a week in, my cousin’s wife (who also works there) had to take an emergency leave at the same time the other cousin was taking his two weeks off. I had to maneuver my post by myself every single day since then. My shifts range anywhere from eight to nine hours, which are doing a number on my feet and legs. It’s super tiring and sometimes boring but it’s okay. My cousin is super grateful that I’m there and I’m always happy to help. The only caveat is that I don’t have time to bake anymore! Unfortunately, there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to rest and get in the kitchen.
I got home a little early last Sunday and was inspired to bake, tiredness be damned. For some reason, I had upside down cake on the brain. Before this blog’s existence, I once made a pineapple upside down cake. I used my mom’s casserole dish and was super psyched about it. It was good and my folks loved it, except most of it stayed in the pan. I knew I wanted to do it again but with a twist. You already know my dad is a corn fanatic, so I thought why not work that in? A quick search led me to this pineapple upside down cornmeal cake.
I had been working all morning and was sort if disheveled by the time I made it home, so I kinda maybe screwed up in parts. Firstly, I went with blinders on into the supermarket for ingredients. I was too focused on speeding up the trip than on what I needed, and ended up with pineapple chunks instead of rings. Then, I had the brilliant idea of making this in a spring form pan to ensure its removal in one piece. Good idea — in theory. The caramel and pineapple juice started oozing out from the bottom, leaving me with trails of sugar all over my kitchen and kitchen table. Not only that, but I forgot to put a sheet pan under it in the oven until 5 minutes in. Some of that caramel fell on the oven floor; causing it to burn and smoke while the cake baked.
Despite all this, the cake came out great. Nothing stuck to the pan and I made everything work. I didn’t have maraschino cherries, so I used real ones. I cut the chunks in half and lined the whole pan because the more pineapple, the better right? Then I swapped the whole milk for coconut, to add a little richness and extra flavor (although it was undetectable). The best part is that this recipe uses coarse cornmeal, which adds a lot of texture to the cake. I have to say, for all those screw ups and the long wait, it was definitely worth it. It was like a corn muffin turned up a notch. The fruit got all nice, sweet and tender. Then the caramel. Oh goodness, the caramel! Some of it came up the sides of the cake while baking, which hardened after it got cold. So good! I have to say, for a last minute thing, it came out pretty darn good. I just hope I have more time to get back in the kitchen soon!
Pineapple Upside Down Cornmeal Cake – adapted from Food Network
Makes 1 10-inch or 9-inch cake
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 8 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1 cup
- 6 slices canned pineapple in heavy syrup
- 6 maraschino cherries, or regular cherries
- 3 tablespoons juice from canned pineapple
- 3 whole eggs
- 4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 5 3/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3/4 cup
- 1/2 cup canola oil
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Add the cornmeal and stir. Let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes and set aside.
- Melt the butter in another small saucepan. Once the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour into the cake pan. Carefully place 1 slice of pineapple in the center of the pan. Place the other 5 slices around the center slice in a circle. Place the cherries in the centers of the pineapple slices and sprinkle the nuts evenly over the fruit. Drizzle pineapple juice over top.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the canola oil and whisk. Add the cornmeal and milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add this to the flour and stir just until combined. Pour the batter over the fruit in the skillet and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes in the skillet. Set a platter on top of the skillet and carefully invert the cake. Serve.
Lucy’s Tips:
- You can use a regular 9 inch cake pan; my spring form is 9 inches and it worked out fine (for the most part)
- This was great with pineapples but I bet it’d go great with other kinds of fruit; like all cherries or maybe even peaches
