April 20is National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day #PineappleUpsideDownCakeDay which means again I am behind but sometimes life gets in the way but that shouldn’t stop us from celebrating National Pineapple Cake Day should it?
I don’t know about you but I love Pineapple Upside Down Cake and so did my mom. I wish she was here to celebrate National Pineapple Cake Day with me since she isn’t I will share a slice of Pineapple Upside Down Cake with David because he likes it as well. As for Charlie I don’t know if he has ever had Pineapple Upside Down Cake or even if he would try a bite.
Join David and I on National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day, which is celebrated annually on April 20, encouraging you to tingle your taste buds with this tropical delight. If you’ve never tried Pineapple Upside Down Cake, then today, you have no excuse.
Did you know Pineapple Upside Down Cake has been dubbed one of the most popular recipes of the 20th Century? here are dozens of variations that will fit the needs of any palette. For example, if you’d like to amp up the tropical factor in this dish, go ahead and add a splash of Dark Rum to the Cake Batter.
While the history of National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day is unclear, the history of the dessert itself is well-documented and well-loved. Hundreds of years ago, people used cast-iron skillets to cook Fruit Cakes over open flames.
Any type of Fruit would produce a delicious tasting Cake. With the Fruit lining the bottom of the skillet and Cake Batter added over the Fruit, the pan would be flipped after cooking, revealing a beautiful showing of Caramelized Fruit on top.
Did you know the earliest cast-iron skillets were called ‘spiders’ because they had legs? The Cakes themselves were commonly known at this time as ‘Spider Cakes.’ Once ovens became a fixture in the homes of Americans, the skillets lost their legs, transitioning to a flat-bottomed pan that would more easily fit into the ovens.
In 1925, the Hawaiian Pineapple Company sponsored a contest to find the best Pineapple recipes. With “Good Housekeeping” and “McCall’s” magazines promoting the contest, over 60,000 submissions were entered. Of those, 2,500 recipes were for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake alone! The Cake’s popularity soared with the publishing of 100 of the winning recipes in a cookbook the next year.
Today, people still crave an occasional Pineapple Upside-Down Cake so try your hand at this relatively simple-to-make dessert and celebrate with your friends and family.
National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day Activities
- While canned Pineapple rings taste perfectly fine in every Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe, nothing beats fresh Pineapple. Plus, cutting your own Pineapple is an adventure in itself. Search online for ways to cut a fresh Pineapple, whether in rings as with this dessert or chopping it into smaller pieces for cooking.
- Did you know Pineapple Upside-Down Cake can be made ahead of time so if your looking for a simple and easily transportable dessert, look no further. You can make Pineapple Upside Down Cakes to take to a potluck or to give to someone as a gift.
- Today is a day of sharing and celebrating, use hospitable Pineapple-themed serving pieces. If you don’t already have anything, today is a good day to purchase something and you should be able to find serving trays, bowls, pie cutters, napkins, and many other options that brighten up the table and experience of serving your guests.
Facts About Pineapples
- Annually, just under 28 million tons of Pineapples are produced all over the world with the greatest production serving the U.S. coming from Costa Rica.
- Did you know Raw Pineapple Pulp is 86% Water?
- Pineapples are rich in vitamin C and loaded with antioxidants.
- A Pineapple is not a single Fruit but a group of Berries that have grown together.
- Once harvested, Pineapple does not continue to ripen so it remains as ripe as the day it was picked.
Why We Love National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day
The Pineapple has long been considered a symbol of hospitality. This idea and tradition began with Caribbean Indians who placed Pineapples at the entrance of their homes
A fun way to serve Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is in individual ramekins. Match the ramekin size to a Pineapple Ring and continue using whatever recipe you love most. It will be just as tasty as if you had made one Cake but will be a cool way to serve at your next dinner party.
When you make the final flip of the Pineapple Upside Down Cake onto your cake server, you realize this is the star of the show. The Pineapple rings and Cherries (or whatever other Fruit you choose to use) create a beautiful presentation which is part of the draw of the dessert because you start eating with your eyes, right?!
Recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Prep Time 15 min
Total1 hr 40 min
Servings 12
Ingredients
Vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
1/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 can (20 oz) pineapple slices in juice, drained, juice reserved
1 jar (6 oz) maraschino cherries without stems, drained (about 18 cherries)
1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ Yellow Cake Mix
Instructions
Step 1: Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan).
Step 2: As the oven is preheating, place the butter in a 13×9-inch pan and set it on the middle oven rack to melt. Set a timer for 5 to 7 minutes to remind yourself to check when the butter is fully melted.
Step 3: Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices on brown sugar. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice, and arrange remaining cherries around slices; press gently into brown sugar.
Step 4: Add enough water to reserved pineapple juice to measure 1 cup. Make cake batter as directed on box, substituting pineapple juice mixture for the water.
Step 5: Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
Step 6: Bake 40 to 46 minutes (44 to 53 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately run knife around side of pan to loosen cake.
Step 7: Place heatproof serving plate upside down on top the pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake for 5 minutes so brown sugar topping can drizzle over cake; remove pan.
Step 8: Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Store covered in refrigerator.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
