For My Berfday

I've been baking since I was 14 and have usually made my own birthday cake (Smarties Galore). With the exception of my 20th birthday where my sister and her husband made an AMAZING Oreo cake. Yes OREO. It took me a while to get into baking again because I wasn't used to an Australian convection oven and was thus scarred by burnt cookies and stayed away. This year I decided to make something a little different and more adventurous, well it was adventurous for me because I'd never made it before. I chose Upside Down Pineapple cake not only because it's not to rich and has a summery tropical flavour but when we were leaving Canada a friend of my mothers had us over for a farewell dinner where she made this beautiful cake and I had it for the first time and swore that I would make it myself one day. Finally got around to it. Here is the recipe and some pictures. I used a recipe from my Williams-Sonoma baking book.

Ingredients:

For the topping-

• Cooking Spray for greasing (I just used butter)
• 1/2 a fresh pineapple peeled and trimmed (I used canned, because not only does it come peeled and trimmed and in perfect rounds but it also has the juice)
• 60g unsalted butter
• 3/4 firmly packed brown sugar

For the sponge-

• 1 3/4 cup of plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 185g of unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of whole milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 F).Lightly grease a 9 inch (23cm) cake pan. Cut the pineapple crosswise into slices 1/2 inch thick, core, and then cut into half moons. In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter, add the brown sugar and stir until small bubbles appear, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into cake pan, arrange 7-8 pineapple half moons in a circular pattern and set aside. For the cake, mix flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl ( always sift) set aside. In another bowl whisk the eggs and vanilla. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment ( I used a hand mixer and it worked out fine) beat the butter until pale and fluffy, slowly add the granulated sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes longer. Gradually add the egg mixture making sure to beat well after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 2 additions alternating with the milk and beating on low speed after each addition. Mix until the batter is smooth, and do NOT over mix, it should be quite thick. Spread the batter in cake pan and bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown/skewer comes out clean. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes, then turn it out onto a platter and make sure to scrap out left over juices. Serve warm.

This is what it should look like when it comes out of the oven and it should spring back when touched. Turn it upside down, et voila!