Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

19 Posted on April 19, 2012 - by Jules Shepard

Categories: All, Cakes, Desserts, Recipes

Tags: , Allergen Friendly, Cake, Dairy Free, Dessert, Fresh Fruit, GFCF, Gluten Free Oats, Party Food, Tropical Desserts

Happy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day! Yes, I’m serious! April 20 is the time honored day that was appointed for this most special of desserts, but who really needs an excuse to make this delicious treat!?

I happened upon a perfectly ripe pineapple the other day in the produce section, and inspiration overtook me. I have made plenty of pineapple upside-down cakes, but I decided to mix it up a little this time by making some tasty, healthy gluten-free flours to add into my recipe, and also to bake them into individual ramekins for a pretty presentation. The result was such a super yummy recipe that a party of gluten enjoyers (i.e. – they didn’t know the cakes were gluten-free) fought over the last piece! In other words, you may want to double this recipe, if you intend to share!

Whether you buy or make your own almond or oat flour, using one of those flours in addition to the base of my all purpose flour makes this recipe healthier while adding a subtle, something extra to the flavor, taking a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake from delicious to delightful!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1 cup almond flour/meal or oat flour(make your own)
1 cup Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup light brown sugar + extra to sprinkle for topping
5 eggs
1/2 cup cream cheese, dairy or non-dairy – room temperature (Tofutti® or Follow Your Heart®)
½ cup vanilla yogurt, dairy or non-dairy (So Delicious® soy or coconut yogurt)
2 Tbs. pineapple juice**
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 handful pitted cherries (Dark Sweet or Rainier work well!)
1 fresh pineapple, cut into slices

To make Almond Flour/Meal or Oat Flour: Follow easy directions with this link!

To Make Cake:

Preheat oven to 350° F (static) or 325° F (convection).

Oil, then sprinkle with brown sugar the bottoms of one 8 –inch round cake pan and one large ramekin or 4 small ramekins. Arrange pineapple rings to cover the bottoms of the pans and insert cherries into the centers of the rings and between rings in any decorative pattern. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients including brown sugar, then set aside.

**Cut two other pineapple rings into chunks, then purée in a blender or food processor. Remove 2 tablespoons of liquid and set aside. (Use any leftovers in a smoothie or fruity cocktail!)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until light. Add the cream cheese, yogurt, pineapple juice and vanilla extract, mixing until well blended. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing an additional 2 minutes after all ingredients are combined. The batter will be smooth, but thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, covering the pineapple rings and sugar. Bake for 40-45 minutes for 8-inch pan; 35 minutes for large ramekin or 30 minutes for small ramekin. Test with a skewer or cake tester before removing from oven – continue cooking until tester inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Invert cakes onto plates to cool (loosen with a butter knife around the edges) until the cakes drop.

Pin It

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 19th, 2012 at 2:00 pm and is filed under All, Cakes, Desserts, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

31 Comments

We'd love to hear yours!

Alaine said: on July 22, 2011

I LOVE Pineapple Upside Down Cake, but I haven’t had it since going gluten-free. Thank you for another fantastic recipe that uses my favorite So Delicious products in the ingredients, too! I cannot wait to make this! (More accurately, I cannot wait to eat it!)
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Alaine, I love those So Delicious products – they’ve opened up so many dairy-free baking opportunities! Enjoy the recipe!
  Reply
- Dave Bel said: on August 2, 2011
  
  Same here Alaine! Thanks you for posting this. I missed pineapple upside down cake! Really looking forward to baking this!
  Reply
Jeanette said: on July 23, 2011

Tried your flour today for the first time. Made our favorite Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. Turned out just like the originals in look and taste! Thanks.
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Yay Jeanette!!! So glad you made truly amazing GF chocolate chip cookies with my flour! Life is too short to suffer through bad chocolate chip cookies, you know? Thanks for sharing & happy GF baking from now on!
  Reply
Carla @ Gluten Free Recipe Box said: on July 23, 2011

Yummy! This is my husband’s fave. I’d love to make him individual cakes to take on the road! Thanks another great recipe, Jules!
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Thanks Carla! I hope he enjoys it! I really had fun with the individual ramekins – they’re pretty and pretty handy!
  Reply
Sharon said: on July 23, 2011

I love – love – love your flour and it is the only gluten-free flour blend I have purchased since I gave up mixing my own. Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is one of my favorites because we had it regularly when I was growing up. Needless to say, I haven’t had any since going gluten-free 6 years ago! However, I’m also limiting my dairy to low lactose and I’m allergic to soy. Is there something I can use in place of the cream cheese?
Thanks so much!
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Sharon – to replace the dairy or soy cream cheese, I’d suggest something like Earth Balance Mindful Mayo. The moisture levels will be different and the products won’t behave exactly the same, but it should still work for you, while being both dairy and soy-free. Let me know how it turns out – it’s an awesome cake, so I can’t wait to hear how you like it with the sub!
  Reply
Shirley @ gfe said: on July 23, 2011

Oh, lovely, Jules! I think individual pineapple upside down cakes are super special. Kim made some a while back over at Cook IT Allergy Free. And, inspired by Kim, I made “medium-sized” pineapple cakes a little bit after that. I didn’t use fresh pineapple though … that really makes this recipe delectable, I’m sure. Love all the photos! I’m going to pretend this is a belated birthday cake for me, okay?

Shirley
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Shirley- absolutely. Since I didn’t get to make the Chocolate Beer cake for your birthday, you can count anything you want as my “virtual” cake for your special day, my friend!
  Reply
Sue said: on July 26, 2011

Jules,

I just bought a pineapple today, and I know what I want to do with it! Thanks so much!
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Sue – I’ve found pineapples everywhere lately for only $2.99! That calls for several Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes, if you ask me!
  Reply
Erica Kindler said: on July 26, 2011

Wow is all i can say. Great recipe. I had it with a caramel rum infused sauce and it was gf heaven! Thanks Jules ounce again you’ve outdone yourself!
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Wow Erica, that sounds amazing!!!
  Reply
Stacy Smith said: on July 26, 2011

If I have gf oats AND almonds, how do I decide which one to use? Can you please describe the difference, Jules? Thanks for the recipe – I’m so excited to try it!
Stacy
Reply
- Jules said: on July 26, 2011
  
  Great question Stacy! To me, the almond meal/flour cake was more dense and had a slightly nutty taste and texture. The oat flour cake was lighter. I frankly couldn’t decide which I liked better, and the gluten-eating taste-testers at the party said they could barely discern a difference, but that they were both delicious! Let me know which you choose!
  Reply
Vanessa Hill said: on July 26, 2011

Oh my! My grandmother used to make a killer pineapple upside down cake. I can’t wait to make this gluten free version.
Reply
Michele said: on July 26, 2011

By chance, have you made this recipe with Ener-G Egg Replacer? I generally have found that recipes with three or more eggs don’t transfer so well to egg free baking and was wondering if this would unfortunately be true in this case too. If you’ve got any other substitute ideas that are also gluten, dairy and egg free, I’d be interested.

Thanks.
Reply
- Jules said: on July 28, 2011
  
  Michele – I agree that 3 or more eggs to substitute doesn’t usually lend itself to a good result. If you have my newest cookbook, Free for All Cooking, I’d recommend making my egg-free cake and using some pineapple juice in place of some liquids, then doing the same pineapple/cherry rings and sugar topping. It’ll make a delicious, no compromise cake for you!
  Reply
  - Rebekah said: on July 6, 2012
    
    Instead, would it be possible to half the recipe and make a smaller cake while using an egg substitute?
    Reply
    - Jules said: on July 6, 2012
      
      Rebekah – I wouldn’t recommend it with such a large proportion of this recipe being eggs. Even if you halved the recipe, the proportion of eggs would still remain the same. Of course you can always try it and prove me wrong though!
      Reply
deborah J frost said: on July 27, 2011

I’m glad you came up with gluten free recipes like this Upside Down Pineapple Cake and others! Will make this real soon and can’t wait!
Reply
- Jules said: on July 28, 2011
  
  So glad you’re liking the recipes, Deborah!!!
  Reply
Angie Halten said: on July 29, 2011

Pineapple upside down cake is one of my favorites! I’ve never thought of using ramekins and making individuals ones – great idea!
Reply
Melaina from Rudi’s Gluten Free Bakery said: on April 20, 2012

Yum! Not only does this look incredible but the picture is absolutely beautiful! Keep up the great work
Reply
- Jules said: on April 20, 2012
  
  Thanks Melaina!
  Reply
Sandra Vega said: on April 20, 2012

I love the recipes, but I really need the nutritional content. Counting calories!
Reply
- Jules said: on April 22, 2012
  
  Sandra, I totally understand! We have run nutritionals on some recipes, particularly my lentil recipes, but we don’t have anyone on staff who can run these for each recipe (and I definitely don’t have time!). It’s something I’d love to be able to offer, and hopefully in the future we can. In the meantime, all of my ebooks have the nutritionals run – why don’t you take a look at those? http://blog.julesglutenfree.com/books/
  Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake | Gluten free recipes, resources, and … | American Cooking Recipes - 22. Jul, 2011
[...] time by making some tasty, healthy gluten-free flours to add into my … … More here: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake | Gluten free recipes, resources, and … ← Looking for Good Vegan Cake Recipes? Italian Cooking in American Kitchens [...]
gluten - 14. Apr, 2012
gluten…

[...]Pineapple Upside-Down Cake | Gluten free recipes, resources, and news. Easy allergy friendly recipes and baking tips using Jules Gluten Free Flour.[...]…