Forget those old fashioned upside down cakes using tinned pineapple and glace cherries. This version uses fresh pineapple, and the coconut flavour of the cake, perfumed with orange makes this fresh and light that’s perfect any time of the day.
I love buying fresh pineapple and letting it sit out on the kitchen bench for a few days so it gets ripe and juicy. You can actually smell the aroma as you walk in the room. That’s when you know it’s at it’s best. Pineapple is so good for you, full of vitamin C, manganese (good for your joints, bones and your brain), fibre and low in fat. It’s perfect in a fruit salad, fruit kebabs and is a great addition to a smoothy (add it to kale to get the incredible goodness of kale into a sweet delicious drink). But enough with the healthy stuff, let’s make cake!
This cake marries fresh pineapple with coconut, a classic combination. It reminds me of sunshine – golden and radiant, and it’s super simple to make. Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream for a delicious summery treat.
- 125gm butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 300ml thickened cream
- 2 cups self raising flour
- 1 cup dessicated coconut
- 2 tblsp finely grated orange zest
- ½ frsh pineapple, peeled and cut into thin slices
- 3 tblsp brown sugar
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well to incorporate each egg.
- Fold through the cream, self raising flour, coconut and zest.
- Line the base of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar, then lay the pineapple slices, slightly overlapping, in a fan pattern to cover the bottom of the tin.
- Spoon the cake batter over the pineapple and smooth the top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through. Test it by piercing with a skewer – if the skewer comes out clean it’s ready.
- Allow to sit for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cake tray. Now invert again so cake sits the right way up. Peel the baking paper from the top of the cake and allow to cool before serving.
Leave a Reply