Taking a 1970's retro recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake from Better Homes & Garden cookbook and baking it modern...
So do you love the taste of retro recipes but don't know how to convert them for today's taste palette or to meet your speciality dietary needs? My vintage inspiration for this Pineapple Upside Down Cake is from 1976 Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book. When inverted, this cake has a rich, buttery brown sugar pineapple mixture on top of a tender sponge cake.
How to bake it modern:
- added oil in addition to the butter to keep it moist
- added rum to boost flavor
- swapped out the syrup mixture and used buttermilk
BAKER'S TIPS:
Combine butter for flavor and oil for a tender cake:
Using butter in a cake provides flavor, while adding oil makes it super moist. So even if your cake recipe calls for just butter or just oil, you can combine them together to maintain the flavor from butter and use some oil to keep the texture of baked goods moist. Be sure to use an oil that is has a neutral and light flavor such as canola oil or extra light virgin olive oil.
Canned vs. fresh pineapple:
The recipe calls for canned pineapple in syrup as that was popular in the 70's. It also referred to steps such as using part of the syrup in the pineapple mixture and saving a portion of it mixing it with water and using in the batter. I used canned pineapple in 100% juice, to keep the cake from being too sweet. Drain the juice and measure it out before adding to the batter.
I do not suggest using fresh pineapple which contains enzymes that change it’s texture when baked. During this process, the pineapple releases too much liquid, and will make your cake soggy.
Use buttermilk for a tender cake:
Adding buttermilk yields a light, tender crumb in cakes and tangy flavor. If you don't have buttermilk on hand try making it....
Homemade Buttermilk: Place 1 T. vinegar or lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup and add cream, whole milk, or sour cream until it reaches the 1 c. measure line and let it sit for a few minutes before use.
Convert this Pineapple Upside Down Cake to meet your speciality diet needs:
GLUTEN-FREE
Swap out the flour with our handcrafted Vintage Baked Modern Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Blend
Gluten-Free Baking Tips: If time allows, be sure to let the batter rest as hydrating the gluten-free flour is an important step to help eliminate grittiness. You can make batter ahead and store in the fridge up to 1 week until use.
VEGAN
• In place of the milk, use unsweetened oat, coconut or almond milk.
• Swap out butter with vegan butter sticks. My favorite is Country Crock Olive Oil Sticks
• To replace the egg, add 1 tsp. soda to the batter with 1 T. vinegar poured on top of the soda.
Try some of our simple, recipes with our handcrafted all-natural, allergen-free flour! Our handcrafted flour yields your bakes light and tender.
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