Pineapple sponge cake

How to prepare a very juicy pineapple cake . Do you like simple, fruitful and juicy cupcakes? Well this is your dessert, to do it you only need an oven and want to cook.

This dessert recipe was the star of family meals at my grandmother María’s house. My aunt Edita prepared it in many of the family gatherings such as the grape harvest in Forraqueira or the “Virxen da Costria” party in Penalba. She has been doing it all her life and came out with her eyes closed. When I was little I liked it without further ado, I had no idea that it would become a classic in my kitchen.

This type of inverted pineapple cake is already years old. A century ago this type of cake was already prepared with a sugary coating made from fruits in syrup and caramel.

The curiosity of this cake is that it is cooked upside down with the cover at the base of the mold, therefore to present it it is essential to remove it from the mold. You can not miss also trying our tatin proposals, from the classic apple tart tatin or the original peach tatin tart .

The result is great, impressive fruit aroma and juiciness increased by getting the top drunk. Although pineapple is delicious nothing prevents you from replacing it with other fruits, the ones you like the most.

Preparation of the caramel for the base of the cake

1. We put a saucepan or a frying pan on the fire at medium intensity so that it reaches temperature.
2. Add the ingredients in the following order: 5 tablespoons of white granulated sugar and a little water (3 heaped tablespoons).
3. Leave on medium heat without stirring (at first we should not move the sugar with a wooden spoon because it will weigh down) and we will see how little bubbles begin to form little by little and the sugar changes color.
4. When this happens we remove, now yes, with a wooden spoon and we help to mix everything.
5. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until it reaches that roasted honey caramel color.
6. We let it temper for a minute. We bathe the mold we are going to use with the liquid caramel, covering the bottom first and then turning or tilting the walls little by little. Always until the base and part of the sides are impregnated with caramel.
7. Once the caramel has hardened, you will see how small cracks are formed, we reserve for the next step.
8. Do not miss the video that I present below. In it you will see that preparing caramel at home is very simple.

Preparation of the pineapple invert cake cream

1. We take the yogurt container as a measure to calculate the amount to use of the different ingredients. Even so I have put the weights in grams of all the ingredients to make it easier for you.
2. We wash the lemon very well and grate it without reaching the white part, which can become bitter. We reserve.
3. To make it easier for you to prepare this cake and that it turns out perfect. We must have all the ingredients at room temperature and prepared.
4. The butter has to be “to the point of ointment” , soft but not liquid. If we have everything at hand we will not forget anything and thus the end result will be delicious.
5. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until we have a fluffy and smooth dough, once this consistency is obtained, add the tablespoons of vanilla flavoring and continue beating. We continue adding the eggs one by one. The mixture has to be smooth and creamy.
6. We add to the previous mixture the chemical yeast with the previously sifted flour, the yogurt and the lemon zest. Beat with the mixer until there are no lumps.
7. We place the pineapple slices in the mold on top of the caramel covering the entire surface.

Baking and final presentation of the pineapple cake

1. We preheat the oven to 200º C 10 minutes before adding the cake.
2. We put the cake in the oven at 180º C for 35-40 minutes until the surface is well browned.
3. The last 10 minutes we cover it with a piece of aluminum foil so that it does not burn us. We prick with a fork from time to time to see if it is done, until it comes out clean.
4. Once baked, we prick the cake with a fork and with a spoon we pour the syrup that comes with the can of pineapple on top. We do not want a completely drunk cake but we do give juiciness to the dessert.
5. Unmold carefully, if we see that there is a piece of pineapple stuck to the mold. We take it out and place it without problem.

This dessert is richer cold, for this we let it cool in the fridge for 3 hours, from one day to the next it is fantastic. It has a great flavor and a delicious presentation.

I encourage you to try doing it at home, the result is impressive. You can see all the photos of the step by step of this pineapple cake  in this album.