Taste of Summer - Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I often remember coming home late from school and before I even dropped my backpack at the door, being instantly hit by the sweet and buttery smell of cake. This particular cake was one of my family's favorite desserts not just because of the smell or how fluffy soft the cake was or even the slight crunch of the brown sugar "crust", but because it was easy for my mom to make after she came home from a long day at work, had cooked dinner, and watched over my then 1 year old brother.
 

 

"What did you mom make for dinner?"

"(insert Filipino dish here). "

"That sounds good."

"Oh and she made pineapple upside down cake."

"I'll be right over."

 

That was a pretty common reaction with my various extended family members. If for some reason they couldn't make over to our house, I was always instructed to "save a piece." Yeah, like there would be anything left over....

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

in a 13x9 non-stick pan

 

1- box of yellow cake mix

3- eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1- 20oz can of pineapple rings (in its own juice)

1- small jar of maraschino cherries

2/3 cup butter, melted

1/2 golden brown sugar








 

1) Preheat oven to 350*F. Place butter in non-stick baking pan and place in preheating oven to melt.

2) Pour all pineapple juice from canned pineapple rings into a measuring cup up to 1 cup. If the juice does not measure to 1 cup, fill remainder of the measuring cup with water. Combine cake mix, eggs, juice, and vegetable oil. Set aside.

3) Carefully remove pan from oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple rings in the butter and sugar. Place a cherry in the middle of each ring.

4) Slowly pour batter evenly over the pineapple rings. Bake for 25 minutes.

5) Allow to cool for approximately 15 minutes. Place a serving plate firmly over the pan and flip. Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Sueshine Notes

As you can see, I used a 13x9 pan because I wanted to bring it to work....much to my coworkers' delight. When my mom would make it, it was always in two 9-inch rounds meaning you would just need to split the butter evenly and adjust the baking time according to the directions on your cake mix.

When making any kind of upside down cake, I think the flipping scares people the most. Tips to a good flip is to 1) use a good non-stick pan or in my case, I lined the pan with parchment paper, 2) allow the cake to cool and 3) commit!! Don't hesitate when flipping your cake....just hold your serving plate firmly against the pan and do it fast. The cake will just slide right out.

Don't distress if your cake cracks a little. Believe me, most people won't even notice once they start eating!

Cutting back on the sugar but still want an easy dessert? I would recommend using more water than pineapple juice, use a sugar free cake mix like Pillsbury, or use Splenda sugar blend. Or just eat a smaller piece.

 

 t was my mom's birthday a few weeks ago and I decided to make it in her honor. My mom doesn't make the cake very often anymore because she can't have it and it's one of the few sweets she admits she has a hard time resisting (even though she just lost an incredible 20+ pounds in less than a month! Zumba away mom! You can spare a piece of cake!). Instead of indulging in the cake, I decided to share this one with my co-workers. It was welcomed with enthusiasm and was gone within 15-20 minutes of my placing it in the kitchen. A few people asked me for the recipe and I explained how easy it was.

 

"You make it sound so easy. Like tada....cake!" said one of my co-workers.

 

Don't be fooled. This cake really is that easy. Just remember...commit to the flip!!

 

 

Hello Autumn! - Pumpkin Nutella Rolls

Most people get cash tips for their work. My husband (a locksmith) got a pumpkin. I didn't believe him at first when I got the text in the middle of the day but when I got home, there sat a small pumpkin on my kitchen work station. Hmm okay. Other than carve and eat things made with pumpkin, I haven't actually cooked one. What on earth was I going to do with something that I've never worked with? I decided to start with making pumpkin butter and hope I would get inspired somewhere along the way.

 

 

 

 

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

adapted from fitsugar.com

 

1 small to medium sized pumpkin (about 5lbs)
1/4 cup apple cider (I used light/no sugar added apple juice)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp stevia or agave (I used stevia for this recipe)

 

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Cut the pumpkin in half and remove seeds and "guts." Line a roasting pan with tin foil and drizzle with olive oil or spray with cooking oil. Place the halves on the pan, face down.

Bake for 1 1/2-2 hours (check your pumpkin occassionally. IMO, without turning over the pumpkin, it will be done when the outer skin starts to darken and wrinkle). Allow to cool.

Scrape the contents of the pumpkin into a bowl. Mix in apple cider, cinnamon, pie spice, and sweetener.

Boil in a sauce pot over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir until the puree is smooth and cool. Store in an air tight container such as a mason jar.

 

On the site, suggestions for the pumpkin butter was to put it on top of pancakes, waffles, bread, oatmeal, and yogurt. Do you see the trend that I saw? It seemed like it was a good compliment to breakfast so I decided to use the pumpkin butter for cinnamon rolls. But what if I put it inside instead of on top? Oh oh and what if I added chocolate chips which I had heard was a great combo with pumpkin? (can you believe I've never had a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie?) Darn, I was out of chocolate chips....but never out of Nutellla! Oooh my mouth was watering already!

 

Pumpkin Nutella Rolls

1 box of Pillsbury Hot Roll mix (hot water, 1 egg)

1/3 cup of Nutella

1/2 cup of pumpkin butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Butter or margarine (for top)

 

Follow directions on the box to make the dough. (Yes I know that some of you may think baking from a box is cheating but I don't judge. Baking from a box is fine but I always suggest you get creative and jazz it up!)

Roll dough out thin on a floured work surface or on parchment paper.

Begin spreading thin layers of Nutella then pumpkin butter on top of the dough. Sprinkle brown sugar on top.

Tightly roll the dough, tucking and pinching as you go.

 

 

Tip for cutting: Get a long piece of dental floss. As shown in the center picture above, tuck it under the log, criss-cross the floss, then pull. The floss will easily and cleanly cut through the dough. Repeat cutting 1 inch thick pieces.

Lay the cut pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375*F.

Brush soften butter or margarine on top of roll. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

 

Okay, I know this recipe takes a LOT of time and effort but it will be worth it in the end. Most rolls have some kind of icing on top and I honestly believe this doesn't need it because all the sweet goodness is already inside. My only suggestion is if you do want to top it off with anything, serve warm and add a little more butter to keep it moist.

 

 

Holy moley these turned out better than I expected. I'm so happy that this was the first thing I made for the Fall season! I hope you'll at least try to make the pumpkin butter. If you're a pumpkin fan, I promise you'll want to put it on EVERYTHING.  Happy Fall baking everyone!