Betty Crocker’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Absolutely fantastic, moist, caramelly pineapple upside-down cake

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1950

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Betty Crocker, household name, beloved friend of homemakers across the country, recipient of countless marriage proposals by mail, sales powerhouse, and radio and TV personality, did not actually exist. She was created by the Washburn Crosby Company’s (later General Mills) marketing department and was the result of several individual’s input. Whether she was real or not, her influence was very real, and for good reason. This recipe for pineapple upside-down cake, a variation of her key recipe for upside-down cake, is simply fantastic. It’s moist, caramelly, and doesn’t require any updates or changes more than 70 years later.

“CAKE BATTER
Beat until thick and lemon-colored (5 min.)
2 eggs
Gradually beat in…
2/3 cup sugar
Beat in all at once…
6 tbsp. juice from fruit
1 tsp. flavoring
Sift together and beat in all at once…
1 cup sifted GOLD MEDAL Flour or SOFTASILK Cake Flour
1/3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Temperature: 350° (mod. oven)
Time: Bake 45 min.

Melt 1/3 cup butter in heavy 10” skillet or baking dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange drained cooked fruit in attractive pattern on the butter-sugar coating.
Make the Cake Batter and pour it over fruit. Bake until wooden pick thrust into center of cake comes out clean. Immediately turn upside-down on serving plate. Do not remove pan for a few minutes. Brown sugar mixture will run down over cake instead of clinging to pan. Serve warm with plain or whipped cream. ”

— Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, 1950

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Ingredients:

Pineapple Topping

• 1/3 cup (75 g) butter
• 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
• 7 canned pineapple rings
• 7 maraschino cherries
• Pecan halves, about 12

Cake

• 1 cup (125 g) cake flour or sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup (135 g) sugar
• 6 tablespoons (90 ml) juice from canned pineapple
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. For the pineapple topping: Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet, then take it off the heat. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly in the pan. Arrange the pineapple rings in the pan and add a maraschino cherry in the center of each ring. Fill in the empty spaces between the rings with pecan halves.
3. For the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with an electric beater until they are thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes.
5. Gradually add in the sugar and beat until just incorporated, then add the pineapple juice and vanilla and mix them in.
6. Add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time and mix it in by hand.
7. Gently pour the batter over the prepared skillet, being careful to not disturb the pattern of the fruit.
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a serving plate, from which you may serve it forth.

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