Fresh Pineapple Up-Side-Down Cake

See what happened while the cake was baking? Now I have the awful chore of cleaning my oven. UGH!!


I love using this cake plate. It belonged to my grandmother, so that means it's antique. I was antique shopping not to long ago and found this exact same cake plate with a price tag on it. The price tag said $20.00, so I think I will hang on to this plate.



Craisins~Have you ever tried Ocean Spray Craisins? When craisins are eaten out of the bag there is usually a surprise reaction. Craisins have an unexpecting sweet taste to them. I like to put them in recipes that call for raisins. Ocean Spray says that craisins are the sweetest way to eat a cranberry. There are so many different ways to eat craisins. You can eat them as a healthy snack, bake with them (which I do a lot), throw them in a salad (this is great), or add them to yogurt or cereal.
There is a down-side to craisins though. Even though they are a good source of dietary fiber, the vitamins present in the cranberries are lost in the commercial drying process. This process doesn't matter to me though, I like to eat them anyway.




As I was trying to take a picture of this piece of cake, my camera lens kept steaming up from the heat coming off of the cake. I just couldn't wait any longer, I had to try a piece. I am in love all over again since the cinnamon roll.
I had some fresh pineapple in the frig that wasn't being eaten. I just hate that; I buy fresh produce with my family's health in mind and nobody wants to eat it. I thought, "It is now time to find a place for this pineapple, and it's not the trash can."
I think my creation turned out pretty darn good, excellent as a matter of fact. You will have to make this and be the judge.

Fresh Pineapple Up-Side-Down Cake

3/4 c. butter (melted)
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
3/4 c. cranberry juice
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. white sugar
3 eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Fresh pineapple slices, or chunks
A handful of Ocean Spray Craisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Melt the butter. Brush a little bit of the butter on the inside of a 9 inch cake pan.

Mix 5 TBS of the butter with the brown sugar and 1/4 cup of cranberry juice. Place this mixture in the bottom of the cake pan. Arrange the Craisins and pineapple rings or pieces on the brown sugar mixture in a decorative pattern. Set pan aside.

Stir together the flour, salt, white sugar, and baking powder.

Separate the eggs. Beat the whites until stiff but not dry.
Beat two of the egg yolks until lemony yellow. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cranberry juice, vanilla, and remaining melted butter. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites. Pour batter over the top of the brown sugar and pineapple pieces.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes then cover pan tightly with a serving dish and invert so the pineapple side is up.

Do you know how sometimes a pinapple up-side-down cake can be really overly sweet? Well this one is not, and especially by adding the craisins it all evens out. I love the taste of this cake. Definitely a keeper, cloner, do-over, etc...

Good Luck~Happy Eating~Enjoy