Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Submitted by: JustRightMenus

Description:

The recipe's full title is, "The Bride Makes Pineapple Upside-Down Cake." I actually have the page out of the 1967 magazine... there's an ad for Kleenex on the back of the page that is sixties-riffic.

Options for Apricot or Peach Upside-Down Cake follow. You can also make this using a cake mix (see below for instructions).

Servings: 8

Categories: apricot, cake, dessert, peach, pineapple

From the kitchen of:

McCall's magazine, April 1967 issue, page 44.

Ingredients

2 cans (8.5 oz size) sliced pineapple (about 8 slices)

1/4 c. butter or margarine

2/3 c. light-brown sugar, firmly packed

8 maraschino cherries, drained

1/4 c. pecan halves or broken walnuts

1 c. sifted all-purpose flour

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c. shortening

1/2 c. milk

1 egg

whipped cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Drain pineapple, reserving 2 TB of the syrup.

Melt butter in a 10-inch heavy (oven-proof) skillet, over low heat. Add brown sugar, stirring until sugar is melted. Remove from heat.

Arrange drained pineapple on sugar mixture in skillet. Fill centers of pineapple slices with cherries and spaces between slices with pecans. Set skillet aside.

Into medium bowl, sift flour with granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add shortening and milk. With electric mixer at medium speed, beat 2 minutes.

Add egg and reserved pineapple syrup; beat 2 minutes longer. Pour cake batter over pineapple in skillet, spreading evenly.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until cake springs back up when gently pressed with fingertip.

Let stand on wire rack just 5 minutes. With small spatula, loosen cake from edge of skillet. Cover with serving plate; invert; shake gently; then lift off pan.

Serve the cake warm. Top individual servings with whipped cream. Or, top with small spoonfulls of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Apricot Upside-Down Cake

Make and bake as above, substituting 1 can (1 lb, 1 oz) unpeeled apricot halves, drained well on paper towels, for sliced pineapple and syrup from apricots for pineaplle syrup. Arrange apricots, cut side up- on brown sugar mixture, and surround with cherries and nuts.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

Make and bake as above, substituting 1 can (1 lb, 1 oz) cling-peach slices, well drained, for sliced pineapple and syrup from peaches for pineapple syrup. Arrange peach slices, cherries, and nuts decoratively on the brown-sugar mixture.

Upside-Down Cake with Cake Mix

Make any of fruit toppings in skillet, as directed above, THen prepare a package of 2-layer yellow-cake mix as label directs. Measure 2 1/2 cups batter, and pour over fruit. Turn remaining batter into greased and floured 8-inch layer pan, and bake along with upside-down cake. If desired, freeze plain layer for dessert another day.