Fresh Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients

• 1⅔ cups (160 g) all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ fresh pineapple, halved lengthwise, cored, and peeled
• 1½ sticks (185 g) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup (107 g) packed light brown sugar
• ⅔ cup (132 g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• ⅔ cup (151 g) well-shaken buttermilk

Steps

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt into a small bowl. Cut pineapple crosswise into ¼-inch-thick wedges.
3. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep) lightly on side and generously on bottom of pan using ½ stick butter. Sprinkle all of brown sugar evenly over bottom and arrange pineapple over it, starting in center of pan and overlapping slices slightly.
4. In a large bowl, beat together remaining stick butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing just until batter is smooth.
5. Spread batter evenly over pineapple and bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pan on a rack, then invert cake onto a plate and remove pan. Cool to room temperature. Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed in the April 2007 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our favorite cakes →