Pineapple Upside Down Cake #recipe @LucyBurdette

Lucy Burdette: I had to make a pineapple upside-down cake because John wanted to try growing a pineapple! We've been having some delicious fruit this year--the secret is to ripen them on the counter for a few days. You will see at the end of this post that our new kitty T-bone enjoyed the pineapple, too. (Sorry about blurry photos--it happened fast and I was laughing too hard to get my phone ready...)

Ingredients for Upside Down Pineapple Cake

1/2 fresh pineapple
8-9 Maraschino cherries
12 Tbsp butter, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1 and 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch cake pan, bottom and sides. (I used some of the butter above, figuring there's plenty in the recipe already!) Cut a piece of parchment paper to the size of the pan, put it in the bottom and butter that too. 

Peel and core the pineapple. You will be probably only need half but if you've let it ripen, the rest will be delicious as a snack.

Melt 4 oz of butter in a small pan. Add the honey and brown sugar and heat until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and then place the fruit into the pan. You can make whatever design you choose, circles seems to be traditional, but I cut some of the rounds into quarters at the end to fit them all in. Dot with cherries.

Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients in one bowl and measure milk into a glass measuring cup. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar and vanilla with a mixer until they are light in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. On low speed, add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk until everything is mixed nicely. 

Pour the batter over the fruit and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let the cake rest on a rack for an hour. Then place your serving  plate over the top and gently invert the cake onto the platter. Mine slid out beautifully, leaving the parchment paper in the pan. 

You have to admit from a kitten's eye view, a pineapple looks a lot like a tree trunk!

Death on the Menu, the 8th Key West food critic mystery, is available now from Crooked Lane Books. You can order it wherever books are sold! A DEADLY FEAST will be out in May, but can be pre-ordered now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, or wherever you buy your books.

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