Cake #9 - Pineapple Banana Upside-Down Cake

I was pretty underwhelmed by this cake.  I even considered not including the recipe here, but it turns out I'd typed it up before I made it, so it seemed silly not to just cut and paste it over.  I'm not sure I'd ever had Pineapple upside-down cake before, and they look SO beautiful.  But this basically tasted like banana bread with pineapple slices on top.  Not something I'd make again.  But maybe I just don't like Pineapple upside-down cake.

Pineapple Banana Upside-Down Cake

Topping

20 ounce can unsweetened sliced pineapple, undrained

¼ cup butter

½ cup sugar

Cake

2 eggs

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup mashed ripe bananas

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups unbleached white flour

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.       Drain the pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup of the juice.  In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter on medium heat.  Add the sugar and cook, stirring constantly.  When the sugar starts to turn brown, after about 3 minutes, remove it from the heat and continue stirring to prevent the residual skillet heat from browning the sugar unevenly.

3.       Carefully add the drained pineapple juice; the mixture will sputter somewhat.  Return the pan to low heat and stir to combine the juice and the caramelized sugar.  When the sugar has melted again and the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat.  Arrange the pineapple slices close together in a decorative layer on the bottom of the skillet; reserve any remaining pineapple.

4.       For the cake batter, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, buttermilk, bananas, oil and vanilla.  Sift together the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until smooth.

5.       Pour the batter over the pineapple slices and top with any reserved slices.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the skillet for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a serving plate.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

From Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective