Pineapple and ginger upside-down cake

Name: Pineapple and ginger upside-down cake recipe
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 225g soft unsalted butter, plus extra to grease; 200g caster sugar; 4 eggs, separated; 20g grated fresh ginger; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 220g plain flour; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 1/4 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda); 100ml full-cream milk; Ice cream, to serve; 25g unsalted butter; 1/3 cup (80g) brown sugar; 1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced and cut into pieces

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by Danielle Alvarez

Dec 08, 2020

This summer cake will impress at any feast. This is an edited extract from Always Add Lemon by Danielle Alvarez (Hardie Grant, $50). Photography © Benito Martin and Jess Johnson.

225g soft unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
200g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
20g grated fresh ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
220g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
100ml full-cream milk
Ice cream, to serve

Topping

25g unsalted butter
1/3 cup (80g) brown sugar
1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, sliced and cut into pieces

Method

1.

Grease and line a round 22-25cm round cake tin with baking paper. Start by making the topping. Melt the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar crystals have melted and the mix is bubbling. Simmer for 1 minute, then pour this molten mix into the prepared pan. Arrange the pineapple pieces on top of this caramel in any pattern you like. Try to cover as much surface area as possible so you can have a lot of fruit in each slice.
2.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, then add the egg yolks, ginger and vanilla and mix until well incorporated. Separately, whip the egg whites in a clean bowl, either by hand or with an electric whisk, until soft peaks form. Set aside.
3.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter and gently mix, then, with the machine still running, add all the milk and mix. Carefully add the remaining dry ingredients and finish mixing with a spatula. Fold in whipped egg whites. Pour this on top of the pineapple in the tin and spread it out evenly. Gently tap the tin on your work surface to ensure the cake batter has dropped into place.
4.

Bake for 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before flipping the cake out. To flip it over, place a flat plate or cake tray on top of the tin, then, holding the plate in place with your hand, flip the cake over quickly and carefully. Once flipped, simply pull the tin off and peel back the baking paper. Serve with ice cream warm or when cooled.