January 14, 2015
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Lightened Up Pineapple Upside Down Cake

A little less guilt means you can have another slice, right? Try this Lightened Up Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

Dish Count :: 1 Mixing Bowl, 1 Small bowl, 1 Skillet, 1 9″ Cake Pan

Lightened Up Pineapple Upside Down Cake - www.countrycleaver.com

The out of office notifications were sent out. Most were accepted. One was not. It came back with the response, “This vacation is declined. It will only be approved upon receiving a pineapple upside down cake.” Did I mention that we are off to Hawaii in the morning?

Now, I spoil the guys at work. Spoil them. The weekends baking projects inevitably find themselves back in the office with them hovering over them, or hacking off one little bit at a time pretending like one bit isn’t going to derail the diet or they can tell their wives “hunny, I didn’t have a whole doughnut today…”

But since I will be gone for a week and a half, I figured this one request could be accommodated. And a lightened up pineapple upside down cake had been on my must make list for ages. I just didn’t need to tell them that.

Lightened Up Pineapple Upside Down Cake - www.countrycleaver.com

This is going to be Ben’s first time in Hawaii, and we are both getting really excited! It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, and I’m excited for all the beaches, snorkeling and did I mention beaches? Ben? Not snorkeling, not swimming and not water. Homeboy doesn’t swim!! But we did find a kiddie pool style bay that we can hit up to take him snorkeling at. I’m determined to get him in the water and not let him get eaten by a shark.

Imagine all the Nemo’s and Dory’s we will meet! I can’t wait! So many exclamation points.

So, today I will muddle through this last day of work, and try to keep my head in the game for 8 more hours. Send prayers. It’s going to take a lot of them. Or maybe another slice of lightened up pineapple upside down cake.

Fine, two.

Be sure to follow along on our trip on Instagram! We will be chronically the whole trip there, and coming back here through the adventure to give you recaps.

Lightened Up Pineapple Upside Down Cake - www.countrycleaver.com

The recipe I used for this recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen’s Comfort Food Makeover Cookbook. I used sweet cream butter because that was all I had, and I highly recommend following the directions with unsalted butter, as the sweet cream contained just enough salt to be slightly noticeable. You may notice, or you may not. I noticed, so just be warned. Also, they recommend using frozen pineapple. My store did not carry frozen pineapple, so 2 large cans of pineapple tidbits, drained, did the tricks.

Carry on!

How to Pick the Perfect Pineapple

Lightened Up Three Cheese Alfredo – another lightened up comfort food!

Cast Iron Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake – Made all in a skillet!

Print Recipe
Yield: 8

Lightened Up Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Prep Time: 25 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Total Time: 50 Minutes

Ingredients:

Pineapple – 

  • 2 Large Cans Pineapple Tidbits, drained
  • 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 2 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cake – 

  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
  • 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

For the Pineapple –

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, combine pineapple and brown sugar over medium high heat and cook, stirring often, until the pineapple is light brown and the juices are nearly evaporated. This will take about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and add butter, vanilla, and lemon juice. Pour the pineapple into a 9 inch cake pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  Spread the pineapple out on the bottom of the pan into a single layer. If there is excess pineapple, remove from the pan and set aside.

For the Cake –

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the larger mixing bowl, whisk together the sour cream, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and butter. Gently stir in the flour until just combined. Pour over the pineapple in the cake pan and bake for 25-27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then invert on a plate and release from pan. Top with extra pineapple if there was any. Wait for 1 hour for cake to cool before serving.

Recipe mildly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake