This Pineapple Upside Down Sponge Cake is Super Moist and Delicious, it's The Best Pineapple Upside Down Cake! It's a classic light and fluffy Sponge cake topped with Caramelized Pineapple slices and Maraschino Cherries.
Ingredients:
*Sponge Cake
-3 Eggs (whites and yolks separated)
-1/2 cup Granulated Sugar (Divided)
-1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
-3/4 cups Bisquick Baking Mix or 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
*Fruit Topping
-1 (20 oz.) can sliced Pineapples
-About 25 Maraschino Cherries
-1/2 cup Brown Sugar
-1 stick Unsalted Butter (1/2 cup)
-1/4 cup Drained Pineapple or Maraschino Cherry juice
Directions:
To get started spray a 10 inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper to prevent the fruit and caramel from sticking. Next place the drained pineapples around the outer edge of the cake pan, I placed 8 on the outside and I cut the remaining 2 slices in half and placed them in the center to form a diamond pattern. Then I placed the maraschino cherries in the center of each pineapple and to fill any gaps.
It's time to make the caramel sauce that is going to get poured over the pineapple slices and cherries.
In a small saucepan over Medium heat, add 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter along with 1/2 cup Brown sugar and let it melt together and cook while stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes add in the 1/4 cup Cherry or Pineapple juice raise the heat up to High and cook again for 1 minute to 1-1/2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
The Caramel sauce should be thick and syrupy, you want to pour this over the pineapples and cherries right away, being sure to cover the entire pan evenly. Set this aside for now.
Now it's time to make the Sponge Cake!
I have separated 3 eggs, one bowl has the egg whites and the other has the egg yolks. This is crucial for a Sponge Cake.
Adde Egg whites into a mixing bowl, it's better to use a whisk attachment for this part. Whip the egg whites in the mixing bowl for about 1 minute until soft peaks form. Then add 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar and continue whipping the egg whites for about 2 minutes until Medium Stiff peaks form.
*You'll know your egg whites have stiff peaks when you grab some with a spatula, flip the spatula upside down, and the egg whites do not fall off, they will also have a fluffy bounce to them and hold their shape.
Transfer the egg whites into separate bowl for now, because we need to whip the egg yolks next.
Add the egg yolks into the mixing bowl along with another 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Whip it all together for about 2 minutes until the egg yolks turn a pale yellow color and get thicker in consistency.
Now add in the egg whites a little bit at a time and fold them in as you add them. Folding means you mix them together gently without stirring quickly, you do not want to deflate the egg whites, keeping the mixture thick and airy is what is going to give the sponge cake it's soft fluffy texture,
The final step for the sponge cake batter is to add in the flour or in this case I am using Bisquick Baking Mix.
*If using Bisquick the total is 3/4 cups of Bisquick.
*If using All Purpose Flour the total is 1/2 cup of Flour.
You want to do the same as the egg whites and fold the flour in 1/4 cup at a time, fold gently again being careful not to deflate the batter. Fold until there is no visible flour in the batter.
Now it's time to pour the sponge cake batter over the caramel, pineapples and cherries. With a spatula spread the batter to cover the pan evenly. Then tap your pan by dropping it gently on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles, and to help the batter settle into the spaces between the fruit.
Bake the cake at 350 degrees Farenheit for about 20 minutes.
*I am using Convection Oven settings so Oven time may vary.
After 20 minutes, I poked a few holes in the center of the cake with a fork, because the batter was still kind of raw in the center. Poking holes in the center helps release trapped air and helps the center bake better.
Leave it to bake for an extra 5-7 minutes after poking the holes in the center.
After a Total Bake time of 25 minutes the cake was done.
I removed it from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for a few minutes before placing it in the fridge. You can let it cool completely for about 1 hour at room temp. I placed mine in the fridge for about 40 minutes.
After the cake has cooled completely in the fridge, it's time to flip it over since this is a Pineapple UPSIDE DOWN cake.
I am placing mine on a cake stand, so I grabbed my cake stand and placed it upside down over the cake pan, then carefully flipped it all together upright and tapped the pan a few times until I felt the cake release.
Now look at this beautiful cake! Time to cut myself a slice...Enjoy!
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