Pineapple Upside Down Cake - Mad Men Season Premiere!

Is anyone else as excited for tonight's 2-hour Mad Men season premiere as my hubby and I are!?  We have been re-watching old episodes for weeks getting pumped up for the newest season.  I cannot wait to see what is next for Don, Betty, Peggy, Roger.  Oh, Roger. 

Image from Vanity Fair

Anyway, to celebrate I figured I would make a 60's-style dessert to enjoy while we watch- Pineapple Upside Down cake! This recipe is un.be.lieve.a.ble.  The old fashioned way is to bake this cake in a cast iron skillet, which I decided to forego for my trusty square pyrex.  Just as retro, if you ask me ;)

The end result is still a silky, perfectly vanilla cake sweetened with pineapple that pairs perfectly with some chocolate chip ice cream.  I've modified a Martha Stewart Pineapple Mango upside-down recipe for this one and it's truly one of my favorite cake recipes.  A must-try, with any fruit baked into the bottom of the dish that you like.

Now pull out your chip 'n dips, channel your inner Peggy (or Peter), and enjoy the show folks!

Need:

• 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons room temp. unsalted butter
• 1 can of pineapple rings
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt

Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray an 8 x 8" square pyrex dish with cooking spray
3. Pull out 7 pineapple rings from the can and put them off to the side, finely chop the remaining rings and let them drain on paper towels
4. Beat 2 tablespoons of butter with the brown sugar until well mixed and nice and light and airy.  Using a spatula, spread out the butter/brown sugar mixture in the bottom of the greased pan. 
5. Arrange the pineapple rings and slides however you like on top of the brown sugar.  Fill in any gaps or holes with the chopped pieces.
6. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl, set to the side.
7. Using your mixer, blend the stick of butter with white sugar until well mixed, and nice and light and airy.  
8. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla.
9. Turn the mixer to low and add half of the flour mixture, mix well, then add the yogurt and mix well, and then the rest of the flour until all is well mixed.  Here is the silky, delicious, amazing cake batter.
10. Spread the batter evenly over the pineapples, and pop the pan in the oven for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. 
11. Let your cake cool for at least 30 minutes, then turn out onto your serving plate, enjoy!

Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot Cake

Last week my girlfriends and I were lucky enough to enjoy a Kappa Thursday dinner together!  Shannon had just won her SEVENTH dodgeball championship, so she got a Thursday night off, yay!  She grilled up some steaks, tossed a salad and made some perfect corn on the cob for us, Lindsey brought the vino and I tried a recipe from my "Cake for Every Pan" challenge.

The cake?  Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot
The pan?  8" Round Cake pan

The cake turned out yummy but I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites.  Martha has another recipe for pineapple upside down cake that uses sour cream and that one is to die for.  I really have no complaints about this one, I just don't think it's going to make any of my personal "top" lists.

The original recipe calls for plums and blueberries...I like pluots and think they are a prettier color (if you haven't seen pluots in your grocery store- it's a hybrid fruit, half plum, half apricot) so that's why I tried them instead.

Here are a few picutres and the recipe- if you try it for yourself, let me know what you think!

'Nite, sweets!

Look at the little butter heart, too cute!!

   

Upside-Down Blueberry Pluot Cake
(Adapted from Martha Stewart's Plum Blueberry Upside-Down cake in the September Everyday Food)

Need:

• 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large pluot cut into 10/11 wedges
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries
• 1 large egg, 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Do:

1- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray your 8" round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray

2- Cut out a circle of wax or parchment paper to cover the pan and go a little bit up the sides; press it into the pan and into the edge so its snug

3- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and then pour it into the pan, coating your circle of wax paper.  Swirl it around so the whole bottom is coated. 

4- Sprinkle half of your brown sugar (1/2 cup) in the pan covering the butter, then place your pluot slices on top, in any design you like. 

5- Add in the blueberries, try to fill in the gaps where your pluot is not touching so that the whole bottom of the pan is covered in fruit

6- In your mixing bowl, beat 8 tablespoons fo butter and the rest of your brown sugar together- Martha recommends 3 minutes of this, and it comes out perfect.

7- Beat in your egg and egg white to combine.

8- In a separate bowl, whisk your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.  Turn the mixer down to low so that you don't cover yourself in flour, and slowly add the mixture in.

9- Now beat in the buttermilk and vanilla, after it's incorporated, turn the mixer up to high and beat until smooth.

10- Pour your batter into the pan, and then tap it on a table or counter to get all of the air bubbles out.

11- Bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is nice and gold, you might see some fruit bubbles, and your test toothpick comes out clean.  

12- Let the cake cook on a wire rack for about an hour.  After the hour is up, run a knife around the edge and flip our pan over to release the cake onto your serving plate of choice.  

13- Enjoy!