A pineapple upside down cake is a concoction that never really appealed to me until recently. I had no idea how delicious, easy, and (relatively) healthy this could be! Ive been baking a LOT of different cakes lately for friend's birthdays and I wanted one that I could enjoy without flour. I prefer this cake with bananas, but you can substitute them for 2 eggs if you want. I originally made it with eggs, and then the third time around I didn't have them so I found that this substitute worked great too. You can also play around with the additional fruit here: I've used blueberries, cherries and fresh golden berries on different occasions so there's lots of room for you to experiment. This bake is quick and easy, and my best advice is patience in the cooling process so that you are pleased with the pattern when your turn it out of the pan.
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 2 mashed bananas
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 5 tbsp unpasteurized honey
- 3.5 tbsp coconut oil, melted at room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 slices of fresh pineapple, each ½ inch thick
- Options:
- handful fresh or frozen cherries, golden berries, citrus slices...
Recipe:
- Preheat your oven to 350 F. Lightly brush some coconut oil on the bottom and sides of a 8” round cake tin, then brush 1 ½ tbsp of honey over the coconut oil.
- Cut the top, bottom, and spiky exterior off the pineapple and remove the core. Arrange the pineapple rings (and other fruit if using) over the honey in a decorative pattern. Set your pan in the middle of the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix almond flour with baking powder in a medium bowl. Cream the bananas with remaining honey in another medium bowl. Add the coconut oil and vanilla to banana mixture, mix well. Add the almond mixture to banana mixture, and fold/ stir into a smooth batter.
- Remove your pan from the oven and pour batter over the top of the pineapple rings and smooth it out using a spatula. Make sure to get all the way to the edges of the pan and fill any holes between the fruit. Return to the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let stand on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Carefully run a knife along the edges to release from the sides of the pan and turn your cake out onto a plate. Enjoy as is, or add some vanilla or coconut ice cream if you're feelin' fancy.
I think you'll be really pleased with how appealing the design is when you turn it over! I love the bleed of the cherries here into the pineapple.
Enjoy!
