Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe
and More About the Famed Pineapple

Need a pineapple upside down cake recipe? Want to find out how to grow a pineapple plant? Or the history of the pineapple? This page is devoted to the famed pineapple, Themed-Party-Ideas mascot plant.

• Pineapple Upside Down Martini
• Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe from Scratch
• History of the Pineapple
• A Pineapple Centerpiece you can Make
• How to Grow a Pineapple Plant

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe: From Scratch

A pineapple upside down cake recipe can be as easy or "from-scratch" as you want to make it. Here's the from-scratch version, but this recipe was created for canned pineapple (so don't feel like you're cheating if you use the original "easy" version after this one).

This is by far my favorite way to make pineapple upside down cake recipe, it is relatively easy considering it is from scratch. Everyone marvels at the topping of this cake!

Ingredients:

Topping:
• 1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/2 inch slices (1 16 ounce can of sliced pineapple may be substituted)
• 1 jar maraschino cherries, or fresh cherries pitted
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 stick real butter (4 Tablespoons)

Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup of soften butter
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

For the cake batter, blend flour, sugar (except the brown sugar), baking powder and salt. Add the soften butter, 2/3 cup milk and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes and medium speed.

Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the rest of the milk and the egg, and beat another 2 minutes. Set aside and prepare topping.

For the topping, heat butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle in brown sugar and continue over medium heat until sugar is bubbly and just begins to caramelize. Be careful not to burn it.

Once it starts to caramelize, turn off the heat. Arrange the pineapple slices in the skillet and place cherries in the center of each cored pineapple.

Gently pour the cake batter over the pineapple, being careful not to disturb your arrangement.

Bake the cake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool and invert skillet to reveal the beautiful pineapple topping.

Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 16 ounce can of sliced pineapple
• 1 jar maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 store-bought yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs (or according to store bought cake mix)

Grease and flour an oblong 13x9 baking dish. Melt butter and pour into bottom of pan. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of butter. Drain pineapple, and reserve the juice.

Arrange pineapple slices side by side in the bottom of dish and put a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.

Mix store bought cake mix according to directions, but substitute the pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple) for any liquid the boxed cake mix calls for.

Gently pour the batter over the arranged pineapple and bake according to the directions on the cake box.

Let the cake cool, and turn upside down on a platter to reveal the pineapple topping!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini Recipe

The ingredients are:

1. 3 equal parts of pineapple juice
2. 7-up
3. vanilla vodka

Shake with ice, pour into glass and put a drop or two of grenadine for a beautiful contrast. She writes: "It's DELICIOUS!!!"

For more alcoholic party punch recipes visit this page.

How to Create a Pineapple Centerpiece

First, select an attractive pineapple with leaves that are firm and with few blemishes. Cut any brown edges off the leaves.

Slice three tangerines or any small citrus fruit into half moons, 1/4 inch thicknesses.

Money-Minded Tip

Save the extra pieces of Tangerine cut from the ends and place in your garbage disposal. Running the citrus through the disposal will give your kitchen a burst of freshness!

Tuck the fruit between the leaves as shown; there's no need to secure the tangerines with toothpick. The pineapple leaves will be sufficient.

Next, push a wooden barbeque skewer into the top of the pineapple with the pointed part of the skewer facing upward. Adorn the skewer with pieces of fruit such as kiwi and tangerine wedges as well as maraschino cherries.

Finish by tucking a few maraschino cherries between the leaves of the pineapple. Brightly colored cranberries can be substituted for the cherries if you prefer a holiday feel.

Place the pineapple in the center of a fruit platter and use as a pineapple centerpiece for your buffet table, or place evergreen leaves around the base of the pineapple and place on a dining table instead of a floral arrangement.

History of the Pineapple

When Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492, he brought back with him the exotic pineapple to Europe, which quickly became a precious gift in a country lacking sweet foods.

This highly prized gift became a symbol of wealth and hospitality in Colonial America.

Hostesses would adorn their tables with the fruit whenever giving a party and at the end of the evening the pineapple would be eaten.

This fruit was so exotic that hostesses who could not afford to serve pineapple would simply rent them from grocers to decorate their homes.

Colonial Americans carved pineapples into door frames, shutters, bed frames, and painted pineapples on walls, all to expresses warm wishes to their guests.

We chose the pineapple as our signature symbol for Themed Party Ideas.com to express our warmest wishes of hospitality to you.

How to Grow a Pineapple Plant

Simply cut off the top of the plant, peel off the outer leaves bury the crown in soil. A one-gallon pot is a good start. This is best a project in the warmer months so that it can get established outdoors: it's a heat and sun loving plant. You'll need to take it indoors over winter if you live in a colder climate.

Fertilize it once it starts putting on leaves with any liquid houseplant fertilizer solution. For the first 6 months, spray the plant directly. After that, it will have developed enough of a root system and you should fertilize the soil instead.

Water it thoroughly when you plant it. But after that just a couple of times a week (adjust for humidity).

It'll take around 2 or 3 years to grow a pineapple. Once you have a new pineapple fruit use the suckers or slips to grow a new one because they take less time than crowns.

See the diagram to the right. The suckers take the least amount of time to flower, but will still take over a year (under ideal conditions); and you'll need to wait another 6 months for a mature fruit. After it flowers, carefully stake up what will become the fruit.

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