Gluten-Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Today we took a drive to the beach. My father-in-law was in town for the night and we took him sightseeing. Visited Forks, WA, home of Twilight, and then headed to La Push to visit the beaches. No, we didn’t see any werewolves nor vampires. It was a beautiful sunny day. A bit windy, but gorgeous.

As I sat in the back seat on the way home, my thoughts turned to dinner. And more specifically – dessert. What to make. The day called for something light and not terribly sweet. No chocolate. Nothing frosted. Something summery to celebrate the sun and spring arriving. A Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Deliciously sweet and summery pineapple with cherries. Delish!

This is a slightly dense cake. And next time I make it I’ll double stack the pineapple so I can use the last 3-4 rings that were left over. One can’t have too much pineapple here. Same with the cherries – the more the merrier, in my book.

Enjoy this delicious and easy-to-make treat. I see many more of these in my BBQ spring/summer meals. And church potlucks. And birthday parties. And afternoon teas. And… well, anytime!

Gluten-Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake
serve warm with whipped cream… yummy!

Topping
1 can sliced pineapple, drained
few maraschino cherries
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (secret ingredient!)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Melt butter in cake pan or *large* pie plate (I used a deep dish pie plate). Evenly sprinkle brown sugar over butter and lightly tap to smooth. Lay out slices of pineapple to cover brown sugar and then put a cherry in each pineapple hole. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cake
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup shortening or softened butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl and beat until smooth and thickened. Pour over pineapple topping and bake 50-60 minutes or until top springs back OR toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and immediately turn upside down on plate. Let rest 10-15 minutes and remove baking dish.

Let cool another 5-10 minutes and then serve. Amazingly delicious with a dollop of lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream. Mmmm…