Deliciously sweet and silly at once, we defy that hardest of cake haters not to smile at the sight of an upside-down cake.
But who first thought to invert perfection? Well it’s likely that the idea is quite old and began when breads and cakes were cooked over fires in skillet pans. Our cake-eating ancestors would have added fruit and sugar to caramelise it on the bottom of a pan and then poured a simple cake batter on top before cooking it over the fire. Turned upside-down, once cooked, it would look a lot more appealing than the top, which of course would cook eventually but may not brown so well when not done in the oven.
But as with many of the most fun things in life, a few centuries’ of knowhow and the invention of new gadgets and gizmos are what made the upside-down cake truly great. Around 1911, when James Dole’s company invented a machine that could cut pineapple into pretty, easy-to-deal with rings, and with the modern convenience of ovens to boot, the pineapple upside-down cake had its moment in the sun. The addition of a tinned maraschino cherry was literally the icing on the cake.
In our April issue, we have a recipe for the classic upside-down cake with a spiced twist, pictured above. Why not give it a go? You can find it on p25.
This delicious recipe is taken from Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings by Yossy Arefi (Clarkson Potter). Photography by Yossy Arefi
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