This is a classic mid-century dessert. In the late 1940’s and the 1950s housewives were encouraged to use canned, frozen (if they were rich enough to afford a freezer) or prepared food items to make their workload more manageable. This was a time when freezers were new on the market, as were electric stoves and automatic washers. Most housewives did not have these modern conveniences. But they could use canned food items and save themselves the time of cooking ingredients from fresh. The other thing to remember is there was not the food distribution system we have now and getting fresh fruits and vegetables all year long was just not the same as today.
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 can pineapple rings, drained
Reserve the juice from the can of pineapple
2 Tbsp nuts (pecans or walnuts work well)
1 store bought white or yellow cake mix
Directions:
Pour melted butter into a large glass cake pan. Spread brown sugar evenly over the butter. You could add cinnamon or nutmeg if desired. Gently place drained pineapple rings over the sugar and butter mixture. You could place maraschino cherries in the middle of the pineapple rings to make the final presentation prettier. Place nuts into the empty spaces between pineapple rings.
Mix the pre-packaged cake mix according to the directions on the box. Use the pineapple juice in place of the liquid suggested by the cake directions. Slowly spoon cake mix over the fruit, being careful not to move the pineapple mixture beneath the cake. Follow the baking direction on the cake box. When the cake is baked, carefully turn the pan over so the pineapple mixture is now on top. Cool before serving. Whipped topping is a good compliment to the cake.
