Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Firmly lodged into the American cake consciousness around the mid 1920s thanks to a recipe contest run by James Dole’s Hawaiian Pineapple Company, it's honestly not hard to see why the pineapple upside-down cake has dazzled hungry treat-lovers for decades. Juicy pineapple rings and sweet cherries coated with a sticky caramel glaze sit on top of a buttery, pineapple-infused vanilla cake — it tastes as good as it looks. And it looks spectacular.

Just quietly, it's also not that difficult to make. The fruit is baked in a sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan with the batter on top, and all it takes is a final flip at the end to produce an applause-worthy upside-down cake.

When you're procuring the pineapple, go for can with the slices in juice rather than syrup. You'll use the juice in the batter and it will also mix in with the brown sugar topping while baking, so the syrup is going to be a sweetness overload. Adding a bit of bicarbonate of soda will help tamper the acidity of the juice.

Buttermilk has been used in here to add some richness to the cake, but if you're light on, you can always use 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to measure 1 cup. Stir, then let it stand for 5 minutes.

You'll need to get the cake out of the pan pretty quickly once it's done baking, so arm yourself with some oven gloves and a plate big enough to catch the cake and any additional caramel drips. After 5 minutes, place the plate on the pan and flip it quickly. You can use the overhanging baking paper to assist as you slowly lift the cake pan off. If there are any pieces that end up sticking to the paper, that's entirely OK. Quickly patch them back on, the sauce should make them stick, and no-one will suspect a thing.

Oh, and don't write off the cherries. They're entirely optional, but they will definitely add a pop of colour if you're going for presentation marks (the redder the better), and a pop of sweetness to brighten up the delicous caramel sauce.