I have childhood memories of Pineapple upside down cakes. They were always made with tinned pineapple with Marciano cherries in the center of the rings.
Pineapple upside down cake has always been a kitch favourite of mine. For the uninitiated, Pineapple upside down cake is like an American version of the French classic Apple Tatre Tatin.
Typically it's made in a cast iron skillet started on the stovetop and finished in the over. In the Ad Hoc version he does all the magic in the over with the help of a silicone baking pan.
How it's Done...
First up is the making of the schmear. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle ( I used a my trusty Dualit hand beater) you combine the butter, honey, rum, sugar, and vanilla, and beat until smooth and well blended.
You then spread 1/3 cup of the schmear over the bottom of a 9-inch silicone cake pan. Sprinkle lightly with salt. (The remaining schmear can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 1 month; bring to room temperature before using.) Heed Keller's advise and only use 1/3 of a cup of the schmear, if you use more there will be a syrup to accompany your cake.
Next step is to prep the pineapple. Cut top and bottom from pineapple, and cut away peel. Cut pineapple lengthwise into quarters, and cut the central core from each section. Cut each piece crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Any thicker and the pineapple will not cook. Try and keep the thickness of the slices even so when you lay them out in the concentric circles it's all perfect! Beginning at outside of the pan, make an overlapping ring of pineapple slices with the curved side of the pineapple facing out. Make a second ring inside the first one, overlapping the slices in the opposite direction, working toward the center of the pan.
Now for the cake batter. First sift flour and baking powder together; set aside. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and mix on low speed to combine, then beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
Mix in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating until the first one is incorporated before adding second and scraping down the sides as necessary. Beat in milk. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, beating just until combined.
Pour batter into pan and spread over pineapple and smooth it in with an offset spatula. Bake for 15 minutes.
Rotate the pan for even browning and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Now comes the difficult process, cool cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 20 to 30 minutes.
Free the cake from the confines of the pan by running a knife around the edges of the cake, invert onto a serving platter, and serve warm.
