Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Gluten Free!

AND IT'S DELICIOUS!!!

Maybe, a little tooo sweet if that is possible.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake:

4 eggs separated
1/2 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 can pineapple slices, drained
10 maraschino cherries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup sifted gluten free all purpose flour mix *
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon almond extract, or vanilla extract (Look for gluten free in health food stores)
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F. In large bowl of electric mixer, let egg whites warm to room temperature -about an hour.

In 10-inch cast iron skillet with a heat-resistant handle, melt 1/2 cup butter over very low heat. (you may use a round cake pan, being careful not to burn your self) Remove from heat.

Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Arrange pineapple slices to cover bottom of skillet. Distribute pecans and cherries around pineapple; set aside

Sift Gluten free all purpose flour mix with baking powder and salt.

At high speed, beat egg whites just until soft peaks form when beater is slowly raised. Add granulated sugar gradually; beat well after each addition. Beat until stiff peaks form.

In small bowl of electrice mixer, at high speed, beat egg yolks untill very thick and yellow.

With a wire whisk or rubber scrapper, using an under-and-over motion, gently fold egg yolks and flour mixture into whites until combined. Fold in 1 tablespoon melted butter and gluten-free almond or vanilla extract.

Spread batter evenly over pineapple in skillet; bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip.

Loosen edge of cake; let stand 5 minutes. Invert on serving plate. Serve warm, with whipped cream.

* Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix:
3 parts brown rice flour ( Bob's Red Mill)
3 parts corn starch
2 parts Soy Flour
1 part Masa Harina (corn flour)

I usually make a 1 cup measure. But you can use any measure you prefer.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and MIX THOUROGHLY.
(If you are new to mixing flours, then you want to make sure that you don't see any clumps or streaks of individual flours. By the time you're done, it should be one homogeneous bowl of flour.) Transfer the flour to a canister or other storage container.

I am new at using this mix. But boldly experimenting with this gluten free mix. Not all flours act the same with liquids. Next time I make the upside down cake I will add a little less brown sugar, as I found this very sweet. And I may experiment with the flour mixture. I'm thinking of adding Chestnut flour (hard to find) or Almond meal. If I find something good I will let you know. I also, used this flour mix to make sugar cookies, though the rolling and cutting shapes, didn't turn out as well as I would like. So.... back to the drawing board! For those of you who don't need gluten free flours, please substitute, cake flour in place of gluten free mix. You will be happy you did!

P.S. in the picture I used individual 4-inch cake pans, if you choose to do individual cakes you will need 8 pans for this recipe. It's easier to do one large cake. But at my house the large cake is made with wheat, and the individual cakes are gluten-free, that way no one gets confused or sick. I make the gluten free first to avoid cross contamination.