Full question
Hi! I tried making Nigella's Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I followed the recipe exactly, though left out the glace cherries. My cake was done and cooked in 25 minutes at 140C. My concern is that my pineapple slices rebelled and floated up to the top of my cake, making it a pineapple right-side-up cake. Why must this have happened? The cake still tasted fabulous, thank you!
Our answer
Nigella's Pineapple Upside Down Cake (from NIGELLA EXPRESS) has pineapple rings topped with a vanilla sponge. The sponge bakes over the pineapple and when the cake is turned out of the pan the pineapple rings are on the top. We note that the temperature of the oven was only 140c and we suspect that this could be one reason why the pineapple rings rose to the surface of the cake. The pineapple rings are put on top of a thin layer of sugar in the cake pan and in a hotter oven this sugar should caramelize and help to anchor the pineapple rings to the base of the pan. With a lower oven temperature this caramelization will not happen and the pineapple will rise up to the top of the sponge as the cake bakes.
It is also possible that without the glace cherries in the centre of the pineapple rings it makes it easier for the sponge batter to flow under the pineapple, also dislodging the pineapple rings. However the temperature of the oven is likely to be the most important factor and we suggest trying to bake the cake at 200c/400F (if you have a fan oven then adjust it following the instructions in the handbook). If your oven runs a little hot then check the cake after 20 minutes of baking, as it may not need the full 30 minutes.
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