Upside-down Pineapple and Ginger Cake

This cake was thrown together in just a few minutes, as I needed a cake and had a pineapple lurking in the fridge which needed using. Unfortunately I'd already cut into the pineapple, so couldn't have the usual pattern of rings; instead I put together a mosaic of pineapple pieces, cutting pieces where necessary to fill the gaps. I kept the slices to around 0.5cm in thickness, as I wasn't sure how long the fruit would take to cook. I laid them on a base of 50g butter and two heaped tablespoons of muscovado sugar, melted together, then cooled in the baking pan - which was a 22cm skillet pan (no loose bottoms for this sort of cake!).

The cake batter was an all-in-one sponge based on 3 eggs and 150g of each of SR flour, softened butter and light muscovado sugar. To this I added 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 1 tablespoon black treacle and 30g chopped glacé ginger. The batter was spread gently over the pineapple pieces, and baked at 180C for around 35 minutes, until it felt firm and springy, and a cake probe came out clean of any damp crumbs.

After cooling for only a few minutes, the cake needed turning out, before the base cooled and stuck to the pan. This was when I realised I didn't have any plates large enough to turn the cake out onto. I hastily tore a double thickness of aluminium foil and laid it on a board. Using the foil meant I could transfer the cake to a storage box later, without having to lift it again. Happily the cake turned out of the pan without a single piece of pineapple being dislodged. I have memories of lots of juice at this stage, with previous cakes, but all I had was a nice sticky surface holding the pineapple down. Perhaps that's the difference between using fresh and tinned pineapple.

The pineapple was nicely cooked and the ginger sponge added a warm kick to the flavour without being too overwhelming. The cake wasn't very deep, but it was just right for the two of us, lasting for three days.