Pineapple-Coconut-Banana Upside-Down Cake

I was looking forward to try my hands on an upside-down cake. Mine didn't caramelize much since I quickly removed it from the stovetop. Nevertheless, the cake along with the topping is really tasty - great flavor profile. This is a winner for using canned pineapples. The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light Dessert cookbook.

Pineapple-Coconut-Banana UpsideDown Case

2 T butter

1/2 cup brown sugar ( 7 T sugar + 1 tsp molasses)

1 (15 1/2 oz) can pineapple slices in juice

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed

2 T oil (vegetable)

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet (preferably 9 inch), sprinkle brown sugar evenly and arrange drained pineapple slices on top. Cook for a minute or two on the stove top to get some caramelization going.
3. Mix all dry ingredients (flour through salt) in one bowl.
4. In a separate bowl stir reserved 1/2 cup pineapple juice, banana, oil, and egg.
5. Pour the wet mixture over the flour and mix until just combined. Pour over the pineapple slices in the skillet, even it out if needed and bake for about 30 minutes.

Roasted Pineapple Tartlets

I reallized I have never really cooked with fresh pineapple before. While I enjoy a good juicy one fresh as is I wanted to try something different. I found the recipe from the Epicurious web site which is a great source of recipes. It sounded exciting to combine the tropical flavors with a spicy caramel sauce and the result was well worth the effort. I used only 1 1/2 chillis without any seeds, and substituted vanilla extract for the bean. I think the best servng accompaniment for these tarts would be just plain whipped cream instead of the ice cream as these are pretty sweet already. I think next time I would make these even smaller so I get more nice crispy crust. Great flavor!