Brown Butter Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened not melted


• 1/3 cup brown sugar


• 6 pineapple rings


• 115 grams butter


• 150 grams sugar


• 2 eggs


• 70 grams flour


• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions:

- Spread the softened butter on the base of an 8-inch cake pan.  Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter.  Arrange the 6 rings of pineapple on top of the sugar.  I usually do 5 around and one in the middle, cutting the middle one a bit if it doesn’t fit.  Set aside and get on with your batter.

- Melt the butter in a skillet until browned (not burned!), with a warm nutty aroma. You can find a fantastic tutorial on browning butter over at Simply Recipes. Strain and set aside to cool.  I do this by placing the bowl of browned butter over another bowl with ice.  I let it cool until the butter gets a little bit thick again, like a golden syrup.  In this state it smells so good you may forget about the rest of your baking – fair warning.

- Whisk the sugar with the egg. In another bowl, whisk your flour and baking powder together, then add to the egg mixture. Add the (cooled) brown butter and whisk until just combined. Pour the batter over the prepared pineapples in the pan.  Place the cake pan on a cookie sheet to catch any over enthusiastic butter sputters.

- Bake in a 180C (350F) oven for 40-50 minutes or until a pick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

- Remove the pan from the oven and loosen the sides of the cake with a small sharp knife.  Place a plate over the cake pan and, using oven mitts or a kitchen town (hot sugar beware!), quickly and confidently flipped the pan over so you cake is now on the plate.  Keep the pan on the cake for a few minutes so all the buttery, sugary juices drip down onto your cake.  Remove pan and enjoy!