BAKING WITH OLIVE OIL, cont.

Non-traditional pineapple upside-down cake--with olive oil and pomegranate.

This week I cooked for a dear friend’s birthday. Her only request was “those spring rolls with mint,” rice paper rolls filled with shrimp, bean sprouts, rice vermicelli and fresh mint with a gingery dipping sauce. I cooked a mild chicken-coconut curry with mango and cashews to follow. And birthday cake, with lots of whipped cream!

A can of pineapple in the cupboard, offloaded from a sailing voyage, inspired me to make an old-fashioned pineapple upside-down cake, such as my mom used to make when I was a kid. Only I customized the original recipe, substituting olive oil for the butter in the cake batter. Olive oil seems to go especially well with fruity flavors, such as pineapple.

My mother’s recipe—I think from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook—called for maraschino cherries to fill the centers of the pineapple rings. There are no maraschino cherries in my pantry, nor even any cranberries, a colorful alternative. I used ruby-red pomegranates, in season now, embedded in the gooey glaze for the punch of color. 

Happy birthday, Charlotte!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with Olive Oil

Tarta al Revés con Piña

1 (20-ounce) can sliced pineapple

¼ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

6 walnuts

1 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

Pinch of ground cloves

½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 eggs

½ cup pineapple juice

Grated lemon zest

Pomegranate seeds (optional)

Whipped cream to serve

Drain the pineapple, saving the juice.

Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan.

In a heavy skillet, melt the butter with the brown sugar. Let it cook 2 minutes. Carefully pour the butter-sugar into the cake pan and spread it evenly. Place rings of pineapple in the pan, cutting additional slices to fill in the spaces between rings. (Save any remaining pineapple for another use.) Break the walnuts into pieces and push them in between the pineapple. 

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cloves. 

Combine the sugar and oil in a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, beat the sugar and oil together until light. Add the eggs and beat 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients alternating with ½ cup of the reserved pineapple juice. Stir in the lemon zest.

Pour the batter over the pineapple in the pan. Bake the cake until a tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes. 

Let the cake set 5 minutes. Have ready a cake platter. While cake is still hot, very carefully (use oven mitts) place the platter on top of the pan and invert the pan, releasing the cake onto the platter. Let it set a minute so all the butter and sugar drains onto the cake. Remove pan. 

If using pomegranate, scatter the seeds over the cake and push them gently into the still-warm topping. 

More recipes for baking with olive oil:

Crispy Olive Oil Cookies (Tortas de Aceite).

Crumbly Olive Oil Cookies (Mantecadas).

Olive Oil Carrot Cake.

Orange-Saffron-Sherry Olive Oil Cake.

Fig Blondies.

Date Bars.

Apple Crumble with Olive Oil.