Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Preparation

This quick and easy pineapple upside-down cake can be made in about 30 minutes, and can be baked in either a conventional oven at 350 degrees F. for about 25 minutes, or in a microwave oven in 12-15 minutes at 1000 watts.

If you don't have oat flour, you can grind rolled oats in a blender or food processor.  Or, if you grind your own grain as we do in our Vita-Mix, you can grind the spelt or wheat and oats together in the dry container. Another option is to just add quick oats to the flour without grinding the oats.

Open the can of crushed pineapple. Place the fruit in the bottom of a two quart covered glass baking dish. If you want the pineapple sweeter, sprinkle on the stevia extract. Add the cornstarch, and mix thoroughly into the crushed pineapple.

Peel the bananas and cut or break them into pieces.  Place the pieces in the container of a high speed blender. Add the pitted dates, cover, and run the blender at high speed until the contents become a smooth puree.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl.  Add the cinnamon and baking powder, and mix together thoroughly.

Add the banana, date puree to the flour in the mixing bowl, and mix together thoroughly but quickly into a thick batter, since the baking powder is beginning to react. If necessary, add a little cold water to aid in mixing,  and carefully transfer the contents of the mixing bowl into the baking dish on top of the crushed pineapple mixture starting at the perimeter and working toward the center.  Smooth to the edges, cover and place in the oven to bake.  We bake this recipe in our microwave oven in about 12-15 minutes.

When there are bubbles boiling up the sides of the pineapple upside-down cake and the surface is springy to the touch, remove the cake from the oven with pot holders, and lift it up and look to make sure the bottom is cooked; if not, bake for another minute or two, and then let it cool on a wire rack with the cover remaining on the baking dish.

If you wish to serve the cake on a plate when the pineapple upside-down cake has cooled, it should be slightly separated from the sides of the baking dish.  Uncover the baking dish and gently run a flat table knife around the edge of the cake to make sure that it has completely separated from the sides of the dish.  By gently moving the knife around the edge of the cake and lifting the bottom slightly, you can release the cake from the bottom of the baking dish.

Place a large plate up side down over the top of the baking dish, and holding the plate and baking dish tightly together, turn the baking dish over on top of the plate, and the pineapple upside-down cake should fall out onto the plate. If any of the pineapple sticks to the bottom of the baking dish, it can be removed and gently spread back on to the cake. (To enlarge the photo of the pineapple upside-down cake, click on the photo or link)

Serve and enjoy!