Pineapple Inside Out Cake

So, I was talking to a work friend about very important matters and our discussion eventually turned to some of our favorite blogs – baking for me and design for her. (You know, ‘cause you need to take a break while solving the world’s problems so you don’t get burned out.)

That led to me mentioning an interest in taking the new Wilton cake decorating classes. I took the series years ago and was interested in seeing what changes were made to the courses and learning about their new products.

Long story short, the two of us started classes a couple weeks ago.

It’s been fun playing with frosting and I’ve picked up some useful tips, too.  For instance, those Bake Even strips really work.  You dampen the strip and wrap it around the pan.  The edges of the pan stay cooler so the cake doesn’t puff up in the middle. Every cake I’ve made with them has come out level.

Of course, a cake that doesn’t need to be leveled means no cake scraps for the baker.  I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Our instructor encouraged us to experiment with recipes, so I decided to play around with a pineapple upside down cake, which typically doesn’t lend itself to buttercream frosting and decorations.

I started with a brown sugar cake from a recipe on SwEEts byE. Let’s face it, aside from the pineapple, brown sugar is the best part of a pineapple upside down cake.

Then, I adapted a pineapple filling recipe (again, with brown sugar) for the inside of the cake.

In class I transferred and decorated an image of a pineapple on the frosted cake, and voila – pineapple inside out cake.

Pineapple Filling (adapted from Cooks.com) 

1 ½ c crushed pineapple, drained

½ c brown sugar

1 T butter

1 T cornstarch

¼ t salt

¼ t freshly grated nutmeg

Mix ingredients together in a medium pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Once mixture is cool, spread between cake layers.