Rural Thursday #14: Easy Pineapple U-D Cakes

I purchased some ramekins a while back, but have not put them to use.

Today I thought it would be a good day to remedy that situation -- because I love me some ramekins. Just saying the word "ramekins" is fun, right?

Ramekin: (1700–10; < French ramequin < dialectal Dutch, Middle Dutch rammeken): 1.a small dish in which food can be baked and served. 2.a small, separately cooked portion of a cheese preparation or other food mixture baked in a small dish without a lid.

I found an easy recipe for peach upside-down cake by Alton Brown (I love him,) which I modified for pineapple upside-down cake, due to ingredient availability. (Did not feel like running to town for fresh peaches, sorry.)

First off, let me say that my ramekins are 8-ounce ramekins. This recipe calls for 6-ounce ramekins, so the contents are a bit on the skimpier side, but live and learn. Next time, I would double the ingredients.

Here's my recipe for Ramekin Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes:

~Ingredients~

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 pineapple rings
2.5 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving, optional
Re-hydrated dried cherries (optional)

~Directions~

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide 2 tablespoons of the butter between 4 (6-ounce) ramekins. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside. Evenly divide the brown sugar between the ramekins; sprinkling it into the bottoms of the dishes. Place one pineapple ring into each ramekin. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until combined. Pour the batter over the pineapple; dividing the mixture evenly between the dishes. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly browned.

Remove from the oven to a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each dish and turn upside down onto a serving plate. Repeat with each cake. Place a cherry on top of each cake. Serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

These are delicious -- I had to eat the cake I used for the photo -- well, you know I just had to! And just for the record, I liked the fact there was more pineapple than cake -- so I may not adjust the recipe. So there!

PS -- don't worry about my cats -- they are not eating Healthy Choice Frozen Meals -- that was me trying to be funny.

Sharing with Thursday Favorite Things, Home and Garden Thursday,
Show and Tell Friday, Farmgirl Friday, Creative Things Thursday

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Welcome to the Rural Thursday Blog Hop! 

Rural Thursday is a Weekly Blog Hop where participants can share information and photos about what's currently happening in and around their rural/country/farm home.

The first edition will be published on 
Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 12:01 am.

Here's how you can join in:

1. Publish a blog post about

• general information describing what's happening in your country/rural/farm life, 

or a post relating to a rural-themed subject that will benefit all Rural Thursday readers and participants,

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4. If you don't have a blog, you are welcome to leave a comment below our post regarding what special things are happening in your rural world.

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