Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake



 When I was in middle school, a Panera bread opened up just down the road...I used to go there as often as I could get my parents to take me.  Once we could drive, my friends and I hung out there all the time, drinking the free refill coffee and eating pastries while 'studying' hard.  Pineapple upside down bundt cake was one of my favourite things to get there, so this recipe is a stab at replicating that creamy, syrupy deliciousness.


I don't have a bundt cake pan, so I just used a silicone peace sign shaped dish (thus the slightly strange shape of my cake slice).  Any dish should work for this, provided it is deep enough - at least 2 inches.  If you are not using a non-stick pan, I would recommend putting down parchment paper before coating with the topping.  There's nothing worse than having a delicious cake on a platter, and delicious, syrupy pineapple stuck in your pan!

This cake is really light and fluffy, thanks to the lemon, but also creamy, thanks to the fruit juice, and has a hint of coconut from the oil.  If you prefer, you can certainly substitute margarine for the coconut oil.  The light brown flour makes this cake a bit more hearty, and balances out the sweetness nicely.

 

Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Total time: 45 minutes

Serves: makes 6 decent slices

 

For the cake:

1/2 cup white flour

1 1/2 cup light brown flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tbsp poppy seeds
Juice from 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
1/3 cup fruit juice (pineapple, peach, apple, whatever!)
1/2 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping
1/2 pineapple in chunks or rings
2 tbsp coconut oil
Light brown sugar (approx 1/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

Prepare your pan (I highly recommend something non-stick, or lining your dish with parchment paper first) by coating the base in coconut oil, then sprinkling with light brown sugar till well dusted. Cover with pineapple wedges. 
Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and both sugars. Then whisk in the remaining cake ingredients. Let sit for 5 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through - it should pass the toothpick test. Let cool for 5 minutes, then flip onto serving platter. 

L prefered this warm, and I prefered it cold the next day...either way its delicious!

Comments