Turning Your Slow Cooker Upside-Down

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

There are some dishes that have a catchy or unusual name that might make you stop and think twice— how did they come to be called by that name? A couple recipes that come to mind are Angels on Horseback (bacon wrapped oysters), Bubble and Squeak (vegetable hash), and Upside Down Cake. Well the last one is merely a fun description of a classic American dessert in which a fruit topped cake is flipped out of the pan, so the bottom becomes the top. This kind of cake is commonly made with pineapple, but could also be made with any other type of fruit such as sliced peaches, bananas, or berries.

The pineapple is an old symbol of hospitality in the United States and can often be seen over the doorways of Colonial homes as a welcoming sign to guests. Next time you have special guests come to visit, you can take a cue from this old fashioned custom and make them feel especially welcomed by serving them this pineapple upside down cake that has been baking in your slow cooker all afternoon.

Pineapple Upside Cake became a hot item here in America in the 1920s. When the Dole Company asked consumers for recipe contest submissions using their canned pineapple, so many recipes for this cake were submitted that the company decided to run an ad campaign featuring it, making the pineapple upside cake even more popular. Now that everything retro is in, homey comfort foods like this cake have regained popularity.

The recipe for this Upside Down Cake is fairly simple, and what results is a rich butter cake topped with a delicious caramelized mixture of rum, butter, brown sugar, and pineapple rings. The pineapples make a decorative topping once the cake is inverted. Rather than buying a special pan to make your upside down cake (yes, they do make them), you can put your slow cooker to another good use with the recipe below.

You won’t have to turn your slow cooker upside down to get the cake out. In order to flip the cake out of the slow cooker so that it is turned upside down, you begin by buttering and lining the inside of a slow cooker with a layer of foil. Then you layer whatever fruit you are using (feel free to substitute the fruit of your choice in the recipe below) in the bottom of the cooker with butter and brown sugar, taking care to make a decorative pattern that will appear with the final results. Then once topped with batter, the cake is cooked for several hours on high. In order to prevent the slow cooker’s moist heat from dripping condensation back onto the cake, place two layers of paper towels under the lid before sealing tightly.

Once the cake is finished, simply grab the foil on both sides to pull it out so it can cool. This is the point when you invert it, and then it becomes an upside down cake! Served warm with ice cream, this dessert is sure to bring a smile to you and your guests.

Serves/Makes: 8

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, in small pieces, plus more for the cooker
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar, plus more for lining the cooker
• 3 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
• 8 canned pineapple rings, PLUS
• 1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice from can
• 8 fresh or frozen cherries, pitted (optional)
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• ice cream for serving