Vegan Cake Recipes: Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake

For a period of time, our family was obsessed with the show Cupcake Wars on Netflix. Admittedly, I am seriously behind in my pop culture. The only reason I knew about the show was because one of my favorite vegan chefs, Chloe Coscarelli, won an episode of the "Wars" several years back.

What a frantic mess of a show! I couldn't pull my eyes away from the chaos in the kitchen. I love watching people be creative with their cooking and baking, expanding on themes and ingredients, abandoning recipes, throwing flour in the air and getting a little crazy! I imagine it was the same inventive craziness that created the Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Once, many years ago, after a phone call with a friend, my daughter Ellessia asked me, "Mom, my friend Karly was eating Pineapple Upside Down Cake for breakfast. What the heck is Pineapple Upside Down Cake?" This led us on an adventure to explore the possibility of a vegan version. The following recipe was a hit in our home. It didn't make it past dinnertime. We then revisited it at a Thanksgiving dinner; apparently it's my father's favorite dessert.

I add a twist on the theme with the King Arthur Bakery flavoring "Fleur Di Sicilia." Being Sicilian myself, it seemed fitting. The flavoring adds to the tropical taste and brings a bit of summer into my waning autumn.

May it brighten your Holiday Dessert tray this upcoming season.

Vegan Cake Recipes: Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

• 3 Tbsp Brown Sugar, or Sucanat

• 15 oz Can Whole Organic Pineapple Slices

• 1/4-1/2 Cup Coconut Flakes

• 1 2/3 Cup All Purpose Flour- or Gluten Free Flour

• 1/2 Cup Sugar- your choice

• 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda

• 1/4 tsp Salt- I prefer Pink Himalyan

• 3/4 Cup Pineapple Juice- left over from can

• 1/2 Cup Canned Coconut Milk

• 1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil

• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

• 1 Tsp Fleur Di Sicilia Flavoring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spread 1 Tbsp of coconut oil onto bottom of pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar or sucanat.

3. Artfully arrange pineapple slices and coconut flakes on bottom of the pan.

4. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together pineapple juice, coconut milk, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, and the Fleur Di Sicilia.

6. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. Batter should be thick. Do not over mix.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan on top of pineapple.

8. Bake in oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

9. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter. Add a few more flakes of coconut for decoration.

Enjoy! Goes super well with a cup of Green Tea.