Dessert: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with Hawaiian Sea Salt

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with Hawaiian Sea Salt

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Hawaiian pink sea salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch heavy-bottomed, ovenproof skillet set over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Cook for 6 minutes. Then add the pineapple and cook for 1 more minute. Remove the skillet from the heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the remaining 8 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the eggs, vanilla, and rum. Mix for 1 minute.
With the mixer running on low speed, mix in a third of the flour mixture and half of the sour cream. Add another third of the flour mixture and the remaining sour cream. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and fold in the remaining flour mixture. Pour the batter over the pineapple in the skillet, and spread it out evenly.
Bake, rotating the skillet halfway through, for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the skillet for 20 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the skillet. Carefully invert the skillet over a serving plate, releasing the cake. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the cake.
NotesTip: Hawaiian sea salt is available in many specialty food stores. However, if you cannot find it, kosher salt is an acceptable alternative.
Reprinted with permission from One Girl Cookies by Dawn Casale and David Crofton, Clarkson Potter copyright (c) 2012

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