Karlee’s Crushed Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Friends, hi! Today we have a guest post from our friend and photographer Karlee Flores.  Karlee and I met, what feels like a decade ago (though I refuse to count), in a tiny restaurant kitchen where I was trying to make ten chocolate layer cakes in about 2 hours. I was very quietly losing my mind when Karlee walked over and offered to help.  I don’t remember asking if she even knew how to bake but Lordy was I lucky that day because Karlee is an incredible cake baker. She saved my life, made me laugh the whole time, and now we’re latched for life in friendship.  Please enjoy Karlee’s blog and join me in making her cake this weekend because it’s crushed pineapple and coconut are a lowkey stroke of genius.  Also, it’s peach season and last year I made Karlee’s Peach Butter and enjoyed it well into fall!  xo Joy

I’d like to talk to you about failure. I know. We might need a cocktail or, at the very least, a crisp Diet Coke to get us through this one. But in a world where money-making, master class selling, and the American dream pushing are in every flip of the thumb, how about I offer you another perspective? Because I can’t be the only one who’s failed at something they really wanted.

I always thought one day I’d write a cookbook. In 2018, I sat down and started making the bones of a proposal, working on it whenever I had a second to spare. When a literary agent reached out to me, I sat down, frantically fleshing out concepts and polishing them to precision.

It was ultimately decided in several acquisition meetings that I wasn’t sellable. The excuses were either vague and kind or sharply honest. My expertise, my following, everything I had built, everything in me still wasn’t enough. Or, as one publisher told my agent, “She doesn’t have as much clout as you think she does.”

I laughed it off, but the words pierced an already fragile ego. 2023 left me hanging on by the most dilapidated thread, and I felt my limp body unable to swing on its slack anymore. Everything I’ve done for these last nine years was for nothing if it didn’t get me to my goal—to write my cookbook.

And I know you’re expecting me to tell you how it all worked out. How you just need to keep pushing. But what if, instead, this wasn’t one of those posts? What if I’m just here to tell you I know how it feels? I can sit with you in the muck of a lost job if that’s what you need. An understanding ear for when everyone else is getting pregnant seemingly so easily. Maybe the only thing I have to offer is to say you’re not alone.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get a book deal. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the passion for it back. The only thing I know is that I can take the carcass of a very well-tested book proposal and use it for today’s blog post. This recipe for a new kind of pineapple upside-down cake should not collect cobwebs in the corners of unopened emails.

It belongs to you now.

It’s the fluffiest cake, layered with a gelatinous topper of pineapple shreds that we thicken over the stove first before letting it cool in the bottom of a prepared pan. Like revenge, it’s a cake best served cold. I’d suggest making a batch of coconut whipped cream to go with it.

Eat it with me and remember that our worth is not determined by a mean publisher that works for Simon and Schuster, or by your online bully, or by your scale, or bank account, or ex-boyfriend. What is it measured by? I guess that’s for us to decide from here on out.

Karlee’s Crushed Pineapple Upside Down Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 3.5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Karlee Flores
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 32 minutes
• Total Time: about an hour
• Yield: 1 9-inch cake, Serves 8-10 1x
• Category: cake, birthday, summer
• Method: baking

Pin Recipe

Print Recipe

---

Description

A perfectly golden and pleasingly simple pineapple cake.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the pineapple layer:

• 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

For the coconut cake:

•  2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup (170 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (96 grams) vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup (75 grams) buttermilk, room temperature

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Pour the crushed pineapple, sugar and lime juice in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat mixing occasionally. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of cold water. Mix until there are no more lumps.
3. Once the pineapple is simmering, slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry while mixing constantly with a rubber spatula. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Pour into the prepared cakepan and smooth out into an even layer. Let the mixture cool while making the cake layer.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
5. In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together just until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly stream in the vegetable oil. Turn the mixer to medium speed and let whip for about 5 minutes until the mixture fluffs and turns almost white in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again for another minute.
6. Add the eggs and coconut extract and mix for about 30 seconds. Add half of the flour mixture and beat just until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add the buttermilk. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula and mix out any uneven batter.
7. Pour on top of the slightly cooled pineapple mixture and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Lightly tap on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
8. Place into the preheated oven to bake for 28-32 minutes, or until the middle of the cake has set. Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter for about 15-20 minutes.
9. Run a knife around the sides of the cake. Turn out onto a plate and remove the parchment paper. Let cool another 15 minutes before covering with plastic wrap and placing in the fridge to cool for at least 2 hours.
10. To serve, top with whipped cream and a garnish of maraschino cherries.

---