Receta What To Do With a Sideways Growing Pineapple
Well of course make Upside Down Inside Out Pineapple Cheesecake!
I have to admit, nature amazes me daily. One of our pineapples had gotten blocked by another plant, I did not want to take the chance of breaking it off by trying to move it, so I just kept me eye on it to make sure that it did not end up lying on the ground. It ended up resting on the other plant and growing sideways. What amazed me was the direction the crown grew, up towards the glorious Florida sun!
This past weekend, the fruit was ripe and ready to be picked. I had planned on just cutting it up and enjoying it as a snack, but figured since this fruit had tried so hard to survive, I had to do something extra special with it. Since it was growing sideways, almost upside down, my husband suggested a pineapple upside down cake. Seemed fitting, but I must admit, it is not my favorite. Don't get me wrong, if pineapple upside down cake was put in front of me, I would eat it. Actually I will eat just about anything except hot dogs and jello (especially any kind of jello mold and especially if it has carrots and raisins) But I needed something EXTRA special and what is more special than cheesecake!
What I could not figure out, was how to get perfect slices out of my fresh pineapple. Off to the store I went and came home with a Vacuvin Pineapple Slicer!
It was incredible how easy it was to use. I carefully cut the top off the pineapple, and popped in the slicer.
I twirled the slicer down through the pineapple,
removed it from the shell, leaving the core behind.
Removed the black handle and slid off the fruit. Perfect and so easy!
The fruit comes off in a spiral, so I just had to cut it into rings.
I then planted the top. If you are interested in growing your own pineapples, check out my post Cooking with Pineapple to see how easy it is!
While I was working with the pineapple, I had all my cheesecake ingredients on the counter coming to room temperature.
I prepared the cake layer and topped with the fresh pineapple rings
Baked it for 25 minutes, then topped it with the cream cheese layer. What a wonderful dessert! I had planned on topping it with whipped cream and a cherry, but when I thought about all that was in the cake (especially all the calories) I decided to serve it up straight!
Inside Out Upside Down Fresh Pineapple Cheesecake
Cake Layer
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Spray a 9 inch springform pan with Bakers Joy (nonstick spray with flour)
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine sugar, butter, egg and vanilla, blend on low 30 seconds, then increase mixer speed to medium and mix until fluffy. Turn mixer back to low and add the flour mixture and the milk, mixing on low until smooth. Pour into your prepared springform pan and prepare the Pineapple Layer.
- Pineapple Layer:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- fresh pineapple rings
- maraschino cherries well drained and patted dry
- Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in 2/3 cup packed brown sugar. Drop small spoonfuls over top of cake batter until covered. Layer pineapple rings over top and place a maraschino cherry in the center of each ring. Bake on center rack for 25 minutes. After cake has baked for about 20 minutes, start Cheesecake Layer.
- Cheesecake Layer:
- 3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Beat together softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time until blended. Gently fold in sour cream and pour over top of partially-baked cake layer. Bake for 55 minutes. Turn oven off. Leave cheesecake in oven and open the oven door for about 5 minutes. This allows the cheesecake to cool slower and adjust to the outside temperature better and keep the center from sinking. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.