The ultimate retro classic that is the pineapple upside down cake with its golden syrupy topping. Oh hey!! I’ll admit I’d never made one before and had always fancied having a go, they always look so impressive, especially if you’ve dotted the pineapple rings with some glace cherries. I found it really fun to make – waiting to see how it all turns out at the last minute. The gooey sticky topping on the pineapples is sooooo good, even better if served with a dollop of ice cream!

Pre-heat your oven to 180/160 fan and then get to work on your topping. Cream the butter and sugar together until soft and creamy and then spread over the base and up the sides of the tin (I used a 20 cm round cake tin). Now arrange the pineapple rings on the base of the tin and pop the lil cherries in the centre of the rings.

Its such a simple recipe for the cake! Chuck all the ingredients in a bowl and add 2 tbsp of the saved pineapple syrup. Beat together until you have a smooth creamy mixture then pour on top of the pineapple and smooth out. Bake for roughly 35 mins then leave to stand for 5-10 mins before turning out onto a plate. Bish bash bosh. Done.

Ingredients

For the topping:

50g softened butter

50g light soft brown sugar

7 pineapple rings in syrup (keep some of the syrup for the cake)

glace cherries

For the cake:

100g softened butter

100g golden caster sugar

100g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

1tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs