Tropical Upside-Down Cake
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12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room
temperature |
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1 1/2 cups pitted, peeled, and (1-inch) cubed ripe mango (about 2
mangoes) |
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1 1/2 cups peeled, cored, and (1-inch) cubed ripe pineapple
(about 1/2 small pineapple) |
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1 cup (packed) light brown sugar |
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2 tablespoons dark rum |
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2 cups cake flour |
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2 teaspoons baking powder |
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1 teaspoon ground ginger |
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Pinch of salt |
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1 cup granulated sugar |
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2 large eggs, at room temperature (see Note below) |
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
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3/4 cup milk |
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1/2 cup (2 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans, toasted |
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Vanilla ice cream, for serving |
Position a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat to 350°F. Generously
butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the
mango, pineapple, brown sugar and rum. Cook, stirring often, until the sugar is
melted and bubbling. Cool until tepid.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt and set aside. Beat the
remaining 8 tablespoons of butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a hand-held
electric mixer at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in
the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. On low speed, add the flour in 3
additions, alternating with 2 additions of the milk, and beat until smooth,
scraping down the sides of the bowl often with a rubber spatula.
Arrange the fruit in a single layer in the pan, and pour the syrup over all.
Sprinkle with the pecans. Spread the batter evenly over the fruit.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about
35 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Invert and unmold onto a large
serving platter. (If any pieces of fruit stay in the pan, just remove them and
arrange them in their place on the cake.) Pour any juices in the pan over the
cake. Serve warm or completely cooled, with the vanilla ice cream. Oprah
recommends Graeter's Ice Cream, available through mail order at www.graeters.com
or call 1-800-721-3323.
Makes 12 servings.
Note: This recipe uses a raw egg. Eggs have been known to carry
the harmful salmonella bacteria. To reduce the risk of infection, use only
fresh, clean, refrigerated eggs that are free of any cracks.
If a recipe calls for room temperature eggs, place the uncracked eggs in a bowl
of hot water for 5 minutes so they can lose their chill.
Do not serve raw eggs to very young or elderly people or to anyone with a
weakened immune system.
