Pineapple Upside-Down (Pan)cake
Part of the big-pan pancake series
Last year, I published a recipe for a yeasted/sourdough pancake baked in a big pan. It was my most popular recipe from last year, and it is indeed delicious. I still make it 1-2x a month, and have been trialing out fun variations on the recipe. I have three versions I’m publishing this week: today is a pineapple upside-down (pan)cake.
The rest of the big-pan pancake series:
Like yesterday’s pancake, this one is also just too good. On the day of shooting the recipe, I ate it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a late-night snack – I had absolutely zero interest in eating anything else. This version took a handful of trials, so it strays a fair bit from a classic pineapple upside-down cake and more into pancake territory, but maintains the delicious core components. Here, the (pan)cake is crispy and buttery on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside, and is served with caramelized pineapple on top and a pineapple-toffee sauce on the bottom.
Oddly, this pancake might be even better served at room temperature rather than hot. Once it’s cooled, the toffee sauce settles in as a caramelized crust on the bottom of the pancake, making it simply irresistible. I think it’s ideally served warm, just cool enough to add some whipped cream on top while keeping the pineapple and pancake crumb soft and tender, and the sauce gooey. While I have no favorite children from the big-pan pancake series, this is Théo’s favorite. Enjoy!
This recipe makes 3 8-8.5” pancakes, but there are ingredient quantities at the bottom of the recipe for 1 large version.
P.S. You could make 1 or 2 pineapple upside-down (pan)cakes, and fry up a plain version with the remaining batter (in 1 or 2 pancakes). Save the regular pancake(s) for tomorrow’s recipe, which is all about repurposing leftovers into something else delicious :)
P.P.S. Please note that if you are making the sourdough version, you have to prepare the pre-ferment the night before you make it! I recommend doing this for the yeasted version as well, but it can be made the day of, in a crunch.
P.P.P.S Very ripe pineapple will be far more fragrant and floral, but will seep some juices into the pancake and weigh it down a bit. A less ripe version will be less fragrant, but still delicious and a tad lighter on the pancake. Pick your pineapple based on what you’re optimizing for!
Makes 3 large pancakes (8-8.5” pan)
