Pineapple upside down cake reminds me of my childhood and the countless afternoons I spent watching my mother play bridge or mah jongg with her friends and the Wednesday evening potlucks at our local church. She always brought one of three dishes to those potlucks: spaghetti pie, seven layer dip or pineapple upside down cake. I miss it too, those comforting foods of middle America, but I’m no fan of margarine, cake mixes and sweet cherries laced with vivid red food coloring.
So, upon waking with a wicked hankering for pineapple upside down cake this morning, I took to my kitchen and whipped up this alternative which pairs pineapple with honey and one of my favorite flours for sweet treats: coconut.
Why coconut flour?
We minimize grain consumption in our home, and coconut flour makes a beautiful alternative to grain-based flours. Moreover, coconut flour is particularly well-suited to sweet treats and baked goods as it has a fluffy texture and is reminiscent of yellow cake when sweetened. Coconut flour is also rich in protein, fiber and fat and, unlike grain-based flours, it doesn’t require soaking (wondering about why you should soak grains? Click here). In this recipe, its soft cake-like texture and faint coconut flavor complements the pineapple well. It’s a natural choice.
Coconut flour is dense and absorbent and it requires lots of liquid, usually in the form of eggs to produce a palatable result. As a result, cakes and baked goods made with coconut flour are typically more dense in vitamins and healthy fats than those made from grain-based flours. You can learn more about baking with coconut flour here.
Where to find coconut flour
Coconut flour and oils are increasingly available in good quality and well-stocked health food stores, but it tends to be expensive for a small amount. I typically purchase my coconut flour in bulk online (see sources) to save money.
Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Sweetened by honey, this classic pineapple upside down cake is also suitable for dairy-free and grain-free diets.
ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups coconut flour (get it here)
- 1 cup blanched almond flour (get it here)
- 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (get it here)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 cups full-fat coconut milk (get it here)
- 1 cup honey (get it here), divided
- 1 dozen eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract (get it here)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (get it here)
- 12 pineapple rings, about 1/2-inch thick
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
equipment
- 12-inch cast iron skillet (like this)
method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Whisk coconut flour, almond flour and unrefined sea salt together. Beat in coconut milk, 3/4 cup honey, eggs and vanilla and continue to beat them together until no clumps remain.
- Melt coconut oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over moderately high heat. Whisk in remaining 1/4 cup honey. When the honey and coconut oil foam and bubble, gently arrange pineapple into the skillet. Place dried cherries in the center of each pineapple ring and around the pineapple rings. Turn off the heat, pour in the cake batter and bake for forty-five minutes to one hour in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for about five to ten minutes before inverting on a platter and serving.
YIELD: about 12 slices | TIME: 5 minutes (active), 5 minutes (stovetop), 45 minutes (oven)
Hi Jenny, Have you any idea whether or not (or even if) the coconut flour would affect blood sugar levels? I would love to try this as I finally have access to coconut flour but I’m just not sure how it compares to regular flours when it comes to serving it to a diabetic. Your recipes are always an inspiration! Thank you, Darcy
Coconut flour is low in carbohydrates, high in fiber and high in fat, so it’s suitable for diabetics; however, I’d be concerned about the high amount of honey called for in the recipe if I were diabetic.
I believe Tupelo honey is suitable for diabetics. At least, that’s what my mom says. I do know that it is more expensive and that it does not crystallize. My mom gets hers from the Bread Beckers (as part of a co-op). I think Savannah Bee company also sells it. Of course, you’ll have to research it for yourself, but I hope that it ends up working out for you.
What are the nutrient values per serving? carbohydrate, sugar, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, protein, fiber?
Hi Jenny,
This looks delicious but I was wondering – - – do you think it is ok to eat the coconut flour and almond flour? I’m wondering if they need any sort of special preparation. Did traditional cultures eat things like this? Thank you so much for your help. You are so knowledgeable about all this. At times, it can be a bit overwhelming!
Love,
Mary
Yes, I absolutely do. Sally Fallon Morell has even recommended coconut flour for those who can’t do gluten. Traditional peoples in the south seas, studied by price, ate a considerable amount of calories from coconut. While they weren’t necessarily eating coconut flour, all coconut flour is is dried coconut (usually leftover from coconut milk preparation) that is ground up.
Almond flour is *absolutely* a traditional food. Nuts were widely consumed by the people studied by Price and blanched almond flour was the flour of choice for confections and cakes up until the late 18th century when it fell out of favor.
Hi Jenny,
Thank you so much for this info. And what an interesting historical point about the almond flour! I grew up loving marzipan.
Can I ask you…do you make your own almond flour from “crispy nuts” or do you buy almond flour? If it’s not made from crispy nuts, is it still OK to use? Thank you so much for all your help.
Love,
Mary
Wow! I love upside down pineapple cake, and I usually make it from organic white flour for family get togethers, and use pomegranate seeds instead of cherries to decorate it after the cake is done (I put them inside pineapple rings). Great idea using dried cherries though, I think they will add nice tartness to the cake!
I will have to try it with coconut flour since it will me something you can eat everyday since it is so nourishing because of lots of eggs in it. Don’t know if my family will like it though. Does it turn out very dense? The one I make comes out very moist and light.
Do you think this would work with blueberries and Stevia, too? I need to avoid all high sugar fruit right now.
Sounds delicious!
I’m so excited to try this. I love pineapple upside down cake–probably a leftover memory from church dinners and my grandma’s kitchen.
I can’t get almond flour, so I’m hybridizing this with Nourished and Nurtured’s recent orange cranberry muffins. High hopes!
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2012/01/cranberry-orange-muffins-gaps-legal.html
Any way this could be made without the almond flour? We’re following a low-oxalate/paleo type diet here.
You could try it and let us know – or use this recipe: http://nourishedkitchen.com/coconut-flour-cake for the cake part.
This sounds amazing! I love a good pineapple upside-down cake. I haven’t tried coconut flour yet, but you’ve given me a good incentive!
I just ordered coconut and almond flours in bulk a few days ago, I can’t wait for them to get here so we can try this. We’re getting ready to try GAPS and I’d love to make one last sweet treat before we go through the intro phase. Your recipe is perfect timing for us, thank you! Do you cut your own pineapple slices from fresh?
I prefer to cut them from fresh, but you don’t have to – either fresh or canned will work. Dried pineapple would be kinda funky in this recipe.
We’re low oxalate too, I’m going to try it but replacing the almonds with chestnuts, will post how it goes. Thanks! you’re such an inspiration!
Look delicious! My grandmother used to make a yummy pineapple upside down cake, but I would love to try this with coconut and almond flour. I don’t have a cast iron skillet, what are my other choices for baking it in? Thank you!
You could do enameled cast iron or a large cake pan.
Is there any substitute for the Almond flour? We have a tree nut allergy in our home, so that’s limiting. My husband is early in his GF journey, so I’d love to make a treat that everyone could safely enjoy…Any suggestions are welcome!
I agree. My hubby is deathly allergic to nuts. Can the almond flour be left out? I’ve tried two other recipes with coconut flour and they were both FAILS!
Hi Jenny
this looks wonderful. I know Weston price always recommends you soak your nuts first. Do you soak your almonds and then dry them before you make your flour? When you buy almond flour blanched it is not soaked is it?
Thanks so much
Lara
Most of the antinutrients reside in the papery skins of almonds. To make blanched almond flour, the almonds are soaked and then put into boiling water which loosens their skins. The skins are removed, the almonds dried and ground. For this reason, I do not call for soaking blanched almond flour. If you are planning to use ground almonds, by all means soak it.
Jenny, thank you, this too is very memorable for me. My mom made MANY pineapple upside down cakes. This by far is one of my favorite desserts. I am an avid baker, making the switch this last year to gluten free has been quite challenging, trying to figure out what to sub for the “white flour” and getting a good end result that tasted great. I want to thank you for all the wonderful goodies you post for us to make. You have saved me alot of guess work. My husband thanks you as well, as now he is getting his sweet tooth satisfied more often.
I also want to give you a big thank you, last night I made your recipe for Quinoa Salmon Burgers. I didn’t have any Herbamare seasoning, I subbed my flaked sea salt, it never dawned on me to use the raw salmon to make patties before. I had 2 lbs of Chilean Salmon in the freezer. I used just a bit more green onion. We ended up with 14 patties, ate some, froze some, and my husband took 3 to work for lunch. yummmmo!
I love your recipes but would like to know how, if possible, to minimize the honey/sugar content and use stevia/erythritol instead. Thank you!
I don’t recommend the use of stevia or erythritol. With the exception of green stevia leaf (which is just the herb, dried and powdered), both are processed modern sweeteners.
hi again
I have been looking for the quinoa and salmon patties as per above post -is it on your recipes section
thank you
I don’t think I actually have a quinoa-salmon patty recipe. Maybe it was a different site?
Oh my oh my…I MUST make this cake!
Would xylitol work in place of the honey? It is processed, but it is low-glycemic and has proven health benefits.
I don’t recommend the use of xylitol either or any processed food – even the “natural ones.”
Hi Jenny
This looks delicious. I have just discovered your site and it is lovely.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Kim
What about coconut flour and oil if you have high blood pressure/
Would the results be the same using only coconut flour?
Thanks =)
I get really tired of hitting the “PRINT” button and then waste ink/paper on 17 pages of readers comments when all I wanted was a 1 page recipe (maybe two)… I love everything else about this website…including ‘reading’ the viewer comments! I just don’t need to print them!
@Patty,
You can print just the recipe i.e no readers comment. Do a ‘print preview’ so you can see what you are about to print, then specify the pages that you want to print.
1. In your browser Click File, then choose Print Preview. You would see that the recipe are from pages 1- 3.
2. Click ‘Print’ button (upper left hand corner), you would find text box “Print Range”. Tick “Pages from: XXX to XXX”. Replace XXX with ’1′ to ’3′
Hope that helps.
What about inulin / chicory product in place of the sugar? Is that too processed, like the stevia and xylitol you don’t recommend?
Would you be able to make the inulin / chicory product in your kitchen? If yes, I’d use it. If no, I wouldn’t.
My son loves pineapple, but among other items, he is allergic to eggs. That is the problem with coconut and almond flour, they require many eggs. I don’t suppose an egg substitute would work in this….sigh….Love your recipes and information. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Is that correct? A dozen eggs
Yes.
Hahaha – I love sharing recipes with folks who are AMAZED at the quantity of eggs or butter. I actually made this and increased the eggs to 15, since I had some smaller ones. That was quite the stack of shells, lemme tell ya.
This was AMAZING. Thank you for sharing it, Jenny! I’ve made my pineapple upside down cake with coconut milk for a while (super tasty “tropical” treat), and never thought to use the coconut flour. Such a nice way to end a day!
I made this cake last night and it was an absolute success. As I had 850gm eggs I only used 10 and I substituted pecan meal for the almond meal. I wanted a high protein healthy cake for my teenage son’s school lunches. I’m in Australia and they go back to school next week. But it is so yummy I think I’ll be having to make another one before then. Thanks for such a great recipe.
This recipe looks wonderful. I don’t have an iron skillet…is there a substitute.
thank you.
I’ve been craving this cake since I saw the pic.. So I
went out and brought all the ingredients and today made it.
It tastes good. The coconut flour and almond flour def
has a “healthy” taste.
However 12 pineapple rings? I ended up having a double layer
of pineapple rings to use it all up (wasn’t sure if I was supposed to do that)
but the recipe did say 12.
When I flipped the cake over the batter hadn’t gone in between the rings so the
Cake didn’t look like the above photo ;(
-I also didn’t run a spatula around the edges of the pan before
flipping so that created problems too as the cake plopped out but
the edges were stuck to the pan.
Bob’s Red Mill also offers coconut and almond flours
Can I use any other type of gluten free flour rather than blanched almond flour? Can’t seem to get it where I am. Thanks
My hubby and I love this cake! Pineapple Upside Down Cake his favorite!! I used crushed pineapple as I always did when making traditional cake. Yummy!! BTW..I mill my own almond meal in our coffee grinder…delicious!
Thank you so much!!!
Do you think I could do this in a cake pan, I don’t have a cast iron skillet.
This turned out wonderfully! I took it to a pies and pints party and it got rave reviews and it turned out just as beautiful. I and a friend of mine have a nut allergy so I subbed rice flour for almond and added more liquid. Thank you Jenny, I love your recipes!
Here is the recipe revised from the original (all organic of course!)
2 cups coconut flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 cups full-fat coconut milk
1 cup maple syrup divided
1 dozen eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons REAL vanilla extract (got some fabulous stuff from Mexico
1/4 cup coconut oil
12 pineapple rings, about 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup dried cherries (used rainier cherries from washington)
This is absolutely delicious, especially if you love coconut, as we do. I used 2 less eggs by substituting chia seed. I put all the liquid ingredients in my blender and blended it together, which may be why mine turned out to have a souffle-type consistency rather than a cake consistency. Oh, and I did 1/2 honey and 1/2 maple syrup, next time I think I will cut down that amount. It was quite sweet enough.