Not my best photo!
Pineapple Upside-Down Pumpkin Gingerbread
10 servings
Topping
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
1 teaspoon mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 ripe pineapple, peeled
Cake
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon groung ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/2 cup boiling water
Whipped cream
TOPPING: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Combine sugar, butter, pineapple juice concentrate, and molasses in heavy small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking until sugar dissolves and syrup is smooth; boil 1 minute. Pour evenly into prepared pan.
Cut off 1/3-inch-thick round from pineapple; cut out core. Place round in syrup in pan. Stand pineapple on end. Cut lengthwise into 1-3-inch-thick slices. Using 3 round cutters of different sizes, cut out rounds from pineapple slices, avoiding core. Arrange rounds close together in single ayer in free-form design in syrup. (I did not have round cutters of various sizes, so I just did what I wanted.)
CAKE: Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in medium bowl. beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in molasses, then pumpkin. Beat in dry ingredients just until blended, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in 1/2 cup boiling water. Pour batter evenly into pan.
Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan 45 minutes. Place platter over pan. Using oven mitts or pot holders as aid, firmly grasp pan and platter together and turn over. Let stand 5 minutes, then gently lift pan off cake. Serve cake warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.
