One of my mother’s favorite cakes was pineapple upside down cake. Since I can’t eat pineapple anymore, I used a different fruit for my upside down cake – pears. Turned out quite delicious and moist since pears are full of liquid which drained pineapple doesn’t have. Any fruit can be used for this cake and can be arranged decoratively – I just tossed mine in the bottom of the spring form pan but feel free to make one that’s prettier.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk:
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup aquafaba
Let sit while you get the baking pan ready. Using a 10″ spring form pan, or if authenticity is desired, a cast iron Dutch oven, spray the bottom with non-stick spray and add a round to fit of parchment paper. In a small sauce pan melt:
1/4 cup vegan margarine
Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with:
1/2 cup fine date sugar (the courser sugar doesn’t work as well here – you could use the date syrup squeeze bottle to squeeze 1/2 cup of syrup over the melted margarine instead)
Peel (if desired) 2 large pears, 2-3 apples. Also could use 1 1/2 cups mixed berries or pineapple rings. I also shaved a fresh piece of ginger and grated about 2 teaspoons on top of the pears. Cinnamon or allspice could also be sprinkled over the fruit in the pan.
Arrange the fruit on top of this mixture and set aside. In a medium bowl mix:
1 1/4 cups all purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum
In the smaller bowl, add to the flax gel:
3/4 cup date sugar
1 cup dairy free milk mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whisk until well mixed and then add to the flour mixture and either mix with a hand mixer or a spoon until combined. Do not over mix. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before pouring over the fruit (or pour over the fruit and let sit). Bake for 30-40 minutes and then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake another 10-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan at least 15 minutes before removing from pan onto plate. Remove parchment paper.
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