Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Several years ago I had the privilege of taking high school juniors and seniors on a science trip to Belize and Guatemala. One of our first stops while visiting these countries was at the IZE located on South Water Caye. IZE has a marine biological station and lodge and hosts many school trips from the high school level to the college level. Since it is located right on the second longest barrier reef, it is a fabulous place to spend several days, a week, a month, or several months.

Some of the people helping to run IZE are called Garifunas. They are descendents from Carib, Arawak and West African people and live primarily in Central America along the Caribbean Coast. These are some of the nicest people I have every met. They have their own language that is beautiful when spoken. Elveria Smith was the head cook at IZE and she made amazing traditional dishes while we were there. One delicious dish was her Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. I asked her for her recipe along with Lunch salad and Coconut Shrimp Soup recipe when were were leaving and was honored when she gave them to me.

This is her recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. It is sugary and delicious. If you ever have a chance to go to Belize, spend a few nights out on South Water Caye at IZE. You will have a fabulous time.

Ingredients:  (topping) 3/4 c sugar, 1 stick butter, melted, Pineapples, Cherries, Papaya for decoration (cake) 2 c flour, 2 c sugar, 3 eggs, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 c milk, 1 stick butter, melted

Instructions:  (1). Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pan for cake by using cooking spray with flour or by greasing pan with butter and sprinkling with flour. (2) Mix topping ingredients and pour into the pan. Using fruit, make decorations on top of the topping. (3) Mix and blend ingredients for the cake and pour into the pan over the fruit decorations and topping. (4) Bake for 45 minutes and cool on a rack for a few minutes before flipping cake out of the pan. Let cake cook completely before serving or you can serve it warm.